SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell Community College District Governing Board last week announced three finalists for the position of permanent superintendent/president and has scheduled in-person open forums this Friday.
The finalists are: Michael Gutierrez, president of Sacramento City College; Brian Sanders, vice president of Instruction for Columbia College in Sonora, Calif.; and Christopher Villa, who most recently served as president of Portland Community College in Oregon.
The finalists will introduce themselves to the college and the greater community during separate 45-minute open forums on March 11 in Steinbeck Hall, starting at 1 p.m. (Sanders), 2 p.m. (Villa) and 3 p.m. (Gutierrez). Steinbeck Hall is located in Building C on the Main Campus, 411 Central Ave., in Salinas.
Following brief introductions, each finalist will have five minutes to present opening remarks. Participants in the live audience will have the opportunity to submit questions to be asked of the finalists, moderated by search consultant Stan Carrizosa of Community College Search Services.
The live Q&A period will last 30 minutes.
The forums will also be broadcast live via webinar, although those will be view-only and not interactive. Links to the live forum webinars will be posted at hartnell.edu/about/president/search/finalists.html.
Governing Board President Erica Padilla-Chavez thanked all candidates who applied during a nationwide search and the 17 members of a search committee that included students and representatives of college bargaining units, college management, key industries in the Salinas Valley and the Hartnell College Foundation.
“We sincerely appreciate the search committee members’ investment of time and their thoughtful work to review applicants with the best interest of Hartnell students in mind,” Padilla-Chavez said.
The Board intends to approve appointment of Hartnell’s new permanent superintendent/president at a special board meeting on March 22, with an expected position start date of July 1.
