By Aletheia Meloncon
Troy R. Justesen (left), Raul Rodriguez (right) (RCCD)
By Aletheia Meloncon
After three rejections of candidates last year, the Board of Trustees announced two new candidates on April 29 for the position of Chancellor of the Riverside Community College District.
The two finalists, Troy R. Justesen from the U.S. Department of Education and Raul Rodriguez from San Joaquin Delta Community College, were announced in a published statement by Jim Parson, public informations officer.
The long-awaited announcement was filled with optimistic views from administration, faculty and staff.
Richard Mahon, associate professor of Humanities, shared the differences between last year’s process and the process now.
“Last year’s search was done exclusively by the Board of Trustees, and the process was undermined by the skepticism of faculty because of no involvement of faculty and the public until the finalist were announced,” Mahon said, the process now is more inclusive.
Linda Lacy, interim president felt that the search committee did a very extensive search process.
“The faculty and staff were inclusive and appreciative that the search process had more involvement.”
The forums for Rodriguez was held on April 30. The forum for Justesen will be on May 6 at the Riverside campus, to give everyone a chance to ask questions.
*The following biographical information is provided by Riverside Community College District.
Troy R. Justesen
Troy R. Justesen is the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for vocational and adult education. He is a principal adviser on issues-related career and technical education, as well as workforce and economic development.
He was born in Orangeville, Utah. He attended public schools and then earned his associate degree in general science from the College of Eastern Utah, then went on to the Utah State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education and a master’s degree in special education. In 2001, he completed his doctorate in higher education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, T.N.
He also served in a variety of positions before his position as assistant secretary including associate director for domestic policy for the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education Programs. He is also a strong advocate of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Raul Rodriguez
Raul Rodriguez is currently the superintendent and president of San Joaquin Delta College. He oversees a district that covers 2,400 square miles and serves five counties.
The college has 21,000 in attendance and more than 1,500 full-time and part-time employees.
Rodriguez received his Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies in 1977 from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. He then went on to earn his Master of Arts in applied psychology in 1982 from Fairfield University, Fairfield, C.T. and his doctorate in psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1987.
Rodriguez has chaired 12 accreditation teams and served as a team member on five others.
He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the American Association of Community Colleges and the Board Secretary of the National Community College Hispanic Council.
He also served as director on several local board in the San Joaquin Valley.
