Coast district board names interim chancellor

Coast Community College District trustees named an interim chancellor Wednesday night to replace Andrew Jones, who abruptly resigned last week.

Tom Harris, who boasts more than 50 years of experience in community college education, will assume the district’s top spot Tuesday, the first day of fall classes.

Harris served for 10 years as the chancellor of the North Orange County Community College District, having begun during a time of turmoil for the organization.

“He’s been around the block,” said Trustee David Grant. “He’s gracious and thoughtful in his decision-making.”

Since retiring in 1999, Harris has held several interim positions at community colleges, including a stint as president at West Hills College in Coalinga.

“I’m certainly proud to be picked by your board to be the interim for the next few months,” he said Wednesday. “I look forward to working with all of you.”

In a short speech, Harris shared his favorite saying regarding leadership and the importance of being inclusive.

“All of us are better than one of us,” he said.

The district had been working with a search firm to find an interim replacement for Jones, Grant said.

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” he said of the appointment. “Common sense isn’t always so common, but Tom has it. He’s pragmatic.”

Harris holds a doctorate and master’s degree in higher education from USC and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Jose State.

He will temporarily relocate from McCall, Idaho, to lead the district while trustees embark on their search for a permanent chancellor.

Over the next month, trustees will form a committee to conduct the national search, which is expected to take several months.

Although he stresses searching broadly for a new leader, Grant hopes the next chancellor will have experience leading colleges in California, something that Jones lacked.

Before joining Coast in 2011, Jones was the vice chancellor of educational services for the Dallas Community College District.

The reason for Jones’ resignation is unclear, but trustees affirm that it was a decision he made without their input.

His departure comes on the heels of the district’s yearlong attempt to correct employee and educational practices that have placed its three colleges at risk of losing accreditation.

Last year, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges made several recommendations to the district, including improving the way the board delegates tasks to the chancellor.

Trustees acknowledged in a self-evaluation that they needed to improve communication with Jones.