PIMA COLLEGE DISTRICT’S DR. RICHARD DURÁN APPOINTED PRESIDENT OF OXNARD COLLEGE
Dr. Richard Durán, for three years President of Desert Vista Campus in the Pima Community College District in Tucson, Arizona, has been appointed president of Oxnard College effective March 1, 2007. The Board of Trustees of the Ventura County Community College District made the selection and announced their decision on December 19, 2006.
Dr. Durán previously served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Development at the Pima Community College District. He has an impressive resume of achievements that will serve Oxnard College well, including securing a Title V grant for $2.5 million and federal Talent Search grant for $1.9 million; partnering with United Way and Head Start to create a Center for Early Childhood Education Studies; garnering $2 million in new funds for campus-related capital improvements; and establishing a partnership with the Tucson Unified School District’s “Aztec Middle College,” an on-campus charter high school for Native Americans. Dr. Durán has a record of excellence in administration and teaching and is known as a collaborative leader who inspires others to realize their own potential. Recently, Dr. Durán was awarded a Board Award from the Southern Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children and a Community Service Award from the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Dr. Durán holds an Ed.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in Educational Administration and an M.A. in Education and B.A. in Elementary Education from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. Dr. Durán is looking forward to working with faculty, students, and the community in his new leadership role at Oxnard College. He and his family are excited about relocating to California.
“The Board is honored that Dr. Durán chose Oxnard College to lead us into the future,” said
VCCCD Board Chair Dr. Larry Miller as he announced the appointment. Dr. Miller expressed satisfaction with the nation-wide presidential search conducted by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). “Dr. Judith Valles, a former interim president of Oxnard College, did an outstanding job as the District’s search consultant, developing a pool of approximately 34 candidates for the position. They were reviewed by a committee of 21 members consisting of VCCCD employees and members of the Oxnard community.”
Trustee Art Hernández, representing the Oxnard service area, also praised the selection by the committee. “We had a strong group of professionals to choose from,” he said. “Dr. Durán clearly has what it will take to do good things for our students and staff.”
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