LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Yuba Community College District has a new chancellor.
On Monday the district's board of trustees announced the selection of Dr. Douglas B. Houston as the next chancellor, effective July 1.
The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, at the district's board room in Marysville, at which time they're expected to formally appoint Houston.
He now will head a district with a presence in eight counties – including Lake, which is home to the Clear Lake Campus – as well as colleges in Marysville and Woodland, outreach operations at Beale Air Force Base and in Williams, and another planned for Sutter County.
Houston will succeed Dr. Nicki Harrington, who in January had announced she was retiring at the end of the academic year, as Lake County News has reported.
Houston currently is superintendent/president of Lassen Community College District, based in Susanville. He previously held administrative positions at Butte College in Oroville and at Barstow College in Southern California.
He holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Pepperdine University. Previous to that, he earned his master's and bachelor's of science degrees in physics from the University of Florida, Gainesville.
District officials said they conducted a nationwide, beginning in February, to find Harrington's successor. The Association of Community College Trustees assisted the governing board in the search.
The district started the search process with campus forums Feb. 22-23 to collect public input for the purpose of developing a chancellor profile, officials reported.
Applications and nominations came in through mid-April, a search committee selected interview candidates and the field was narrowed to three: Houston; Dr. Ron Erickson, president of Hocking College in Ohio; and Dr. Jim Riggs, interim doctoral program director at California State University, Stanislaus.
The district had hosted public forums at its campuses May 9-10 to introduce the three finalists to the community, and allow students, administration and the public at large to ask questions.
“The hard work of the search committee, chaired by YCCD Board Vice-Chair Brent Hastey, is to be commended,” said district board Chairman Xavier Tafoya stated. “The committee worked tirelessly over several months and forwarded to the board three exceptionally well-qualified final candidates for the board’s consideration.”
Tafoya said it was after the open public forums and final interviews by the board of trustees that Houston was selected as the district's next chancellor.
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