After a couple of weeks of loose-end tying, the Allan Hancock College Board of Trustees named lead finalist Kevin G. Walthers as the college’s fifth superintendent/president on the evening of May 21.
A May 13 site visit to Las Positas College in Livermore, where Walthers is currently president, cemented the trustees’ decision. Rebecca Alarcio, a spokesperson for Allan Hancock College, told the Sun that trustees found the visit helpful in providing real examples of how Walthers operates day to day.
“What they found there was first-hand confirmation of the qualities that they had observed through the screening process,” Alarcio said. “[The trustees] came back from that visit satisfied.”
On May 1, the college announced Walthers as lead finalist in its nationwide search for Superintendent/President Jose Ortiz’s replacement. The site visit and contract negotiations had to be completed before the trustees felt comfortable solidifying their decision into an appointment.
Ortiz left Hancock in 2012 to become chancellor of California’s Peralta Community College District in the Bay Area. Associate Superintendent/Vice President of Administrative Services Elizabeth Miller served as interim superintendent/president since July 2012. Miller will resume the position she’s held at the college for 21 years when Walthers begins his new duties on July 8, 2013.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Walthers to Allan Hancock College,” Larry Lahr, president of the board, said in a press release. “Dr. Walthers’ enthusiasm for the position and the community, coupled with his excellent leadership and management experience, will serve us well.”
Walthers has worked at Las Positas for the last two years. The college is one of two in the Chabot-Las Positas College District and one of 112 community colleges in the state. His biggest accomplishments include restoring relationships with the community, establishing fundraising programs to help bring in more classes, and leading mid-term accreditation requirements.
He started his career teaching high school in north Texas. He moved from high school to higher education in 1999, when he started working with the Utah State Board of Regents. He served in executive roles with the board of regents and at the College of Eastern Utah. Most recently he held a joint position with the West Virginia Community and Technical College System and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
Walthers attended Eastfield Community College in Mesquite, Texas, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s of educational administration from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah.
He’ll begin his career at Allan Hancock College with a salary of $209,000, the same as his predecessor, Ortiz, earned before leaving, spokesperson Alarcio told the Sun.
“We’re very happy,” she said.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 6, 2013.