Modesto JC still doesn’t have a president. Why is it taking so long?
Six months after the abrupt firing of its president, Modesto Junior College remains without a CEO as its latest search for a new leader ends unsuccessfully.
Yosemite Community College District Chancellor Henry Yong announced Thursday that the search for a new MJC president has been extended into the fall. Yong made the decision after the search committee and YCCD Board of Trustees narrowed the field to three finalists but concluded that none was right for the job.
“Selecting a new President for MJC is a very important decision,” Yong said in a press release. “Despite the hard work of the search committee, public forums, and on-campus interviews of three finalists, we unfortunately did not find a candidate who we believe is the right fit for the position. I want to thank all the applicants for their interest as well as the search committee members for their hard work.”
The release said Yong made the decision to reopen the recruitment process “after careful deliberation and consultation” with the Board of Trustees, the 13-member search committee, faculty, staff and community members.
In late May, the search committee decided on four finalists for the position. They were:
- Christopher Breitmeyer, president at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Ore.
- Beatriz Espinoza, former president of Coastal Bend Community College in Corpus Christi, Texas
- Phillip King, vice president for student learning, equity and success at Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, Wash.
- Rafe Edward Trickey Jr., president and CEO of the North San Diego County Promise.
King withdrew from consideration before final interviews. The remaining candidates completed the interview process in early June. But none were ultimately selected, and the search will now continue into the fall.
MJC’s leadership problems are not new. Since 2000, the community college has had 16 presidents, giving it the highest CEO turnover rate of any California community college. The last president, Santanu Bandyopadhyay, lasted only 18 months before he was suddenly terminated in December by the board.
The average tenure for an MJC president, including interim roles, is 1.7 years, according to the Community College League of California. The average tenure for a community college president in California is 3.2 years.
Since February, longtime MJC professor Chad Redwing has served as interim president and the district announced he will stay on in the position through the new search. As interim leader, he is not eligible for the permanent position.
In addition to its revolving door in the president’s office, the indecision by the district in picking a new leader is also not new. In 2018, the district rejected the two finalists selected by the search committee for the position. At the time, they were vying to replace departed leader Jill Stearns, who spent six years in the top spot before taking a job at another college.
That search ended in February 2019, with the selection of Jim Houpis. His tenure lasted only 22 months before he resigned in January 2021, citing medical issues.
Houpis was replaced by Bandyopadhyay in May 2021, but his tenure at the college started off rocky after his hiring news was marred by reports he was continuing to interview for positions with other colleges.
Bandyopadhyay continued to have issues throughout his short stay. In March 2022, his wife, Komal Bandyopadhyay, who was a dean at MJC, was placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation on her was underway. The circumstances around the leave and investigation have not been disclosed.
In turn, the then-MJC president logged a formal complaint against human resources, alleging that department officials “undermined the authority of the President’s Office, violated Board policies, engaged in discriminatory practices and gifted away public funds.”
Santanu Bandyopadhyay previously served as the president of Columbia College, which also is under YCCD’s governance. He became MJC’s interim president in January 2021 before taking the job permanently four months later.
Since being terminated by MJC late last year, Bandyopadhyay has accepted the interim president job at Woodland Community College.
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 9:32 AM.
