Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Board Selects Carreon Next President of Portland Community College

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Community College Board of Directors offered the presidency of the college to Dr. Jesus Carreon, superintendent and president of the Rio Hondo Community College district in Whittier, Calif. The board announced that Carreon has agreed to accept the job and signed his contract on May 25. He is expected to start full-time on July 30. Carreon will become the fourth president of Portland Community College, the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon, with an annual enrollment of nearly 100,000 students. "I am deeply honored and appreciate the confidence of all of those who were part of the selection process, in particular the board of directors," said Carreon. "Portland is a great place and the college is an outstanding, nationally recognized institution. I’m looking forward to the challenges."Karen McKinney, chair of the board, said, "We are very pleased to be able to attract a person of Dr. Carreon’s background, skills and experience to PCC. I am extremely impressed with Jess. He brings the kind of leadership that Portland Community College will need in the coming years. Dr. Carreon’s experience in forming alliances with other educational institutions, business and government agencies will be a great asset to the college. "It came down to two outstanding finalists,"McKinney added. "It was a very tough decision. Ultimately, a majority of the board agreed to offer the job to Jess Carreon."Currently, Carreon is superintendent and president of the Rio Hondo Community College district, a two-year institution enrolling 15,000 students each semester. Carreon earned a doctorate in higher education from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in management from the University of California, Irvine and a bachelor’s degree in history from San Diego State University. He also earned an associate’s degree from Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif. Prior to his position as superintendent of the Rio Hondo Community College district, he was president of Ventura College in Ventura, Calif., and before that was the assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction at El Camino Community College district in Torrance, Calif. In his six-year tenure at Rio Hondo Community College, Carreon initiated, developed and increased business, education and government partnerships by 300 percent; improved the delivery of services and programs with a subsequent enrollment increase; and provided the leadership to remodel the science facilities at Rio Hondo Community College. In addition, he greatly increased external funding through grant development and the college Foundation. Dan Moriarty, the president of PCC since 1986, will retire in late July.