Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC Board selects three finalists for district president

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College’s board of directors selected three finalists for the position of district president at the Thursday, Feb. 19 board meeting. The three chosen for PCC’s top job are Dr. Daniel J. LaVista, Dr. James E. Middleton and Dr. Preston Pulliams. The board narrowed the field to three from a field of six semi-finalists in executive session and then announced their choices during the public meeting. Director Dana Anderson, who acted as an ex-officio member of the selection committee for the board, said, "It is my honor to announce the three finalists. They come from a pool of extraordinarily strong candidates."Anderson thanked the advisory committee and chair Tom Fahey, director of human resources for Wacker Siltronic, for their excellent work. The college will hold forums open to the public and college community to solicit comments about each of the finalists. These will be held during the week of March 1 and will be announced on the college Web page at www.pcc.edu.LaVista is currently the executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. He has been in the position since 2002. Prior to that, he served as president of McHenry Community College in Crystal Lake, Ill. from 1997-2002. Previously, he has also served as chancellor of Baltimore County Community Colleges in Towson, Md., and president of the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill. LaVista earned a doctoral degree in speech and dramatic arts from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Dayton and a bachelor of art’s degree in English from Siena College in New York.Middleton is currently a visiting scholar for the Community College Leadership Development Initiatives at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. He has been there since July of 2003. Before that, he served as president of the Marin Community College District in Marin County, Calif., from 1993-2003. Before that, he served as chief academic officer at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pa., and the director of Integrated Studies at Williamsport Area Community College, Williamsport, Pa. Middleton earned a doctorate of arts in English language and literature from the University of Michigan, master’s degrees in English from both the University of Iowa and the University of Leeds (Leeds, England), and an Ed.S. degree in higher education/community colleges and a bachelor’s degree in European literature from the University of Iowa. Pulliams is currently vice-chancellor for Community Colleges for the State University of New York. He has been in that position since the beginning of 2003.Before that, Pulliams served as president of Orange County Community College in Middleton, New York, from 1997-2003. Previously, he served as president of the Highland Lakes Campus of the Oakland Community College District in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and vice president for student affairs at the Community College of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pa. Pulliams earned a doctoral degree in education from the University of Michigan, a master’s in counseling and personnel from Western Michigan University, a bachelor’s degree in social science from Michigan State University and an associate’s degree from Muskegon Community College.Former PCC President Jesus "Jess"Carreon left the college in July of 2003 to take over as chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District. Since August, the college has been led by interim District President Jerry Berger, who retired in 2002 as president of Chemeketa Community College.The board hopes to have the district president position filled by late March, with a start date in July. Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary educational institution in Oregon, enrolling 100,000 students annually, and operating three comprehensive campuses along with five workforce training and education centers, a small business development center and education outlets in hundreds of community and business locations. The college offers 70 associate degree, certificate and career training programs in areas ranging from aviation technology to veterinary technology, plus 40 different types of college transfer courses and programs. It is the most diverse college in the state.