In an email to the campus community, State Center Community College District Chancellor and former Fresno City College President Carol Goldsmith has announced her intention to recommend Robert Pimentel for FCC’s presidency, replacing Interim President Marlon Hall as of July 1.

SCCCD’s regular board of trustees meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 3, where Goldsmith will officially recommend Pimentel to the board, and the board will vote to appoint him following that.

Pimentel is a first generation college student, and studied at various colleges throughout the Central Valley, including West Hills Coalinga, Fresno State, and CSU Bakersfield.

Pimentel has been the vice president of Educational Services and Institutional Effectiveness at FCC for four years. Previously, he worked for 18 years in the West Hills Community College District.

“Dr. Pimentel has a wealth of experience and I am looking forward to working with him in his new role,” Goldsmith said in the email. “I am confident he will continue to accelerate the college’s mission to provide access to equity-centered, quality, innovative educational programs, and services.”

“I am thrilled and energized to continue to serve the community of Fresno and work alongside faculty, staff, and administrators who are dedicated to the lives of our students,” Pimentel said in the announcement.

There were 20 applicants for the position, of which nine were interviewed, and four made finalists, including Pimentel, Lataria Hall, vice president of Student Services, Cory Clasemann, vice president for Student Success at Indianapolis’ Ivy Tech Community College, and Madjid Niroumand, vice president of Student Services at Costa Mesa’s Orange Coast College. 

Over his four years at FCC, “He has demonstrated his commitment to a culture of anti-racism, where respect and inquiry are valued, and has worked to foster student success as well as improve the economic, social, and cultural development of our students,” Goldsmith said.