Dr. Ned Doffoney, president of Fresno City College, spent last Monday in Orange County. He was among the three finalists in town speaking at community forums regarding the soon-to-be vacant North Orange County Community College District chancellor’s job.
At 9 a.m., Dr. Doffoney was the first to take the floor at a candidates’ forum held at Cypress Community College. He was followed by a fellow community college president and a former community college president, each taking one hour to address the attendees’ concerns.
At the conclusion of the Cypress forum, the trio shuffled over to Fullerton Community College where a similar forum was held at 1 p.m.
Doffoney said that when he discovered that current NOCCCD chancellor, Jerome Hunter, planned to retire on July 1, he viewed it as “an opportunity to grow as a professional.” He said that though the NOCCCD chancellor post was not his original goal, “One explores one’s opportunities as they become available.”
Richard Santos, president of FCC’s Academic Senate said, “I think [Doffoney] would do very well in that position…he’s a guy that does see the big picture, and I think a chancellor definitely needs to see what the big picture is.”
The other finalists are Christopher O’Hearn, former president of Mt. San Antonio College, and Rita Cepeda, president of San Diego Mesa College.
O’Hearn received his Ph.D. in Higher Education from Capella University, an accredited online college. He taught English at Los Angeles Harbor College for eight years, before accepting the position of Dean of Academic Affairs.
He spent six years serving in South Orange County as Vice President of Instruction at Orange Coast College until 1999 when he was selected as the president of Mission College in Santa Clara. He left the post to become president of Mt. San Antonio College in 2002.
Cepeda was born in Nicaragua and came to the United States with her family. She then devoted about 28 years of service to California’s community colleges. She has an Ed.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Southern California.
When the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees selected Cepeda as president of San Diego Mesa College, the most-senior trustee, Dr. Maria Nieto Senour was quoted in La Prensa, a local San Diego newspaper to have said, “I think it is important for us to have on our leadership team the perspective of someone who has first-hand knowledge of the culture of the largest growing segment of our community.
“In addition, she has lived the immigrant experience, which is characteristic of many of our students.”
All finalists formerly held educational leadership roles in the area.
Cepeda was president of Santa Ana College in Orange Country until she was selected to be president of San Diego Mesa College in 2005, the position she currently holds.
O’Hearn was the Vice President of Instruction at Orange Coast College and has also taught at El Camino College, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, Pepperdine University, and the University of Maryland.
Doffoney was the president of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, part of the South Orange County Community College District. He later became the founding chancellor and president of South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette, Louisiana.
According to Doffoney, the NOCCCD Board of Trustees takes a vote on which candidate to appoint within the next few weeks.
