Photo Courtesy of SC
Interim Vice President Daniel Villanueva would not confirm or deny driving under the influence while driving a company car while on college business. He denied being fired and said he left Southwestern College on “good terms.”
By Dira Wong
An interim vice president of business and financial affairs was terminated by the college for totaling a district vehicle while allegedly intoxicated, according to a senior administrator and two members of the governing board.
Former vice president Daniel Villanueva was terminated in June following a single car accident while driving home from a college-related conference in the Central Valley. Villanueva, according to California Highway Patrol records, was charged with Driving While Intoxicated after steering a car “into a ditch.” Villanueva was not seriously hurt, but the vehicle managed by the college bookstore was badly damaged and declared totaled, according to college leaders.
Southwestern College administrators in the president’s office and in human resources refused comment, but governing board members Robert Moreno and Corina Soto confirmed the report. They said Villanueva was kept on as a college employee through August 31 so he could complete rehabilitation using his district benefits.
Villanueva was officially terminated at that point, forfeiting his $228,525 annual salary and benefits. He was replaced as VPBF on July 29 by Omar Gutierrez on an interim basis.
Moreno said the district had no choice but to terminate Villanueva but decided to “exercise compassion” and allow him to go through a rehab program.
“We wanted Danny to have a chance to rehab,” Moreno said. “He made a mistake and he knows it.”
College administrators refused to release information about the vehicle. College auto mechanics said they do not think the car was ever returned to Southwestern College.
Villanueva provided few details and described his position with the college as “fragile.” He had originally agreed to a “candid” interview but was circumspect when reached by phone. He said his reason for leaving Southwestern College is “kind of boring” and that he could not do a more far-reaching interview without his wife’s involvement.
“I was never suspended by the college,” he said. “I voluntarily resigned to move on with my career to focus on being a father. There is no time like the present (to) separate from Southwestern College.”
He would neither confirm nor deny totaling a college car while intoxicated.
“I have a family and a professional career,” he said. “Whatever happened is subject to interpretation…so it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment. Without proper optics of the whole thing, we want to preserve the integrity of the situation. So it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment for a number of parties.”
Villanueva said he was never a full-time college employee and was stepping away from what he called a “consultant position” to spend more time with his family.
“I don’t know if there is really a story here, out of the fact that of me focusing on wanting to be more of a full-time dad because mom had long-term COVID affects,” he said. “It was appropriate for me to come back and focus on that thing.”
Villanueva said the main reason he was leaving Southwestern College was the long commute and that he had “pushed aside” his responsibility to his family.
“I’ve been a consultant for the last four years,” he said. “My intention was never to apply for a long-term position. I had an interim contract.”
Villanueva’s actual Southwestern College contract was a one-year deal starting January 9 and extending through December 31 with the possibility of renewal. He was paid a full vice president’s salary of $229,000 with full benefits. Consultant are generally project-based and do not receive full-year contracts with benefits, according to a South County educational consultant who has worked at Southwestern College and other local districts.
Villanueva said he left Southwestern College “on good terms.”
“I have nothing but support for the president, the board of education, the students,” he said. “It was a willful decision on my end and these things happen. It’s okay to move on.”
Soto said Villanueva’s version of the story was “sanitized” and his departure was civil but “not what I would call good terms.”
“He was fired. Period,” she said. “You can’t do what he did and expect to keep your job.”
Moreno described Villanueva’s departure as “kind of a mutual thing.”
Moreno said he was constrained from offering more details due to closed session confidentiality, but he said he was glad the episode was being made public.
“The community has the right to know when college leaders do something they shouldn’t,” he said.
