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Dr. Kindred Murillo, the president of Lake Tahoe Community College, was selected as superintendent/president of Southwestern College by a 5-0 vote of the governing board. Board members are scheduled to discuss her contract and conduct a final vote to officially appoint her to the position at their Dec. 14 meeting.

Murillo earned a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University in 2010 and has 20 years experience in community colleges.

She became the first female president of Lake Tahoe Community College in 2011. Her biography says that during her five years there she advocated for transparent budgeting and financial stability, and led the college when the community approved a $55 million general obligation bond.

Murillo said she was ready to leave Lake Tahoe because she built a capable and ethical team that would lead the college into a sustainable future.

Southwestern’s Governing Board chose Murillo over Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Angelica Suarez and Dr. Reagan Romali, president of Harry S. Truman College in Chicago.

Board President Nora Vargas said Murillo’s record at LTCC influenced the board’s decision.

“The board was impressed with Dr. Murillo’s steady leadership at Lake Tahoe, her passion for improving educational opportunity for all students, and her commitment to equity and equality,” she said.

Newly-elected trustee Roberto Alcantar was sworn in shortly before the presidential vote. He said Murillo’s experience with accreditation was key reason for her selection.

“She is someone who has helped colleges turn around from situations much worse than the one Southwestern College is in,” he said. “(She) talks a lot about not just fixing the accreditation problem we have now, but also setting up systems and procedures that are followed every single year to avoid accreditation issues.”

Murillo detailed her success in dealing with the accreditation process at Copper Mountain College and LTCC, which faced five accreditation sanctions. She said her first priority at SWC is to tackle the college’s 15 sanctions. The college has until March to convince the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) that the sanctions have been dealt with and that it should be taken off warning status. Failure to do so could result in SWC being placed on probation or worse. Southwestern was on probation from 2009-11 for 10 sanctions, all administrative.

During a public forum for the three superintendent/president finalists, Murillo said she wants to help SWC realize its full potential.

“I want to be your champion,” she said. “I want to be somebody that helps you really, really show what this college can do.”

Murillo said her number one strength is inclusivity.

“I really believe in my heart of hearts that we make better decisions together,” she said. “It’s better when you’ve got more minds than when you’ve got less.”

Murillo spoke at the forum about her 11 years of experience in college

finance.

“What you try to do is balance what’s good for the student in the classroom, for the faculty member in the classroom, and (make) sure that you can afford to do what you’re going to do,” she said.

When asked about her experience with Black Lives Matter, Murillo said that she did not have any experience with the movement at mostly-white LTCC. Demographics from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office show that only 92 of the 5,507 students enrolled at LTCC in 2013-14 were black. She said, however, that diversity is important to her and that she had experience with diverse populations in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles County colleges.

Murillo said it is important for Latino students to succeed to close achievement gaps between groups of varying socioeconomic status.

“I believe that the only way we can say we are succeeding with our students, and I believe this profoundly, is if we close the achievement gap,” she said. “The majority of California is going to be Hispanic. If we can’t close the Hispanic-White, Asian-Hispanic achievement gaps, we (are going to) have an economic and social problem.”

Earlier this year Murillo was a finalist for leadership positions at Santa Barbara City College and the Contra Costa Community College District. She said she is prepared to dedicate at least five years to any position she applies for.

Alcantar said he sees Murillo as someone who will provide stability for the college.

“We need stability and leadership that is going to be willing to stay here and work with us while we’re trying to do the best for our students,” he said. “She gives off the confidence that she sees this as something that is going to be a very long-term project for her.”

Interim President Dr. Robert Deegan said the board made a wise decision.

“Dr. Murillo is an experienced college president who brings a wealth of experience to Southwestern College,” he said. “I have complete confidence that she’ll do an excellent job here for students, faculty and staff.”

Deegan said he would be in touch during the period of transition, though he said Murillo will not need any help.

“I don’t need to give her advice,” he said. “She’ll be able to hit the ground running here at Southwestern.”

Vargas said Murillo will assume office in time for spring 2017 semester, which for students begins Jan. 30. Other specifics, including terms of her contract, have not yet been finalized.