Dr. Kindred Murillo, superintendent/president of the Lake Tahoe Community College District (LTCC), was selected by the Southwestern Community College District Board of Trustees as their finalist for school’s new superintendent/president. The Trustees voted for Murillo at a special meeting Monday and they anticipate taking final action to appoint her and approve a contract at their December 14 meeting.
Murillo has been at the helm at LTCC since July, 2011. Citing allergies to pine trees, Murillo notified the LTCC Board in January 2016 that she’d be living by Spring of 2017. Her replacement at the South Lake Tahoe campus will be announced during the LTCC Trustee meeting on December 6.
During her tenure at LTCC, Murillo facilitated the successful passage of the $55 million Measure F, successfully diversified the college’s revenue sources and focused the college on student equity.
Southwestern serves a population of 60 percent Hispanic and is located in the town of Chula Vista. There are over 26,000 registered student at the school which offers 300 courses of study and degrees.
“There is not better college in California to do student equity work, the work of ensuring students have the support, regardless of their academic preparation and socioeconomic status to succeed at their educational goals,” Murillo told South Tahoe Now. “This issue is a national imperative when you know that we are moving to a plurality or majority-minority nation, and if we cannot attain equity for all students, and close the access and achievement gaps, our nation is going to suffer both socially and economically.”
“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,” said Governing Board President Nora E. Vargas.
Murillo had been up against two other finalists, Dr. Reagan Romali, president of Harry S. Truman College in Chicago, and SWC’s Dr. Angelica Suarez, vice president for student affairs.