Cerritos has also had two interim presidents, Dr. Walter Magnuson from July 4, 1992 – June 30, 1993, and Dr. Morgan Lynn from May 15, 2000 – June 1, 2001.
Harmon, the former president of Adirondack Community College in Queensbury, N.Y. arrived at Cerritos in May so that she could begin getting acquainted with the college.
She officially began her new job June 1.
Harmon will be succeeding Dr.Fred Gaskin, who left Cerritos in June of 2000 to take the job as Chancellor of the Maricopa Community College District in Arizona.
Although there was controversy among administrators, faculty and staff surrounding her hiring last spring, Harmon says that since coming to Cerritos in May, she’s had a chance to work, and meet with a number of them who were on campus during the summer.
She “[thinks] there is quite a comfort level with who I am, and how I operate, and how I’m going to fit into this organization and help to move . . . [it] forward.
“I think if you’ll talk to people on campus, you’ll find that.”Wayne Nunnery, director of operations said, “I’ve watched her actions, and so far I’m impressed.
He said he spent three-and-a-half hours with her, and they went around and looked at the whole campus, where he showed her what he called, “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of the school; the parts of the school that are in good shape, as well as the parts of it that are in need of repair.
“My gut feeling is we’re going to see good things,” Nunnery said.
“[Harmon] is out working hard to meet people,” Bob Chester, faculty senate president said, “she’s been active and busy so she’s doing what she’s supposed to do.”
Toni Ann Sallade, facilities scheduling/coordinator said, “She’s been doing the things that she said she was going to do.
“You know that’s the best way to build a positive relationship, and I think she’s succeeding in that.”
While the board of directors was conducting its search for a new president last spring, most of Cerritos College’s students were oblivious to the process, or the controversy it was causing on campus.
When polled, many students had no idea who Dr Jane Harmon was, let alone that the college was searching for a new president.
Harmon does not think that was a bad thing. She feels that for the students, the president should be in the background.
“[To] the student, on an everyday basis, if a campus is healthy and running well, the president isn’t necessarily someone who they need to even have an awareness of,” Harmon said.
“They’re not going to come to Cerritos College because of the president, they’re going to come because of the outstanding faculty, the outstanding programs, the people in student services, the counselors, the people that they have contact with on a day-to-day basis.”
That said, Harmon does want the students to know who she is.
“I want them to know that Dr. Jane Harmon is here to serve students,” she said.
“I want to be as visible as I can with students. I want to be able to meet with student leadership, with student clubs, I’d like to be in on celebrations because I want people to know that the president of this organization, as well as everyone else here is there for them.”
ASCC President, Nassarin Bonyadloo said, “Dr. Harmon has welcomed the student body with open arms.
“I’m impressed with individual time that she allows for everybody.
“I am excited about her great vision for Cerritos College.
“Sara and I are looking forward to working with her.”
Harmon feels Cerritos is progressive, innovative, and that it understands its role; a role that she thinks she is a perfect fit for, one that did not feel quite suitable for Adirondack College.
Harmon feels that Cerritos “is very different than the organization I was at previously. And I think that’s a real critical factor. You need to understand who you are as a leader, and what your values are. As much as possible you have to match that with the organization that you’re going to be leading.”
Before coming to Cerritos, Harmon says she wanted to make sure that it is “an organization that fit with who I am and what I believe, and I believe that’s absolutely the case.”
While there were grumblings at Adirondack College that under Harmon it was becoming too vocational, she says that she is “very excited” about Cerritos because “[we] are truly a comprehensive community college, and I’ve been at institutions that haven’t understood that role, that you can have a strong academic and honors program, and at the same time have a strong career and vocational program.
“Those are not mutually exclusive. They all belong in a community college, and Cerritos is doing them all very well.”
Harmon says that in coming in as Cerritos’ new president, what was really critical was to get a “sense of the culture, the history, and the strengths and weaknesses of this institution, to get a sense of where this institution has come from, and where people want it to go.
“And in doing that, you find what it is that you can do in order to further that mission in order to bring that institution along.”
Harmon says her primary responsibility as president will be to ensure that Cerritos College runs smoothly, that the mission and the objectives of the school are being fulfilled, that people are being hired using a fair process, that they’re being supported in the job that they’re hired for, that they’re being evaluated, and that information is shared with them.
Harmon says it’s also important to present a public face to the community, and to state and national organizations. In this way, she plays a key role in getting grants and recognition at these levels.
For example, if Cerritos College wants to obtain funds to improve the facilities here on campus, she takes the lead in bringing everyone together in a cohesive fashion so that people will see that this is something that they want to support and get behind.
At the same time, she says she has to make sure “we’re fiscally responsible.
“The money is serving the needs of the students,” Harmon says there are many programs at Cerritos that address the issues concerning our community, and that help to make it strong. As president she wants to support them.
“I think one of the roles that a community college can play is to help to ensure that the economy and their area remains very strong, and I want to make sure that we have strong relationships with our business and industry in our area, and I will continue to build on those relationships because I think it serves the students of this institution very well.”
Dr. Jane Harmon has come clear across the country to take the job as president of Cerritos College.
And she says, “I love L.A., I love the energy, love the diversity, love the whether. There’s a real vitality here,” that she says both she and her husband are enjoying.The prices of homes in southern California, however, have left them in sticker shock.
“It’s so much more expensive here than it is anywhere else,” Harmon said.
Because of that, she says they have decided to lease while they look around awhile.
Harmon’s husband is a freelance writer, so where they live is very important to him because he is home writing a lot.
Harmon does say she loves being close to the ocean, however.
So far she says she has seen some of the state park areas, some state beaches, and she also went to the Getty Center.
Surprisingly, Harmon says, “I haven’t really run into any real problems on the freeway.”
