The board of trustees voted to hire Linda Lacy as the next president of Cerritos College on August 12.

Negotiations regarding her starting date will now begin, according to Acting President Bill Farmer.

The current Vice Chancellor of Student Services and Operations at Riverside Community College, Lacy, was one of two finalists in the Cerritos College presidential search. The other was Mark Zacovic, Interim Vice President of Administrative Services at Pasadena City College.

The presidential search committee conducted site visits on both finalists’ respective colleges.

Prior to choosing its top two candidates, Cerritos College held open forums for the five initial finalists, which lasted from June 16 to June 18.

Farmer will return to his former position as Vice President of Academic Affairs. He expressed his gratitude as Acting President in a recent email to campus colleagues titled “President’s Message.”

“It has been a joy to work with all of you this year as Acting President. I have appreciated your support as we successfully tackled the challenges thrown at us,” said Farmer.