`I HOPE I'VE MADE A DIFFERENCE' LEYBA HANDS MISSION TO NEW CHIEF INTERIM PRESIDENT PRAISED AS PROBLEM-SOLVER DURING DIFFICULT TIMES.Byline: LISA The first personal computer to include integrated software and use a graphical interface. Modeled after the Xerox Star and introduced in 1983 by Apple, it was ahead of its time, but never caught on due to its $10,000 price and slow speed. M. SODDERS Staff Writer SYLMAR -- Despite serving as interim president of Mission College for just seven months, Jose A. Leyba said he feels he made a difference and sees brighter days ahead for the college. In an interview Friday, his last day in the position, Leyba credited strong support from Mission's faculty and students, as well as the Los Angeles Community College District The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) is the community college district serving Los Angeles, California and some of its neighboring cities. In addition to typical college aged students, the LACCD also serves adults of all ages. Board of Trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. and Chancellor Darroch ``Rocky'' Young, for helping him steer the 7,300-student college through a period that included ordering mandatory mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, sessions to quell quell tr.v. quelled, quell·ing, quells 1. To put down forcibly; suppress: Police quelled the riot. 2. faculty tensions and a radical revision of the campus's unfinished master plan. ``I feel honored to have been part of that team, and the president to move the college through difficult times now to a time when it's great to be the president of Mission College,'' Leyba said. Leyba, 54, of Chandler, Ariz., will continue to visit the Sylmar campus through July to help the new interim president, Ernest H. Moreno, 60, of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , who is on loan for a year from East Los Angeles College ELAC is a two year college, offering associate degree programs in over 25 fields as well as both academic transfer courses which prepare students for admission to the University of California and California State University system and occupational programs which prepare students for . ``I think he (Leyba) made a lot of progress in terms of finally getting people to the table and getting people talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to each other and starting them on the road to resolution,'' Young said. ``We were incredibly fortunate to find someone of his abilities who was willing to come on an interim assignment, knowing that in Los Angeles, we have the rule that (the interim president) cannot be an applicant for the (permanent) job.'' Angela Echeverri, Mission Faculty Senate president, also gave Leyba high marks for trying to do more than just be a caretaker president. ``I think he worked harder than anyone has ever worked at Mission,'' Echeverri said. ``He tried so hard to make progress; I think he gave it 200 percent. ``He inherited inherited received by inheritance. inherited achondroplastic dwarfism see achondroplastic dwarfism. inherited combined immunodeficiency see combined immune deficiency syndrome (disease). a lot of issues, and he did the best with what he was handed. He's bent over backwards to be fair to everyone, and sometimes when you do that, people think you're being unfair because you're not taking sides.'' But she said the intense media scrutiny of Mission's faculty tensions has obscured more serious issues and may have unfairly contributed to the college's enrollment decline. ``We have some excellent educational programs -- an outstanding science department, a very strong math department with a huge Title IX (federal) grant to help students with math and a math lab tutoring program,'' Echeverri said. ``Some of this other stuff gets all the attention, and people might form a negative impression of the college when we have so many good things to offer our students. ``We're a quiet little jewel tucked away in the Northeast valley, and when people discover what we have to offer, I think they're pleasantly surprised.'' Ultimately, the campus has the potential to grow to 15,000 students, Echeverri said, and the college's faculty is working on a program-viability process to help develop new programs, including the development of a completely online associate's degree as·so·ci·ate's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a two-year college after the prescribed course of study has been successfully completed. . But to add more programs, the college first must increase its enrollment, which means more focus is going to have to be placed on recruiting students from area high schools and marketing the college, Leyba said. Other challenges loom loom, frame or machine used for weaving; there is evidence that the loom has been in use since 4400 B.C. Modern looms are of two types, those with a shuttle (the part that carries the weft through the shed) and those without; the latter draw the weft from a . The campus is facing an accreditation visit from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. next March, and is facing some opposition to a land purchase that would help it complete its master plan. Nearly a third of the student body have high school diplomas A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. from other countries, and many are the first in their families to graduate from high school, let alone go to college. Many arrive unprepared for the rigors of college work, but eager for the chance to succeed. ``We have to create more of a college/university climate here on campus, where transfer is one of the primary goals,'' Leyba said. Currently, about 41 percent of the students attend classes only in the evening, and 38 percent are pursuing vocational training, while 27 percent plan to attend a four-year college. Leyba hopes the expansion of the campus under the new, developing master plan will allow the college to focus more on its associate's degree and transfer programs. He is encouraged by students like the truck driver who told him he followed a Mission College shuttle bus to find the campus ``because I know I don't want to drive a truck for the rest of my life.'' ``Community colleges are going to save the country because we educate anyone and everyone,'' Leyba said. ``It still remains the door for opportunity. ``I want this place to reach its potential, and I hope I've made a difference.'' lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3663 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: As Mission College's interim president, Jose Leyba saw much change during his tenure. Now he's moving on to pursue other interests as he reflects on the past years. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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