NEW COLLEGE PRESIDENT SEES SIMILARITIES TO PREVIOUS POST.

Byline: Robert Monroe Staff Writer

SYLMAR - Less than a month into her job as president of El Paso Community College, Adriana Barrera faced one of the most noteworthy experiences of her tenure.

Needing to expand an overcrowded campus but hemmed in by a historical district and wary homeowners, Barrera approached the neighbors with a deal and a pledge. When she allowed them to help design a set of dirt parking lots, over the objections of a city councilman, they reciprocated by helping the college acquire the land it needed to expand in their historical district.

``They saw that we had been very consistent and very truthful with what we said we would do,'' Barrera said in an interview. ``We involved them in the process, and we also followed through.''

Barrera said she wants to bring that spirit of inclusion to Mission College when she starts July 1. With a handful of brief visits in her experience, she said she senses an enthusiasm for the school's future and her leadership among students and teachers there that the 49-year-old finds infectious.

But ahead lie similar challenges to those she faced at El Paso, which she left in 1998. Mission, like El Paso, is a school currently without sports teams, without a complete campus and a checkered history providing for students.

``That has to be the overriding, overwhelming priority,'' said Andres Torres, an American Federation of Teachers grievance representative on campus who has been with Mission even before it officially opened in 1974. ``I would hope the new president is able to grasp the overwhelming need for that. That would be the greatest contribution she could make to this community.''

Barrera visited Mission on Thursday, the day after her appointment as president was announced. Her specific plans for the campus are limited now, though she plans several more visits before July.

But Barrera said she believes that an educational master plan under way now, in which course needs are identified, will be step one toward solving the school's most pressing problem, growth. She said she is encouraged by the way Mission is approaching the process.

``They're making every effort to be as inclusive as possible,'' Barrera said. ``I'm very heartened by what I've learned.''

Barrera has also advocated making greater use of satellite classrooms and distance education, such as online courses, to expand Mission without having to expand the campus.

She also noted that sports are returning to campus in 2002 after a five- year absence. It reflects another experience she had at El Paso, which couldn't field a baseball team until three years ago. Barrera said she learned then that athletics can be a means for students to further their academic careers.

El Paso got locals behind the baseball team only after she assured residents that no tax money would be used to fund it, Barrera said. Instead she and college administrators sought and received corporate donations to build a baseball diamond and volunteer help to keep it up.

``I think that (sports programs) are something the community is calling for,'' she said. ``I think that sometimes student athletes contribute in ways other than just playing on the baseball team, (but) that might be the only way for them to get to college.''

Observers like Torres think Barrera will have the additional task of making sure Mission gets its due from the Los Angeles Community College District administration.

Barrera said no one on campus had expressed resentment to her, and she was impressed by a hopeful spirit there.

``I know there's a honeymoon period, but I know that everybody's very pleased,'' she said.

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Photo: Adriana Barrera

Visited Sylmar campus