POTENTIAL PIERCE COLLEGE LEADERS FACE FACULTY TOP 3 CANDIDATES TELL THEIR VISION FOR CAMPUS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Fielding questions on vocational education, campus funding and the future of the campus farm, the top three candidates vying to lead Pierce College made their case at a forum Tuesday.

About 70 people, mostly faculty and staff members of the college, attended the three-hour session at the performing arts center.

Richard Follett, Pierce professor of English, said all three candidates were strong, and that he was particularly pleased that both the hiring committee and district chancellor Darroch ``Rocky'' Young gave all three a thorough vetting.

``Anybody can do a song and dance for a while,'' Follett said, ``but the committee did more than (just listen to one interview.) And Rocky has assured us that he will read all of the (audience) comments.''

The three candidates are:

--Thomas Anderson, 61, of San Juan Capistrano, currently vice chancellor of educational services at South Orange Community College District.

--Robert Garber, 58, of San Diego, now vice president of student services at San Diego Miramar College.

--Richard McDowell, 67, of Arcadia, presently vice president for academic planning at the University of La Verne.

The Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees may announce the final selection at today's board meeting, said Young, who interviewed the candidates separately Tuesday.

The new president will replace interim president Tom Oliver, who has run the 18,000-student college since January 2004, when then-president Young was promoted to senior vice chancellor for the district. Young was made chancellor of the nine-college district in May.

Garber, who spent 19 years at Pierce College prior to his work at Miramar, said transferring students to four-year universities is a key element of Pierce's mission. But he also wants the college to strengthen its partnerships with outside businesses to keep the vocational programs current and get start-up funds for new ones.

Anderson, who started his career as a respiratory care practitioner and also taught respiratory therapy, said Pierce will need to strengthen its science program in order to be competitive with changing workplace demands.

But he said Pierce's agricultural program also is important, and can operate even when the surrounding area isn't rural.

McDowell said he's known for being a person who seeks out ``win/win'' solutions to problems. In the past, there have been times where he has had to ``dissolve'' a conflict, but ``then you have new versions of the same conflict.''

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

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(1) ANDERSON

(2) GARBER

(3) McDOWELL