2008 Woodie Awards
President tackles new semester
Rosalynn Garcia
Issue date: 9/3/08 Section: News
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Geraldine M. Perri, Ph.D., was appointed superintendent/president of Citrus College on May 30 by the board of trustees to take over for Dr. Michael J. Viera. She began her three-year contract on July 1.
Having previously served as a community college president, Perri attributes success to collaboration between the different levels of personnel and the development of a positive work environment.
"I really want to connect with people," said Perri, who plans on using the beginning of the fall semester to introduce herself and get to know the faculty and staff.
A community college graduate, she enjoyed the close-knit structure of the system as a pupil and now places an emphasis on listening to the needs of the students as an administrator.
She graduated valedictorian from Hostos Community College and was immediately given an internship.
"From a very early age, I always wanted to lead. I had a natural affinity to be an educator," she said.
Working in the City University of New York system, which governs only six community colleges, she moved to Southern California for the "versatility of a system that had over 100 community colleges."
Perri served as vice president of instruction at San Diego Mesa College for four years before being unanimously selected by the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College Board of Trustees to be the president of Cuyamaca College.
It was under her leadership that the school achieved its highest enrollment in its 30-year history. The college also constructed three new facilities and was able to increase the school budget during that time.
After being handed the reigns at Citrus, Perri almost immediately faced the pressure of dealing with an emergency on campus during which, she was given an opportunity to view the readiness of Citrus College firsthand.
As superintendent/president, she is also head of the Emergency Operations Center. Under her leadership after the earthquake incident on July 29th, a post-emergency meeting took place in which all members present discussed the effectiveness of the current emergency plan and what actions may be beneficial to the school.
Steps to improve the emergency readiness of Citrus has since taken place, including a printed designation of all positions within the EOC and the assigned members.
All members of the EOC were sent a packet, each different in accordance with the position of the individual, listing their responsibilities and general operational duties in the event of an emergency.
In addition, Jeff Eichler, the safety programs coordinator will be sent to participate in the Great Southern California Shakeout, a region-wide earthquake preparedness drill, and represent the school.
The school will also be preparing for its scheduled accreditation visit in fall 2009, dealing with any issues that may result from the state budget crisis and also with the constant construction and development of the campus itself.
"We still do not have a state budget so anything that comes around because of the state budget or lack of a state budget will also be a priority," said Paula Green, director of communications.
The consistent construction and on-campus development will be continuing throughout the semester.
Of the seven projects currently in development and pre-construction, five are expected to be completed during Perri's tenure including three new facilities and the softball field complex.
Though most of the project planning and development has been either completed or is already in progress, Bob Bradshaw, project manager, expects that the superintendent/president will be more directly involved in the design of the future remodeling project on the Administration Building set to begin construction in Fall 2010.
Rosalynn Garcia can be reached atruntateer@hotmail.com
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