New Pasadena City College Superintendent-President Seen as “Breath of Fresh Air” to a Campus Wracked by Discord

As Pasadena City College draws near to the start of Fall Semester on August 31 burdened by accreditation probation, a court order to change its schedule back to the semester basis and a history of rancorous discord, its new Superintendent-President walks the hallways with a twinkle in his eye and an apparent calm confidence.

Dr. Rajen Vurdien’s personal style — and life history — are strikingly different from his predecessor, Dr. Mark Rocha.

“He is really a breath of fresh air to the campus — which we sorely need. He seems knowledgeable, open and direct. As long as we can have open discussions on campus I think we’ll be able to work through them,” Mary Erin Crook said, PCC Faculty Association Director, the body organizes union efforts. “I am hopeful.”

Crook said the last four years with Dr. Rocha were “tumultuous,” saying he would mandate rather than collaborate.

Vurdien seems to offer the completely opposite approach. He says he believes in an inclusive approach working with everyone.

One indication of this openness is Vurdien’s plan to host open monthly forums to give students, faculty, staff and the public the uncensored opportunity to dialogue about what is happening at the college.

“I do believe that we need to be patient, we need to be able to listen to the various groups we work with,” Vurdien said in an on-campus interview. “I do sincerely believe that we need to all work towards the common goal and that common goal is students’ success. We cannot be pulling in different ways.”

The largest challenge that lies ahead for the President is to establish a working participatory governance and strategic plan by October in order to climb out of accreditation probation.

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) placed PCC on academic probation for a “climate of distrust,” an erosion of “participatory governance” and a “lack of respect” among employees. Observers say that in the recent past administrators and teachers have worked against each other to reach the same goal of serving the students.

Knowing the difficulties that lie ahead, Vurdien says he depend upon his past experience as an administrator in four community colleges including five years as the Fullerton College President as a road map to navigate the issues.

With the many challenges that life has given him, Vurdien believes that nothing happens by luck and every situation, no matter how difficult, is a blessing in disguise.

“Nothing is difficult. All it takes is for people to come together and work as a team. That’s what makes everything successful,” Vurdien said. “I don’t see them as problems, I see them as opportunities to improve on the way we do things.”

Under Rocha’s reign, the college faced criticism for a number of disruptive incidents which led to no-confidence votes against him by the Faculty Senate and the Associated Students.

Among Rocha’s most controversial decisions was the elimination of winter intersession classes without going through the shared governance process. A judge recently ruled that the college must reinstate the winter session and pay back wages to teachers who would have taught those classes.

Art history Professor Sandra Haynes said she had not yet met the new president.

“I try to be optimistic, but the rebuilding of trust between faculty and administration is going to take a long time,” Haynes said.

Former student trustee Marshall Lewis, who submitted papers to run for the 4th seat on the Pasadena City College board of trustees, said Bob Miller’s interim presidency following Rocha’s departure helped pave the way to build back bridges between students, faculty, and staff with administration.

“I saw over the past year everyone come together and look past the things that have happened before and start to rebuild. The next step is crucial in getting the board and all groups to work on this participatory governance. From what I’ve seen it looks like Rajen is a good advocate and vehicle for that,” Lewis said. “He is cordial and open, he’s a very easy person to speak with.”

Gazing out at the fountain outside his office, Vurdien remembered back to a time when getting water from the well was an every day chore for him and his four younger siblings.

“Coming from where I come, I have to be optimistic,” Vurdien said. “If you were to go to the poorest area of Pasadena, you would not know how I grew up.”

On the British Colonized island nation of Mauritius where Vurdien grew up there was no running water in his neighborhood. Houses were made of patch. The floor was made of cow dung. There was no indoor plumbing. There was no bathroom. The river was the place of bathing and clothes washing. The first electricity came as a single light bulb in his home when he was 8.

Had he not received scholarships from sixth grade up through the university he attended in France, Vurdien said he could have been stuck on the islands cutting sugar cane for the rest of his life.

“I know what it takes. I mean, when I see students coming, I know how hard life is for them. And I want to inspire them to do well. If I made it, look at where I come from. They’re born in America. They have all the advantages that the whole world doesn’t have. So they don’t have any reason not to succeed,” Vurdien said.

Vurdien said he enjoys students immensely and as soon as school starts he will most often be found out talking to students, going back and forth with jokes and stories.

“My job is to ‘feel the campus’ so that when I go out in the community and speak about Pasadena City College I can display the passion of this institution, I can carry the ethos, the values associated with this campus to the outside world,” Vurdien said.

 

Also see: New PCC Superintendent-President Holds Open Town Hall Meeting, Confronts College’s Probation
Published : Tuesday, July 21, 2015 | 5:41 AM