William Scroggins (June, 2006)

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AccessMyLibrary    Browse    F    Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA)   JUN-06   College of Sequoias gets new leader: Trustees OK $175,000 contract for Scroggins.

COPYRIGHT 2006 The Fresno Bee

College of Sequoias gets new leader: Trustees OK $175,000 contract for Scroggins.

Publication: Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA)
Publication Date: 06-JUN-06
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COPYRIGHT 2006 The Fresno Bee

Byline: Susie Pakoua Vang

Jun. 6--VISALIA -- The search is over.

College of the Sequoias trustees voted unanimously Monday to ratify a four-year contract for William Scroggins to lead the 10,000-student campus.

The 5-0 vote means that Scroggins, 58, will begin his duties as College of the Sequoias superintendent-president effective July 1 to June 30, 2010.

Scroggins, the interim president at Modesto Junior College, will receive a base salary of $175,000 a year, about $40,000 more than his current salary.

"We believe Dr. Scroggins has the talent and understanding of all facets and perspectives of a college," said board President John Zumwalt, reading from a prepared statement.

"We have confidence that Dr. Scroggins can lead the institution through the perils ahead, including the immediate need to address enrollment issues."

Scroggins said the appointment is a "culmination" of his career.

"I've spent all 32 years of my career in higher education," said Scroggins, who was the finalist at three colleges. "I can't think of a better way to cap my long career in education."

Scroggins said he will spend time getting to know the college and district communities and looking into a possible bond specific to Hanford voters to build an education center. He also will work on filling two positions: vice presidents of academic affairs and of student services.

Trustees say Scroggins has the experience, knowledge and the people to back him up.

Scroggins has served as Modesto's interim president since 2004 and holds a doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of California at Riverside. He previously served as vice president for instruction at Modesto and taught chemistry at several colleges.

The new leader certainly has the wits, said Steve LaMar, president of the college's California School Employees Association.

"If you can't find something on Google, you go to Scroogle," LaMar recalled a Modesto faculty member saying during a recent visit to the college.

LaMar said he hopes Scroggins -- who has been characterized as a visionary, thinker and doer -- will move College of the Sequoias forward in areas such as how students are learning and what teachers are teaching.

"The world is changing and we need to be there," LaMar said.

Another plus is Scroggins' experience at the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, said Dale Norton, interim vice president of academic affairs who also served on the search committee for the new college leader.

At the chancellor's office, Scroggins was responsible for making sure that courses at the community colleges had the same degree of rigor and were transferable to four-year campuses, Norton said.

"He's worked there, and he knows the culture," Norton said.

As the district looks forward to a new leader, trustees also paid respects to outgoing superintendent-president Don Goodyear.

He had planned to retire from his position as vice president of student services last year but extended his stay to lead the college after the former superintendent-president, Kamiran Badrkhan, unexpectedly retired last year.

"We have considerable sadness in losing Dr. Goodyear to retirement," said board president Zumwalt. "He has truly transformed the college. We believe Dr. Scroggins is the right choice to build upon Dr. Goodyear's beginning."

Scroggins is married to Lina Chen, and they have a 1-year-old daughter.

The reporter can be reached at svang@fresnobee.comor (559) 622-2409.

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