Golden West names interim president

Andrew Edwards

Sharon Donoff, a longtime community college administrator in Orange

County, has been chosen to lead Golden West College through the next

school year.

The Coast Community College District board of trustees selected

Donoff as the school’s interim president at its June 16 meeting. The

job will be her second administrative post at the college. She came

out of retirement to work as interim vice president of student

services from September 2003 to March of this year. From 1986 to

2001, she held that position at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

She has stayed active in student services even after her

retirement. For two years she has edited iJournal, an Internet

publication devoted to the topic. The latest issue focused on how the

Web can be used in student services and featured articles on how the

Internet can be used to help long-distance services and provide

online counseling.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and a master’s degree

from Cal State Long Beach. According to iJournal’s website, she has

spent three decades in student services.

Donoff could not be reached for comment. Erin Cohn, a spokeswoman

for the district, said Donoff was on vacation.

Donoff will fill in for outgoing President Kenneth Yglesias, who

will leave the college to serve as the district’s chancellor.

Yglesias praised Donoff’s leadership style, saying she did a good job

cooperating with her colleagues and tackling tasks personally.

“She’s a very collaborative, people-oriented administrator,”

Yglesias said. “She works very strongly with people.”

Donoff’s many years in student services were key in the trustees’

decision, board President George Brown said.

“We look for somebody that’s had some experience,” he said.

Brown said Donoff could be a candidate for a permanent job, except

she doesn’t want a long-term position.

“She’s retired,” Brown said. “She came back to help.”

Donoff will lead Golden West as community colleges across

California grapple with budget cuts stemming from the state’s deficit

troubles. Fees at community colleges have increased as the amounts of

classes offered have been cut. Threatening to make matters even more

difficult is a proposal from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office to

redirect freshmen applying to the University of California and

California State systems to community colleges.

Different budget proposals in Sacramento could raise student fees

to $22 or $26 per unit, up from the current level of $18, Cohn said,

adding that junior colleges could have trouble accommodating as many

as 7,000 students who could be redirected from four-year schools to

community colleges.

“Given the fact that we have cut so many classes, we’re not sure

where we would put those students,” Cohn said.

Yglesias predicted money matters would take up a good deal of

Donoff’s term at Golden West.

“All of higher education is under a tough, tough fiscal

situation,” he said. “It’s going to be tough keeping your eye on the

fiscal side.”