RUONLINE? /theroundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews @roundupnews
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
/roundupnews
New Pierce president nominated
Woodland Hills, California Volume 130 - Issue 12
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Alexis Montevirgen would be the youngest leader in school history THE ROUNDUP NEWS Staff @RoundupNews
A
fter a year-long search, Alexis Montevirgen was nominated May 13 to be Pierce College President, pending approval of the Board of Trustees. The Board is expected to consider and approve the appointment at its next meeting on June 5, according to Los Angeles Community College District Director of Communications William Boyer. Montevirgen, who will be Pierce’s youngest president at 40 years old, said in an email interview he is honored to be selected. “I am extremely eager and very much look forward, once approved by the Board at its June meeting, to join Pierce College as your next President,” Montevirgen wrote. “I consider it an honor and a privilege to have been selected as the candidate being presented to the Board to fill the position, and I am confident that my extensive background in higher education, and in particular, the California Community College system, prepares me well to join a campus community of students,
faculty, staff, and community members who are committed and passionate about student success.” Several dozen candidates applied from a national pool for the position. The Chancellor and College Search Committee was looking for a candidate who is committed to student access, success and equity, takes strategic risks, communicates effectively, builds strong teams, develops effective external partnerships, and has a strong financial and operational ability. Montevirgen believes he fits the position well and is excited to start. “In considering whether or not to even apply for the presidency when it was first brought to my attention back in December, I paid particular attention to the desirable qualities that were listed on the position announcement, and after reading through each of the desirable qualities, I was sure that I was a great match for what the college needed and was looking for in its next president,” Montevirgen wrote. “While this will be my first presidency, I have been very intentional in looking for an institution like Pierce College and the Los Angeles Community College District where I can see myself being at for an extended period of time,
and hopefully even being the institution that I ultimately retire from 15-20 years from now.” The candidates went through a series of interviews with the Search Committee, Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez and Board of Trustees. Montevirgen was one of five finalists, according to Rodriguez. “Dr. Montevirgen emerged from a pool of excellent, wellqualified finalists,” Rodriguez wrote in an email interview. “He possesses the educational and professional background that align exceptionally well with the responsibilities and vision for the position.” Montevirgen is expected to start on Monday, July 1. He will replace Larry Buckley, who is acting as Interim President. Currently, Montevirgen acts as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Indiana University, Northwest, and he has been there since 2014. He started in 2006 as the Director of Student Life for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District. Montevirgen has previous experience in the California Community College system. Starting in 2009, he served
at the College of Alameda in the Peralta Community College District, Alameda, Calif., as Dean of Enrollment Services before becoming Vice President of Student Services. He worked for the California State University (CSU) system for several years and held internship positions with the University of Pennsylvania and University of California, San Diego. Montevirgen has a doctorate in education from CSU’s San Francisco State University; a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree from U.C. San Diego. James McKeever, one of the Screening and Interview Committee members, said he is hopeful that Montevirgen will move the campus forward. “This is a diverse campus that is predominantly Latino and starts doing more for the population that actually comes here,” McKeever said. “Our previous president did a great job at hiring people of color and we need to corporate other portions of the community, especially in areas that we service the most.” newsroom.roundupnews@gmail.com
Homeless students pay out-of-state tuition
[see PHOTO ESSAY on pg. 5
DANIELLE PADILLA Online Editor @dcxpadilla
[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com] Katya Castillo / Roundup Shilo Nelson leads Goat Yoga hosted by ASO Social Cultural Committee in the Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills Calif. on May 13, 2019.
Can a homeless student be a resident of California? Without documentation with a California address on it, California Community Colleges don’t recognize these students as residents of the state and charge $242 of out-of-state tuition per unit in addition to other enrollment fees. Before California community college students can enroll in classes, they must register through CCCApply. Students who register successfully receive a welcome that includes their School Identification Number, school email and campus resources. However, if a student selfidentifies as homeless in their application, they will receive a separate email notifying them of their non-resident status outlining how much they will be paying for out-of-state tuition. “CCCApply has been set up in a way that, at least for now, that if you don't have an address or if you use an out of the state address, the system itself codes you as an out-of-state student, unfortunately,” Pierce Registrar Lorena Lopez said. After being determined as non-residents, these students must fill out a Supplemental
The Weather Roundup The Pierce College Weather Station has provided meteorogical data to national agencies since 1949 Find out more at piercecollegeweather.com
Wed. May15 High:72 Low: 58 Cloudy
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Community College District
Thur. May 16 High: 65 Low: 51 Showers
Fri. May 17 High: 70 Low: 53 Sunny
Sat. May 18 High: 71 Low: 55 Cloudy
Sun. May 19 High: 65 Low: 52 Cloudy
Mon. May 20 High: 68 Low: 52 Cloudy
Tues. May 21 High: 67 Low: 53 Cloudy
Wed. May 22 High: 70 Low: 54 Sunny
Residency Questionnaire and bring at least two documents from a provided list proving their state residency, including a California driver's license, auto registration, savings and checking accounts in California banks and receipts for paid utility bills. These students are prompted to email or visit Admissions and Records to reverse the decision. Once students are there and submit their paperwork, they are referred to the Financial Aid office to meet with Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Anafe Robinson. While there is no additional funding for homeless students, an additional benefit these students receive is provided by AB 806. This bill allows students who are coded as homeless to receive priority registration. “They have an appointment to see me and there's paperwork that they normally fill out, and if they are in that [homeless] status, then I code them appropriately and in our system,” Robinson said. “And that will then include the student in the priority registration process, so we can track them. Then I assist the students with their financial aid to make sure that it's done or completed in a timely manner. So I track them to make sure that they do receive their funding because they are
in need of funding right away.” Once coded as homeless, students can go to Lopez, who can change their residency status. Once that is changed, their cost of tuition will be updated and their priority registration status will take effect. “So if it happens right in the middle of the spring, just to give an example,” Lopez said, “I have the power to backdate that status all the way to the beginning of the semester in order for the students to receive the benefit from the beginning of the semester.” Lopez explained that the state is trying to identify homeless students in a better way, so they are not initially coded as out-of-state. Since it a statewide system, Lopez said that this is not a problem secular to Pierce, it is a result of the CCCApply configuration. “I just know that here's the chance to correct this, and so we'll focus on that part,” Interim President Larry Buckley said. Buckley brought up this matter up at the President’s Council meeting on May 10. Until CCCApply develops a new way to accurately code the residency status of homeless students, the current system remains. dpadilla.roundupnews@gmail.com
Opinions .................2 News.............................3 Features ...........................4 Photo Essay........................5&6 Campus Life............................7 Sports........................................8