As you know, last night, at the monthly SOCCCD board meeting, the trustees announced that Tod Burnett has been named as the President of Saddleback College, succeeding Richard McCullough, who retires at the end of this month. (See A New President.)
I had heard from reliable sources that the Presidential search committee recommended three candidates to Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur, but, upon interviewing those three, Mathur exercised his option to go back to the candidate pool to interview candidates not forwarded to him. The word on the street is that Burnett, who admittedly looks good on paper (although he lacks experience running colleges; he's essentially a politician/bureaucrat), was a beneficiary of that late process. I have no confirmation of this however.The Register’s Marla Jo Fisher has just posted a Q & A with Burnett:
Q: What’s your family status?
A: I’m unmarried, no kids. I have a dog, though, a fawn pug named Rudy. Yes, he’s named after Rudy Guiliani, whom I had just seen that week and thought it was a good name. He’s the cutest pug in the world.
Q: What’s your favorite music?
A: I love all music but especially 80’s music. My favorite band is Tears for Fears.
Q: What’s in your car CD player right now?
A: Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve
Q: What kind of car do you drive?A: A gray 2007 Acura RDX. I wish I had a hybrid, though.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I like all athletics, tennis, hiking, biking, whitewater rafting. I’m a big college football fan, especially the USC Trojans. I’m excited about the Gaucho football team and all the athletics there. I also like movies, theatre and all the arts, weekend trips to wine country and the mountains. I used to have a cabin in Lake Arrowhead for many years.
Q: Do you have a place to live in Orange County?
A: I’m looking for a place, probably in Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo or Laguna Woods. It’s a 24/7 job so I want to be near campus.
Q: What are you looking forward to, and what makes you nervous about your new job?
A: I’m looking forward most to working directly with the faculty and staff and the community on campus, after working on a statewide level. We all miss that. The traffic makes me anxious.
Q: What one thing would you like students to know about you?
A: That they can come to me for any reason, with anything they want. I’m accessible.
Q: The South Orange County Community College District has been under fire from a variety of sources over the years. Did you have any trepidation about coming here?A: No, not at all. I think one reason I was selected is because I’m an outside fresh face. I believe everybody is there for the students, hopefully I will be helpful.
Q: What will you be wearing on campus? A suit and tie?
A: Good question. I have to figure out what’s appropriate to the culture of Saddleback College.
Q: What kind of movies do you like?
A: I like a lot of action adventure. My favorite is Indiana Jones. I also like heavy dramas.
Q: What did you think about the new Indiana Jones movie?
A: It was pretty good but not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark. That was my favorite.
Q: What are you reading right now.A: I’m reading a business book, “The Long Tail” about Internet and advertising marketing and sales; also, don’t laugh, but “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” I love all those fantasy-adventure type books.
Q: What do you think about Orange County TV shows like the OC or Real Housewives of Orange County?
A: I have to say I have never seen them.
(I asked Rebel Girl if she'd read the above Q&A, and all she could say was, "80s music?! Tears for freakin' Fears!?"—something like that. I couldn't get her to move beyond it. Classic Rebel Girl.)
7 comments:
One can see that Marla has grown in sophistication. Her intellectual acuity sets a very high bar for the liberal set who reads this magnificent dribble of a blog.
9:10, are you saying that people who read this blog are liberals?
That would make you a liberal, right?
And in what sense is Marla setting "a bar" for readers?
What the f*ck are you talking about?
9:10, my advice: don't use words when you don't know what they mean.
As usual, Rebel Girl has honed in on some key issues: I share her concerns about Tears for Fears.
How about the dog named Rudy?
A fawn pug no less?
Indiana Jones?
9:10 is obviously a troll. To think that little puff piece is a serious intellectual interview is too stupid to be for real.
Marla Jo's "interview" with the new SC College Pres. sounds a bit like an "E-Harmony" or "Match.com" profile. Come on Marla, do we want a College Pres or a date? Get with it Marla...are you reporting "news" or trying to get a date?
So sorry to the folks who spent their valuable time serving on the SC Presidential Search Committee, just to have your work dissed by a chancellor who was intent on hand picking his own "boy" based on one hiring committee member's opinion. That ought to be a clue...serving on any district level hiring is a total waste of time as long as Mathur is Chancellor.
C'mon Don...can you do something now that your "eyes are opened".
Where r u Don?
Some other questions she could have asked:
What is your favorite color?
What model car do you drive?
Who is your favorite Osmond?
Do you think Britney will get pregnant again?
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