Profile of Linda Fontanilla, IVC's VP for Student Services

     Just who is Linda Fontanilla?
     As you know, she began work as Irvine Valley College's Vice President of Student Services on August 13, 2012—sixteen months ago.
     —Well, she grew up in Fresno. Graduated from McLane High School there in 1968.
     Soon thereafter, she enlisted in the Air Force, where she was an air traffic controller.
     After her four years of service, she continued as an air traffic controller with the FAA—in northern California—until the air traffic controller’s strike of 1981 (August).
     Then, as a single parent, she set about earning her Masters in Organizational Behavior (CSPP in Fresno) and Doctorate in Educational Leadership (La Verne U) while working as a social services administrator.
     She went into higher education, first as the Campus Director of San Joaquin Valley College, a for-profit junior college in Visalia, just south of Fresno.
     She also served as the executive director of the YWCA/Marjoree Mason Center in Fresno.
     Later, she became Dean of Student Services at College of the Sequoias (2004-2008), also in Visalia, CA, and then Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Student Services at Cuesta College, near San Luis Obispo (2008-2012), about 150 miles southwest of Visalia.
     According to an IVC campus profile,

     Linda is married with one son. Her husband [Walter Deissler] is [a corporate]... architect for In n Out Burgers [sic] and her son [Robert Briggs] is an engineer with the Visalia Fire Department, but will soon transfer to the Long Beach Fire Department. During the week Linda and her husband reside in San Dimas, but return often to Visalia where they maintain their home of 25 years and can check in on Linda's 91 year-old mother-in-law.

     According to IVC, her education is as follows:

- AA, Sacramento City College [communications]
- BA, Loyola Marymount University [Los Angeles] [speech pathology and audiology]
- MS, California School of Professional Psychology [part of Alliant International, a private, non-profit higher education institution; it became accredited by WASC in 1977; it has a campus in Fresno]
- EdD, University of La Verne [a private not-for-profit university in La Verne, in north LA County; it has a Bakersfield campus]

     In the above profile article, Fontanilla is quoted thus:

     "Education and helping others understand the importance of valuing other's differences are two cornerstones of my life. I am a certified diversity trainer and have spent much of my professional career working with organizations in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of the very diverse population we serve it is imperative for California community college administrators to be open-minded and keenly aware of those whom we serve."

     "I am extremely humbled and honored to have been selected for the position of Vice President of Student Services at Irvine Valley College. Each day I grow even more excited about coming to work at IVC. I am anxious to meet my co-workers and begin the work of serving students. My professional philosophy is 'Students are our business, therefore students come first.' I plan to demonstrate this throughout my career at IVC."

… "My top three priorities will be: 1. To get to know the students, staff and faculty at IVC. I want to understand the culture of the organization so that I can become an effective and productive member of our college. 2. To ensure that the Student Services programs are ready and positioned to make the necessary changes as required by the Student Success Task Force recommendations. 3. To ensure that programs are funded, stable and prepared to serve students to the fullest extent possible."

…" Over the next three to five years I would like to see all student services programs be in a position to fully support the District's goals, our institutional goals and strategic objectives, while giving every student at IVC an opportunity for access and success. Our student services programs will work in concert with the rest of the college and on a daily basis to prepare for accreditation while striving to meet the standards."

     In her Epsilen bio, she (apparently) says: “I have a passion for seeing young people, particular underrepresented students, change their lives and a second passion for ensuring that we all understand how important it is to value other's [sic] differences.”
     In the above “campus profile,” she tells us: "My varied and unique careers have given me great life experiences in preparing me to serve students, under-represented staff and students, and to work with individuals from all walks of life."
     Eight months ago (April 10, 2013), the Irvine Rotary Blog featured a (not terribly revealing) piece on Fontanilla: Linda Fontanilla - Craft Talk.

* * *

     ACCREDITATION TURMOIL. It seems that, at the time of Fontanilla’s exit from Cuesta in 2012, turmoil prevailed there, owing to years-long accreditation difficulties. You can get some sense of the turmoil here:

     Cuesta College removes ‘underperforming’ vice president (6/27/12)

     The vp referred to was, not Fontanilla, but Cathleen Greiner, who, a year later, was named as IVC’s dean of Online and Extended Education in July of 2013. (See also Cuesta puts ex-accreditation official on leave.)
     In the above-mentioned article, Fontanilla’s exit is also reported:

     Also, Linda Fontanilla, vice president of student services, is leaving the college to take the same job at Irvine Valley College. Her replacement has not been named.
     Fontanilla had been pursuing jobs in Southern California for several years to reunite with her husband who moved there five years ago for work. Her decision to leave Cuesta College had nothing to do with the turmoil the college faces, she said.
     “I’ve made it very clear that I am not running away,” Fontanilla said. “The timing is coincidental and unfortunate.”

     According to Wikipedia (here),

Ornelas 2008

     In 2012, Cuesta College's regional accreditor Western Association of Schools and Colleges placed the college on "show cause" status, warning the college that its accreditation might not be renewed. A year later, the college's accreditation was renewed and its status upgraded to "on warning." The Tribune, the local newspaper of San Luis Obispo, described this as the result of a "years-long struggle to fix several deficiencies identified by the commission [that] came at a cost: lower enrollment, difficulty recruiting applicants and damaged morale."

     Another among Fontanilla’s colleagues at stormy Cuesta was Nohemy Ornelas, Cuesta’s dean of student services.