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School’s 11th
President
Still in Early
Stages.
Raul Cabral
News Editor
Dr. James Kossler
In a move that seemed to surprise members of the PCC com¬
munity, Dr. James Kossler, president of PCC for the last 11
years, will retire at the end of the academic school year in June.
A veteran of over forty years in the field of education, Kossler
leaves one of the most prestigious community colleges in the
state. “I believe that this is a good time to leave for a couple of
reasons. First, I’m 66 Years old, and I hardly think that you
could call that an early retirement,” he said. “Second, I believe
the college is in a good place and the academic report is in good
shape, so that obviously made my decision easier.”
A sudden demand for community college presidents also
played a role in his decision. “There are currently over 30 open¬
ings for presidencies at community colleges across California,
and I wanted to put PCC in play,” he said. “I believe that this is
a very desirable and prestigious job, and I would be very sur¬
prised if it didn’t attract a lot of attention.”
Once his retirement becomes official, Kossler intends to trav¬
el and relax before deciding what the next chapter in his life will
be. “Next Spring, I plan to visit some family and head out to
Florida to tour the (Major League Baseball) Spring Training
sites,” he said.
One thing he will not be doing is assisting in the hiring of the
school’s next president. That task falls to the Board of Trustees,
who recently held public forums for both members of the cam¬
pus and community in order to get their input on what they
would like to see in the school’s next leader.
Ralph Hurtado, a member of the Latino Advisory Commit¬
tee, stressed more community involvement as something PCC’s
next president should take part in. “We would like to see a more
seamless transition between the area high schools and PCC,” he
said. “Not only in academic courses, but also vocational cours¬
es, because, as we know, students continue to drop out at an
alarming rate.” Hollis Stewart, a PCC staff member, agreed. “I
want a person who reaches out to the middle schools and high
schools in the area; I want someone who inspires kids to come
to PCC,” he said.
Hurtado also expressed a desire to see more Hispanics in high¬
er positions at the college. “During Dr. Kossler’s tenure, we have
seen an advancement in the recruitment of Latino Faculty mem¬
bers, which we applaud, but we would also like this institution’s
See page 3
Lawsuit Takes Turn in
Professor’s Favor
Judge’s decision brings a lawsuit one step closer to resolve.
Stacey Wang
Managing Editor
A PCC adjunct professor will finally
get his day in court after a judge recent¬
ly decided not to dismiss his lawsuit
against a local American Red Cross
chapter.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary
Allen Feess ruled in favor of continu¬
ing the wrongful termination lawsuit
filed against the San Gabriel Pomona
Valley Chapter of the American Red
Cross by Dereck Andrade, a public
relations and journalism adjunct pro¬
fessor at PCC.
The judge found that there was suffi¬
cient evidence to show that Andrade
may have been terminated unreason¬
ably by the chapter’s former CEO,
Angie Turner, over a year after
Andrade filed suit.
The chapter claims that Andrade
leaked information to the media about
employee, Fred Brito, a convincted
felon who falsified his identity while
working with the chapter.
John Goodman, lead attorney for
the local American Red Cross chapter
refused to comment on the lawsuit.
“The termination notice was pretty
vague, so that’s when Dereck filed his
civil suit,” said Andrade’s attorney,
James Otto.
Andrade claims that he was unrea¬
sonably fired for objecting to Turner’s
alleged gender bias in hiring a chief
development officer.
“It’s been a humiliating process,” he
said. “The Red Cross has attributed to
my humiliation by alleging I leaked
information, but the real reason was
because I would not discriminate
See page 2
Daniel Belis
/
Courier
Matthew Merril's father, Ramon, tearfully embraces a member of the PCC baseball team.
See page 4
The Only Independent Student Voice of PCC, Serving Pasadena Since 1915
Volume 95, Issue 1
Pasadena City # College
pcc-courieronline.com
Player Honored at Home Opener
President
to Retire
