Pima Community Collegeโs Governing Board has named an acting chancellor as the search begins to replace outgoing Chancellor Lee Lambert.
Dolores Duran-Cerda, PCCโs provost and executive vice chancellor, will be acting chancellor as of July 1, โto promote an orderly transition and continuity of leadership,โ said a news release late Friday from Theresa Riel, the board chair. The appointment is expected to last until the board selects an interim chancellor, the statement said.
Lambert, chancellor since 2013, is leaving to helm the Foothill-De Anza Community College District near Silicon Valley, California.
The news release said the board will retain a consulting firm, the Registry, to identify candidates for interim chancellor. It did not immediately say how much the consultants will be paid.
While that is going on, it said, the board will search for a permanent chancellor by:
Selecting an executive search firm;
Developing criteria for preferred candidates;
Appointing a selection advisory committee;
Providing opportunities for input from college stakeholders and the broader community;
Setting up a communication plan;
Selecting a chancellor and negotiating an employment contract.
Lambertโs annual PCC salary was $348,935.
The Governing Board voted June 14 to approve a 3% rise in property taxes supporting PCC and a $367.5 million college budget for fiscal year 2024, which starts July 1.
State funding makes up around 2% of PCCโs budget. Property taxes make up 37% of revenues, while the rest comes from a mix of tuition and fees; grants, contracts and financial aid; and college equity.
The increased taxes will generate about $4 million in extra money for PCC to put toward its operations costs. The owner of a property valued at $100,000 will pay $128.02 a year in taxes to support the college, up from $124.29 a year.