Chabot chooses first woman president

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Dec 14, 2007 | by Kristofer Noceda

HAYWARD -- Dr. Celia Barberena will usher in a new era by becoming Chabot College's first female president in the school's 46- year history.

The current vice president of student services at Hartnell College in Salinas has been tapped by district officials to replace retiring president Dr. Robert Carlson beginning Jan. 14.

"It is so surreal and it's just beginning to settle in," Barberena said during a phone interview today. "But I'm very excited at the opportunity to serve such a multicultural student body and an area with such a variety. That is my passion ... to serve nontraditional and first-generation college-bound students."

A native of Nicaragua, Barberena came to the United States on an academic scholarship to study at Ohio's Findlay College, where she obtained degrees in economics and sociology, and earned her doctorate in education administration and supervision and her master's in Spanish from Bowling Green State University.

Before her current post at Hartnell, she was dean of special programs at Modesto Junior College. She also has taught Spanish at Sacramento City College and critical thinking and study skills at Bowling Green State University.

Barberena will earn an annual rate of $193,000, with her contract up on June 30, 2010.

"She is passionate about our mission and the students we serve," said Dr. Joel Kinnamon, Chabot-Las Positas Community College District chancellor. "I truly believe she will become a shining star in our district and among her colleagues on a state and national level."

Barberena said she plans to get in tune with campus needs by talking to the Chabot community and developing a plan once she settles in next month.

"I want to know what needs to be done in the next 90 days and the next nine months," she said. "We'll develop a plan in conjunction with the district so that we can be a team in working together."