Hartnell President Willard Lewallen set to retire in September.

Put out the “help wanted” signs: Both of Monterey County’s community colleges are losing their presidents to retirement this year.

Last June, Monterey Peninsula College’s Walt Tribley announced he was retiring as of September.

Hartnell’s Willard Lewallen is now joining Tribley in leaving in September. He announced Jan. 4 he's retiring from his 40-year education career.

Lewallen joined Hartnell in May 2012, replacing former president Phoebe Helm. At the time he was praised by Erica Padilla-Chavez, chair of the Hartnell Community College District Governing Board, as having “vast experience” in community college budgets, accreditation issues and what’s known in collegiate environments as shared governance, a way faculty, staff and administrators share in planning and decision making.

Accreditation was an issue Lewallen had to tackle early on, when in 2013 the college was put on probation and threatened with losing its accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools (ACCJC). By the next year all 12 deficiencies cited by the commission were addressed and Hartnell was removed from probation.

The college has made “steep gains in student success,” since Lewallen took over, according to a Hartnell press release. For example, compared to 2011-12, completion of degrees is up by 159 percent and completion of certificates of achievement has increased 231 percent.

Designated as a Hispanic-Serving institution, the college has won national recognition as a top producer of minority graduates.

Lewallen credits the many successes to a culture that supports what he calls a “students first” approach to actions and decisions.

“This college is filled with faculty, staff and administrators who have a relentless focus on student success and institutional effectiveness,” he said. “They have demonstrated unprecedented innovation and creativity in transforming lives, improving quality of life and strengthening families and communities.”

Lewallen and his staff worked closely with CSU Monterey Bay for the 2013 launch of CSin3, a cohort-based computer science program that leads to a bachelor’s degree in three years, as well as the 2016 launch of the Teacher Preparation Pathway, another cohort-based program addressing the shortage of teachers in Salinas Valley schools.

He’s also credited with forming strong bonds with the agriculture industry with the development workforce programs and hosting of industry conferences and events.

Also under his tenure, Lewallen implemented the $167 million Measure T bond, passed by voters in 2016. The construction and modernization plan includes a new outreach center in Soledad, an expansion of the King City Education Center, a new home for Hartnell’s Nursing and Allied Health programs, an outreach center in Castroville, among others. All are scheduled to be completed by 2021.

"It feels like the right time to pass the leadership reigns," Lewallen said. "Hartnell is about to begin its second 100 years, and I believe a new college leader should help chart that future."

Current president of the HCCD board, Aurelio Salazar Jr., thanked Lewallen for his “sound leadership.”

“The board will work diligently to find a successor ground in the same vision around student achievement and success,” Salazar said.

A national search is planned to replace Lewallen with the goal of having his successor in place when he steps down Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, MPC is also conducting its own search in hopes of finding Tribley’s replacement by July.

In early December, the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District in Alameda announced Tribley was one of three candidates for an open Chancellor position. However, on December 18 the district’s trustees announced it was passing on all three and will restart the search.