Monterey Peninsula College announces five finalists for superintendent/president position.

The Monterey Peninsula College District Board of Trustees has selected five finalists after a nationwide search to fill the position of superintendent/president, including the college's own David Martin, the former vice president of administrative services who stepped in as the interim leader after the departure of Walt Tribley in 2019.

Martin has been credited with bringing some stability to MPC after a tumultuous period of discord between the faculty and administration. His career includes serving as chief financial officer and later interim vice chancellor at City College of San Francisco, where he worked before coming to MPC. He's currently completing a doctorate in higher education leadership through Drexel University.

The other candidates include: Pamela Ralston, Ph.D., who serves as executive vice president of educational programs at Santa Barbara City College; Tammy Robinson, Ph.D., vice president of instruction at Cañada College in Redwood City; Mark Sanchez, Ph.D., assistant superintendent/vice president of student success and support programs, College Centers at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo; Christopher Villa, Ph.D., recently serving as campus president at Portland Community College-Rock Creek, in Portland, Oregon.

For one of the candidates, Sanchez, it would mean a return to Monterey County. Before working at Cuesta College he was dean of student affairs and counseling at Hartnell College.

The district is holding public forums over Zoom on Oct. 19-20 to give students, faculty, staff and members of the community a chance to hear from each candidate. It's possible the board of trustees could vote to hire a new superintendent/president at its next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Less than a week later is Election Day, after which the board itself could see up to three new leaders join. At a minimum, they'll have two new board members; two board members are retiring and only one incumbent, Loren Steck in Area 5, is running for reelection.

For complete information about the forums and more detailed biographies of the finalists, go to mpc.edu/execsearch2020/forums.