In the culmination of an exhaustive nationwide search, the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District has selected Erika A. Endrijonas, Ph.D., as the district’s next superintendent/president.
Endrijonas, who is currently president of Los Angeles Valley College, will assume the leadership of Pasadena City College (PCC) in January 2019. Her hire is subject to the parties reaching mutual agreement on an employment contract, with formal approval expected at the district’s Jan. 16, 2019, regular board meeting.
“I am thrilled to join PCC at a time of such impressive growth at the institution,” Endrijonas said. “My entire career has been focused on finding new ways to ensure students succeed in their goals – no matter their background or their dreams. The team at PCC is firing on all cylinders and helping more and more students reach new heights. I can’t wait to get to work.”
“Dr. Endrijonas is exactly the leader that PCC needs at this moment,” said Anthony R. Fellow, Ph.D., board president of the Pasadena Area Community College District. “Her exceptional record as an administrator and her service throughout her community have distinguished her as a stellar executive who will guide the college into the next chapter of its history.”
Prior to her service at L.A. Valley College, Endrijonas was executive vice president and accreditation liaison officer at Oxnard College and dean of educational programs at Santa Barbara City College. Statewide, she has served on the California Community College boards of the Chief Instructional Officers and Chief Student Services Officers associations and the Association for Occupational Education. She is also a board member of the California Community College Athletic Association and co-chairs the board of the national association LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from California State University, Northridge, and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California.
As it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2024, PCC has established itself as one of the nation’s leading two-year colleges. In the 2017-18 academic year, it awarded more associate degrees (4,028) and associate degrees for transfer (1,393) than any other community college in California. It has been recognized for embedding equity and diversity in its hiring and retention of faculty and staff, and in Spring 2019 it will begin offering college classes in Northwest Pasadena on the campus of John Muir High School.
In May 2018, the Aspen Institute named PCC one of 10 finalists in a $1 million national competition to honor innovation in two-year colleges, citing its achievement in graduating students who go on to succeed at four-year universities. The honor represents the second consecutive time PCC has been recognized by the Aspen Institute, placing it in a select set of institutions that are adapting to meet the needs of the next generation of community college students.
The executive search was managed by Benjamin Duran and Dean Colli of PPL, Inc. Endrijonas succeeds Rajen Vurdien, Ph.D., who is retiring after having served as the college’s chief executive since 2015.
