Finalist Dr. Willard Clark Lewallen, 55, was born in San Rafael, Calif., and has been the president at West Hills College since 2007.

He said he would love to be apart of the future here at City College.

“The last step of my career is to work at a college where I can work directly to the board,” he said. “Santa Barbara City College would give me that opportunity.”

Lewallen believes that financial resources are one of the largest issues among community colleges that should be prioritized. He said that the financial issue has always been there for the last five years, and that it needs clear measures.

“I want to make sure that each person knows their role and the function of the committee,” he said. “We need to educate people more, because every year we end up in different groups.“

The question of budget cuts is a big issue, and the finalist states that it would be a tough decision if a department would be reduced to facilitate budget cuts.

“There is not one easy answer or a magic solution to this,” he said. “The reality is that many Community Colleges [are] going to face this in a near future and there has to be policies and procedures how to process this in the best way.”

Lewallen also ads that this isn’t something that he take lightly.

“People losing their jobs is one of those things that keeps me awake at night,” he said. “We are not just talking about persons but families that would be affected, and those are not easy decisions to make.”

He continues with saying that there are many issues that should be taken care of. One of them is informational technology.

“Everybody wants the boldest, fastest, the most recent,” Lewallen said. “The challenges are how to use all of that but also to pay for it. It is only two things, tool for instructional innovation and learning, and a tool for innovating efficiency.”

“You need to be that leader that can find new ways and opportunities through innovation,” he said. “As president you are accountable to the board of effectiveness of the institution.”

Aware of the City College board violations found by the Accrediting Commission, and the college’s warning of losing accreditation standards, he said that “accreditation standards are statements of good practice, and if you fall short of them there is an opportunity to improve.”

“Every institution has challenges and issues, but that leads to new opportunities to make improvement and changes,” he said.

He said he believes it to take a lot of work to be able to have a college working with the structure of shared governance.

“You have to believe in it and have all your heart in it,” he said. “A college needs policies and guidelines that state ‘This is how shared governance works at this institution.’”

City College has a big population of international students that Lewallen is well aware of, and he said that international students have a positive influence on the native students.

“I really support international students studying here in California,” he said. “It is a big benefit for us to be around different cultures and languages, and it ads another element for the native students.”

Clarifying that it’s a big and sensitive issue to talk about the increase of international students, “we have to see it from a bigger picture in today’s economy. But, I’m very supportive about it,” he said.

Shortly after his birth, his family moved to the town of Ramstein, Germany, where he spent the first four years of his life. He grew up in Pomona, Calif., where he also continued his studies at California State Polytechnic University.

“College was some of the best years in my life,” he said. “I was definitely not the most gifted one in college, but I worked really hard.”

Dr. Lewallen, a Christian, has been married to Michele for 30 years, and they have three children together: Jennifer, 26, Casey, 24, and Parker, 22.

As a guitar player on the side, he meets up with his band “The Second Time Around Band,” a couple of times each year. The band consists of faculties from different Community Colleges in California.

“We have been playing back and forth for eight years,” Lewallen said. “It is a great way to get together.”

Dr. Lewallen enjoys running in his spare time. He ran the L.A Marathon twice with his wife. Also, they like to go backpacking, especially in the Eastern Sierras.