“I have worked with Ken in various capacities in this District for a couple of decades, and I can now be confident that I am leaving this District in extremely capable hands,” Vega said.

         "Dr. Yglesias has been an important part of this district’s administrative team for 18 years, and I am confident that he is the right person for this important job,” said Board President George Brown. “His leadership skills and his thorough knowledge of our district will be important as we begin the monumental task of implementing Measure C and renovating our colleges for the next generation of students.”

         District voters passed a $370 million general obligation bond measure in November 2002 to renovate and expand aging facilities at its three colleges - Coastline Community College, Golden West College and Orange Coast College. In the next year, the district expects to break ground on many of those new construction projects.

         "This is an exciting time to become chancellor, and I’m thrilled,” said Dr. Yglesias. “The Coast District is a dynamic and rapidly changing organization. Rapid change is evident and surrounds us. Long time employees are retiring, new faculty and staff are beginning their careers here, fiscal realities are shifting, trends toward educational accountability are evolving and, yet, the organizational cultures at our three colleges must endure. I look forward to providing leadership and continuity, and to preserving an organizational culture that I know to be first rate.”

         Dr. Yglesias has been with the Coast Community College District since 1985, when he was hired as Associate Dean of Instruction at Coastline Community College’s Westminster Center. From 1989 through 1991 he held various administrative positions at Coastline. He served as administrative director of educational services at the Coast Community College District Office in Costa Mesa from 1991 through 1995, when he was hired as the President of Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

         During his presidency, Dr. Yglesias worked on many major statewide policy issues for community colleges. He served as the vice president of the southern region of the California Community College Chief Executive Officers (CCCCEO) organization, and was elected to three terms on the statewide CCCCEO Board. In addition, Dr. Yglesias is a senior member of the California Community College Commission on Athletics, the statewide policymaking organization that governs community college athletics.

         Dr. Yglesias received his doctoral degree from the University of Southern California in 1977, his Master of Arts from Western Carolina University of North Carolina, Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Florida and an A.A. degree from St. Petersburg Junior College of Florida.

         His experience as an educator spans more than 35 years, beginning as a public high school teacher, coach, and service as a university professor, community college instructor and administrator. Dr. Yglesias was a Foreign Service officer during President Jimmy Carter’s administration and served both in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Yglesias will take over as chancellor of the district on July 1, 2004.

        The Coast Community College District is the seventh largest community college district in the nation in credit enrollment, serving 55,000 students each semester.  The district is comprised of Coastline Community College headquartered in Fountain Valley, Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, and KOCE-TV, the district’s public broadcasting station.

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