Superintendent/president finalists discuss leadership and equity

The three finalists in the running to be the next superintendent/president introduced themselves to the public and answered questions in a May 25 forum over Zoom. Their final interviews will take place on campus in a closed session with the board of trustees between May 27-28.

The forums were moderated by Lisa Sugimoto, vice president of PPL Inc. Each candidate spoke at their own forum, where they answered pre-submitted questions read by the moderator. Board of Trustees Clerk/Secretary Laura Bollinger said she expects the position to be appointed at the June 15 meeting.

The forum questions and finalists’ responses and statements have been edited for brevity. The forum recordings are available at the public forums website.

Santanu Bandyopadhyay is a first-generation Indian immigrant from Bombay. He traveled to the U.S. 21 years ago to pursue his master’s degree in business administration and later his doctorate degree in higher education at Ohio University. He previously served as the president of Columbia College and is the current president of Modesto College.

He said he is a good fit for Citrus College because of his experience with bond-funded construction, success with faculty negotiations, proven track record in fundraising and advocacy at the federal, state and local level.

Bandyopadhyay said he is the man he is today because of two things: public education and the support of the folks around him on his campus, who helped guide him in his career. 

Bandyopadhyay said Citrus College is in an excellent position to make a difference because of Measure Y, the support of the community, the school’s dedicated staff and initiatives that will contribute to the regional economy, and it is a dream come true to lead in this position.

“If we can change those lives, we can make these people feel that they belong here — that they grow here, they settle their roots, and then go anywhere that they can to take on the challenges of the world,” Bandyopadhyay said in his closing statement. “That would be a dream.”

Brian Sanders is the child of community college graduates from Northern California. After earning his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Oregon, he attended the University of California, Davis for his doctorate in educational leadership. A math professor, he served as dean of science, mathematics and engineering at Modesto College before becoming the vice president of instruction and accreditation liaison officer for Columbia College in 2016.

Sanders highlighted his experience at a large Hispanic-serving institution and comfort in a similar demographic to that of Modesto as reasons for applying for the position at Citrus College. He said he appreciates that Citrus is at the forefront of many initiatives in the community college system such as the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, guided pathways and strong workforce programs that support the community.

Sanders also recognized the “fantastic opportunity” that Citrus has with the $298 million bond fund from Measure Y. He said his current district has been working with a similar bond that has been transformational to its college, noting his work on a three-story, $70 million STEM center. He said he would love to be the next superintendent/president to lead the next phase of implementation at Citrus. 

“Every dollar needs to be spent to help more students earn their degrees and certificates in the state of the art training and facilities,” Sanders said.

Greg Schulz grew up in the city of Orange, is a graduate of Fullerton College and the current president of Fullerton College. After graduating with his associate’s degree in business administration, Schultz transferred to California State University, Fullerton to pursue his bachelor’s in business administration/accounting and entered the workforce. Later, he pursued a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Long Beach and a doctorate in educational leadership from University of Southern California.

Schulz said he became an educator in 2000 after accepting a position to assist with accounting and budgeting at North Orange Continuing Education, a “vibrant community of non-credit and community education,” where he later became the dean of instruction and student services and eventually provost. 

Schulz moved to Long Beach City College, where said he enjoyed implementing dual enrollment programs and academic pathways to guide students on their academic journeys. His success in various leadership roles afterward led him back to Fullerton College as the president of his alma mater. 

“I love the work that we do,” he said. “It brings me joy to serve in the community colleges and to lead an institution of higher education, and I’m very enthusiastic about the opportunity here at Citrus College to serve as the next superintendent/president.”

• What do you believe makes you a good leader?

Santanu Bandyopadhyay

Bandyopadhyay said that collaborative decision-making is at the forefront of his leadership style.

“I honor the input of all of the people who are going to be impacted by the decision,” he said.

Bandyopadhyay said in the fourth month of his presidency at the Yosemite Community College District, faculty contract negotiations had reached impasse and a strike was initiated.

Although it was a situation he “inherited” early on in his presidency, Bandyopadhyay said it was dealt with by getting perspectives from all constituency groups on campus.

He said another important part of his leadership is admitting when he is wrong.

Brian Sanders

“I think a good leader is someone who people are willing to follow, and to follow somebody you need to have trust in their person, their knowledge, their integrity,” Sanders said.

Sanders said he is a planner by nature, but has to be adaptable.

“If you chart the course and you realize it’s not going to work because of the effective input from other people, I’m going to change my mind, and I think that’s the kind of humility that people are striving to find in an effective leader,” Sanders said.

Greg Schulz

A good leader, Schulz said, is someone who has passion for their work, empathy and integrity. In his current role, he prioritizes honesty about successes and failures.

As superintendent/president, he said it will be his job to “facilitate and cultivate a healthy institutional culture.”

He said making the campus culture “one that students enjoy learning and know that we are there to support them,” and “where they compare the experience of their current college and say ‘What is this place? I’ve never been in a place like this one’” is fun and rewarding.

• What strategies have you employed at other colleges to address equity gaps between students, and diversity among faculty and staff?

Santanu Bandyopadhyay

Closing equity gaps needs to happen inside and outside of classrooms, Bandyopadhyay said, and starts by not hiding processes. He said Modesto Junior College has had success implementing culturally responsive pedagogies.

“Changing the pedagogy to a culturally responsive pedagogy has tremendous power to change our equity gaps or reduce our equity gaps,” Bandyopadhyay said. “But I particularly appreciate the Academic Senate’s resolution where the Citrus College Academic Senate has decided that they will also incorporate the culturally responsive pedagogy in the classroom.”

Bandyopadhyay also started Columbia College’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative as a program under the president’s leadership, which he said focused on professional development, such as exposure to different cultures and implicit bias training.

Brian Sanders

Sanders said he focuses on actual, versus perceived, results and adjusting curriculum for student success.

After he became dean of science, mathematics and engineering at Modesto Junior College, he said he was able to “dive into my own grade reports amongst others, and found that I wasn’t nearly as successful as I thought I was, and to this day that’s one of the things that’s most frustrating for me,” Sanders said, wishing he could go back in time to “do some experimentation in my own teaching styles.”

He said he will use his experience as a mathematician, researcher, dean and vice president to “help design and build these kinds of interfaces and dashboards that allows individual people to see the results that they’re having.”

Greg Schulz

At Fullerton College, Schulz said he has expanded the Puente Program, a program for underserved learners that provides them with a mentor and a designated counselor.

He credits Fullerton College for supporting an emerging community of Black and BIPOC students as part of a partnership with African American Male Education Network and Development.

“We’re able to interact with community leaders to make even stronger connections with regional partners, and to share about all the wonderful opportunities that exist in our college,” Schulz said.

When hiring new faculty and staff, Schulz said they are continuing to reevaluate and reexamining their hiring practices.

“When we’re interviewing our candidates, we get together both committees and examine the strengths of each of our candidates and also are really intentional about diversity,” he said.