MISSION VIEJO : College District Picks Interim Chancellor

Anna L. McFarlin, president of Irvine Valley College since 1989, has been named interim chancellor of the Saddleback Community College District.

McFarlin, 58, will start her duties when Chancellor Richard Sneed retires on Aug. 31. She will work as interim chancellor until a permanent replacement is selected. A decision is expected by October.

Following a closed-session vote Monday evening, the district Board of Trustees announced the appointment of McFarlin to the interim post, an action recommended by Sneed.

“Dr. McFarlin is uniquely qualified to serve as chancellor,” Sneed said. “She is well-respected throughout the district and has held positions at (the district’s two colleges) and at the district level.”

McFarlin said she is honored to have been selected as interim chancellor.

McFarlin, a resident of Irvine for 19 years, joined the district staff in 1969, working as a counselor and instructor at Saddleback College. During her tenure there, she founded the women’s studies program and served as director of the women’s center for three years.

She also served as dean of student services at Irvine Valley College, vice chancellor for administrative services for the district, and president of Irvine Valley College since 1989.

McFarlin, originally of Kansas, holds a doctorate in education from USC and a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, Tempe.

As interim chancellor, she will oversee a district that employs nearly 2,000 full-time and part-time faculty and staff and includes about 32,000 students a semester at the Irvine Valley and Saddleback College campuses.