COUNTYWIDE : College District Picks Acting Chancellor

Gene J. Farrell of Huntington Beach will serve as acting chancellor of the Coast Community College District when Chancellor Alfred P. Fernandez retires Aug. 30.

Farrell, who has been the district’s vice chancellor of administrative services since 1989, will take over until a permanent chancellor is hired, probably in October.

Farrell, 56, who is not a candidate for the chancellor post, was appointed acting chancellor by the board of trustees on Wednesday.

He came to the Coast Community College District in 1969 as an instructor and coach at Golden West College.

He was named associate dean and athletic director at Golden West in 1980 and moved to associate director of business services at the college in 1982.

He became dean of administrative services at Orange Coast College in 1986.

Farrell received master’s and bachelor’s degrees in physical education from Cal State Long Beach and a degree from Compton College.

He has done postgraduate studies at then-Chapman College and Cal State Fullerton and graduated from the Business Management Institute at Stanford University in 1985.

The Coast Community College District, the fourth-largest district in the nation, includes Coastline Community College, which has its headquarters in Fountain Valley, Golden West College and KOCE-TV Channel 50 in Huntington Beach, and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

The district has more than 53,000 students and employs about 2,600 full-and part-time faculty and staff members.