The Hope of Mission College

SYLMAR —  For 25 years, the administrative office at Mission College was like a Silver Lake cafe--everybody was an actor. Four of the school’s nine top administrators were acting presidents. They were supported by a transient corps of acting vice presidents.

Then the school tapped dusty El Paso, a very un-Hollywood locale, for its new president. Now with five months on the job, President Adriana Barrera has become the hope of Mission College and, in some ways, the Latino community it serves.

Residents hold her up as a sort of people’s leader because she is the first Latina to head the campus nestled in the foothills of the northeast San Fernando Valley.

“People wanted a presence they could count on,” Barrera said Thursday. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere any time soon, and my inauguration will be a symbol of that permanence.”

The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. today on campus.

Barrera, 51, a former president of El Paso Community College, inherited one of the Los Angeles Community College District’s newest campuses and Mission’s first balanced budget without special assistance from the district.

Even so, she had revamped the way administrators make financial and academic decisions and had begun a campaign for new construction, all by the time classes started in September.

The faculty at Mission has remained fairly stable despite adjusting to new leadership every two or three years, said professor Leslie Milke, president of the Academic Senate.

Faculty members believe Barrera will help prepare the 7,100-student campus for an anticipated growth spurt in the next five years, during which time enrollment is expected to climb to 10,000, Milke said.

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“We really needed a stabilizer, and that’s what we got,” Milke said. “After adjusting constantly to different leadership styles, it’s good to be working with someone who has lots of ability and who is inclusive.”

District Chancellor Mark Drummond has seen Barrera buzzing around campus and has found her in the office on weekends.

When Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Daniel Castro left to become president of Los Angeles Trade-Tech College, Barrera asked the chancellor if she could take on Castro’s responsibilities rather than hire another vice president.

“She’s got so much intellect, sensitivity and endurance,” Drummond said. “If I have any concern, it’s that she temper herself so she doesn’t overdo it and wear herself out.”

Barrera acknowledged she is nearing burnout and said she may soon cut her work week from seven days to five.

Aside from initiating change on campus, she has aggressively sought community input in planning the college’s future.

Northeast Valley community activists insisted on taking part in selecting the new president after complaining last year that past presidents were out of touch with area residents.

They have monitored Barrera’s moves since she took office and many give her high marks for her outreach efforts.

“I unhesitantly tell you it’s not because she is a Latina,” said Javier Flores, executive director of the Latino advocacy group Pueblo y Salud.

“She is very, very skilled, extremely accomplished, and Mission College will do very well with her. She understands the community needs. If she didn’t, her nationality would not matter.

There are plenty of examples of people with Latin American backgrounds who have been our worst enemies.”

The community needs often translate into vocational training for northeast Valley residents, Barrera said.

While Mission has one of the lowest transfer rates among the state’s community colleges to four-year universities, according to a study released last week by the California Community College Chancellor’s office, it performs its primary role well, which is preparing students for specific jobs, she said.

The campus also performs an important role in the social lives of residents, who hold weddings and quinceanera celebrations there on weekends, she said.

“Our child-care-provider network and culinary arts programs are things this community needs,” Barrera said.

“We are establishing a new transfer center, but at the same time, we recognize we have a nontraditional role as an academic and social institution to the people around us.”