In a 5-1 vote, the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees selected Jerry Buckley as Reedley College’s next president and Angel Reyna to lead Madera Community College Center.

Trustee Annalisa Perea abstained from the vote and Trustee Eric Payne voted no, saying he would like to have an inclusive discussion around input from faculty, staff and community members.

Nevertheless, Buckley said he is “absolutely honored” to be Reedley College’s next president.

“This is a very special opportunity for me to be able to take my 29 years of experience and try and work with a college and a community to basically help build programs to where they really achieve what they would like to achieve.”

Buckley was selected over Donna Berry, who took over as the interim president of Reedley College after Sandra Caldwell left the position in June 2018.

Reyna Excited For Opportunity at Madera Campus

Reyna competed against one other finalist, Claudia Lourido-Habib, for the Madera Center post.  Lourido-Habib has been vice president of Madera and Oakhurst Community College Centers since January 2017.

“I am very excited for the opportunity that (Chancellor Paul) Parnell has given me,” Reyna said. “I’ve worked really hard for this position and look forward to working with others to do the best in terms of serving our students.”

Parnell said Buckley and Renya are going to be terrific leaders for their respective campuses.

“Both of these individuals have a heart for students and they will be a great fit,” Parnell said. “I am very pleased.”

It gives us great pleasure to announce the hiring of Dr. Jerry Buckley as the new president of Reedley College. Welcome, Dr. Buckley! #GoTigers pic.twitter.com/2CdBy14tDH

— Reedley College (@reedleycollege) March 6, 2019

Jerry Buckley

Buckley has been the assistant superintendent/vice president of academic affairs at Santa Clarita Community College District since August 2013. He also served as vice president of instruction at San Diego Community College District.

While at Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, he held the positions of senior dean of planning research and institutional effectiveness, acting vice president of academic affairs, dean, interim associate dean, and professor.

He earned his Ed.D. in educational leadership from San Diego State University, his master’s in biology from California State University, Fullerton, and his bachelor’s in biological sciences from USC. He is also a graduate of the LACCD/UCLA Presidents Academy.

Buckley said his main focus as president during the first few months is meeting people and finding out what the greatest needs of the college are.

“My aim is to take the skills that I have developed over the past 29 years and figure out how to plug those skills in for Reedley and help it continue on its trajectory for growth,” Buckley said. “I would also like to help improve the connection between the various communities that work with Reedley College.”

Angel Reyna

Reyna has served as vice president of instruction at Renton Technical College since December 2015.

He previously served as dean of workforce education at Walla Walla Community College. At Yakima Valley Community College he held the positions of director for workforce education, interim industry coordinator, and ESL adjunct instructor.

Reyna was mayor of Mabton, Washington, from 2010-2013 and a city council member 2006-2009. He also worked as a seasonal migrant farmworker for 13 years.

He earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and bachelor’s degree from Washington State. Reyna is working toward a doctorate in organizational leadership at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus.

For Reyna, mission fulfillment and making the path for students to succeed as seamless as possible are his main focuses.

It gives us great pleasure to announce the hiring of Angel Reyna as the new president of Madera and Oakhurst Community College Centers. Welcome, Mr. Reyna! #GoMountainLions pic.twitter.com/foGUaD20XJ

— MaderaCCC (@MaderaCCC) March 6, 2019

“Our students are not just our students while they are on campus,” Reyna said. “They are our students when they go home and if there are barriers at home or within the community that prevent them from coming back to us then we need to work collectively as a community to ensure that we can remove those barriers.”

A New Beginning

Reedley Area Trustee Magdalena Gomez said she is excited to work with her new colleagues.

“I congratulate them, I welcome them, and I look forward to working with them to make the state center successful,” she said.

Despite voting no, Payne said that he is looking forward to Buckley and Reyna to lead SCCCD as its new presidents.

“I think diversity and equity are values of the system and I look forward to those values being reflected on those campuses because student success is imperative in our system,” Payne said.