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| For Immediate Release | Contact: Frances Squire |
| February 23, 2009 | Phone: (559) 934-2134 |
West Hills Chancellor Frank Gornick honored at state level
Dr. Frank Gornick, chancellor of West Hills Community College District, was one of five finalists for the Association of California Community College Administrators’ (ACCCA) distinguished administrators award.
Presented during its annual conference last week, ACCCA awarded the 2009 Harry Buttimer Distinguished Administrator Award to Dr. Helen Benjamin, chancellor, Contra Costa CCD.
Named In honor of the late Harry Buttimer, the award recognizes a community college CEO for demonstrating integrity, principle, compassion, strength in leadership and contributions to colleagues, the profession, the college and the community.
In addition to Benjamin and Gornick, other nominees included Dr. Mark Drummond, chancellor of Los Angeles CCD and former state chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and Dr. Martha Kanter, chancellor of Foothill DeAnza CCD.
Dr. Gornick first came to West Hills College Coalinga from Chicago in the mid-1960s as a student athlete. He went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Sacramento State and a Ph.D. in curriculum from St. Louis University.
Dr. Gornick returned to the district in 1994 as superintendent/president and in 2001, he became the district’s first chancellor. During his tenure, the district has grown from about 600 students per semester to almost 7,000 students. He has overseen the revitalization of West Hills College Coalinga and the opening of the first new community college in California in the 21st century—West Hills College Lemoore.
West Hills was recognized at the national level in 2002 by the MetLife Foundation as the small community college nationwide that best serves the needs of a diverse student population. In 2005, Campus Compact featured the district in its publication on service learning. The district also received the State Chancellor’s Office Diversity Award in 2004 and Technology Focus Award in 2007.
In 2006, Dr. Gornick was elected president of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, a regional group of college and university presidents and chancellors, and he serves on the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. In 2004, he was named the West Hills College Coalinga Alumnus of the Year.
ACCCA (Association of California Community College Administrators) is the foremost
member-supported professional organization for administrators and managers of
California's 110 community college campuses.