The Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees voted 5-2 to appoint Erika Endrijonas as the college’s new superintendent/president during a special meeting Monday.
Endrijonas currently serves as the superintendent/president at Pasadena City College — where she has been since January 2019 — and previously worked at SBCC for nine years as the career and technical dean before leaving in 2009.
“It has been my goal since I left SBCC to return,” Endrijonas said. “It is where I started my community college career. I am thrilled to render services in a place I love.”
She was one of the original three finalists for the job in March and spoke at a public forum before the Board of Trustees reopened applications and extended the search process.
“Dr. Endrijonas brings a strong commitment to the work we do for the student access and success,” Board President Jonathan Abboud said. “She has a wealth of experience as a community college president overseeing a budget of over $300 million at Pasadena City College, and she served as a dean at SBCC for nine years. She has demonstrated that she is equity and antiracism focused, transparent and collaborative.”
The SBCC Board of Trustees appointed Endrijonas in a split vote: Jonathan Abboud, Charlotte Gullap-Moore, Robert Miller, Anna Everett and Ellen Stoddard voted in favor and Marsha Croninger and Veronica Gallardo voted against.
SBCC’s previous superintendent/president Utpal Goswami resigned in mid-2021 and the college has been led since then by Kindred Murillo on an interim basis.
At her public forum as a finalist for the position in March, Endrijonas emphasized the importance of understanding who the college’s diverse learners are in order to best serve them.
“We need to serve the students who are here, not the students we thought we would have at some point in time, and the only way to do that is to survey, do the research and get the information,” Endrijonas said.
After the three finalists held their public forums, the SBCC Board of Trustees decided to extend the search and reopen applications, but allowed the finalists to remain in consideration if they desired.
The Board’s selection of Endrijonas as the new superintendent/president is still subject to labor negotiations, and approval of her contract is set to take place during the June 15 Board of Trustees meeting. Her official start date in the position is currently set as Aug. 1.
Endrijonas will be the seventh leader Santa Barbara City College has had in the last 10 years, including interim superintendent/presidents.
Endrijonas’ past positions include president of Los Angeles Valley College, executive vice president of Oxnard College, assistant dean/director of the University College at Oglethorpe University in Georgia, and learner services coordinator at Granite State College in New Hampshire.