At its organizational meeting on Dec. 19, the Santa Barbara City College District Board of Trustees elected Robert Miller as president of the board for the 2020 calendar year. Peter Haslund was elected board vice president.
Miller, who represents Area 2 (Goleta) and served as board for 2019, was first appointed to the SBCC Board of Trustees in February 2018. He was born and raised in Iowa and moved to Southern California in 1998.
Miller earned his bachelor of science degree in 1968 from Iowa State University and his J.D. in 1984 from the University of Minnesota.
Prior to law school, Miller served in the Peace Corps, served as a congressional assistant, managed a U.S. Senate campaign and served as the deputy assistant secretary for refugee affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He practiced law with the firm of Bowman and Brooke, LLP, from 1985 until his retirement in 2015.
Since retiring he has volunteered as a legal mediator for the Superior Courts in Santa Barbara and Ventura. He also provides private mediation services. In 2014, Miller and his wife moved to Goleta, where he has been involved in numerous community activities. He currently serves as a commissioner with the Goleta Planning Commission.
Haslund, who also served as vice president of the board for 2019, joined the SBCC Board of Trustees in December 2010. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1949.
Haslund was educated in Los Angeles and received an associate degree from Los Angeles City College and a bachelor of arts degree from Cal State Los Angeles. He completed a master of arts at Midwestern University, Texas, and a Ph.D. at UCS.
He was awarded professor emeritus status upon his retirement from SBCC in 2009 after 40 years in the classroom teaching political science and global studies.
— Luz Reyes-Martin for SBCC.