The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees has yet to offer a reason for placing Chancellor and CEO Dianne Van Hook on administrative leave, but it is moving forward with introducing an interim chancellor and preparing to conduct a search for a replacement, while also looking Monday to fill two empty seats on the board.
The district board at College of the Canyons in Valencia voted unanimously 3-0 on July 10 to place Van Hook on administrative leave. Interim chancellor David Andrus began his new role on Monday.
“Her title is chancellor but she is no longer active,” board vice president Jerry Danielsen said of Van Hook. “More will be revealed sooner rather than later.”
Only three trustees were present for the vote to place her on leave. Chuck Lyon resigned from the board in June and was not at the meeting. Sebastian Cazares was not present at the meeting because of a family emergency.
Although publicly the district has said only that Van Hook — who is on contract until 2027 — is on leave, Danielson said he is already planning on a search for a new chancellor. It was unclear whether the district has already moved to fire Van Hook or if it will have to buy out her contract.
“We are not currently searching because we’re getting David Andrus, who just started his role on Monday — it’s only been a few days — he is just getting his feet on the ground, figuring out what’s going on,” Danielsen said.
However, there will be a search for a new chancellor and Danielsen said he wants the board to include community input in the process.
“There will be a robust, active search,” Danielsen said. “We will probably have a committee steering us toward where to look, about putting the word out nationwide. That’s a process that can take months and months and months. It could take six months, it could take eight months. That process has not officially yet begun because this is all brand new stuff. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”
The CSEA Chapter 725, a union that represents some employees at the college, and the Classified Senate presented a resolution to the Board of Trustees in June. It included a request to “hold accountable those responsible for the current climate conditions and those who have perpetuated and enabled a culture of psychological unsafety.”
“I appreciated that resolution, the thought that went into it, the words that went into it,” Danielsen said. “And I agreed with a lot of it. The resolution was not at least part of my personal consideration … I was listening. I was listening to what they had to say.”
The resolution requested the board report to employees specific measures and direct actions being taken to rectify what they called the “current climate crisis” at the college.
A survey to gauge the feelings of employees and state of workplaces at the college was conducted by the Research and Planning Group in the spring of 2024.
The results of the survey were mostly positive, with 64% of respondents rating the campus climate at COC as either somewhat (36%) or very (27%) positive, while 32% rated the campus climate as either somewhat (21%) or very (11%) negative.
“The climate survey revealed very great things about the college,” Danielsen said. “It’s a wonderful place. It’s like yin and yang. You can focus on negative or focus on positive. I try to look at it and look at how great this college is. Are there things we can work on? Yes.”
The survey contained 64 items — 52 fixed-choice items and 12 open-ended items — and included employee demographic and characteristic information and questions related to campus climate and engagement.
The survey was completed by 625 employees at the college, about 58% of those who were asked to participate. The campus climate experiences were mixed, with notable differences between employee classifications.
“In general, the feeling of workplace belonging was high among employees, but experiences varied at the department and college levels when it came to feeling heard and fearing retaliation for speaking up,” according to a report from RP Group. “Overall, employees feel welcome at the college and enjoy the work they do there. However, they do not feel they can report concerns or provide critical feedback about the college without fear of retaliation, nor do they feel that complaints and concerns are taken seriously and addressed promptly.”
Danielsen said it could take months to find and hire a new chancellor. The board is also seeking candidates to appoint to the seat vacated by Joan MacGregor, who is resigning effective Aug. 5.
“We’re going to have an appointment process for Joan MacGregor’s seat that’s vacated,” Danielsen said. “I don’t know for sure when that will be but there’s talk about that happening in September. That’s a pressing thing we’re working out.”
The seat vacated when Lyon resigned is up for election in November. The winner of that election will fill the remainder of Lyon’s term, which ends in 2026.
The college’s next regularly scheduled board meeting is Aug. 14 at 5 p.m.