SAN MARCOS —Palomar College has narrowed its nationwide search for a new president to two.
The board announced this week that the two finalists to succeed Robert P. Deegan, who retired in June, are Gregory Anderson, a vice president at Cañada College in Redwood City and Lynn Neault, a vice chancellor with the San Diego Community College District.
Palomar’s board of trustees will interview the finalists Nov. 4 and the finalists with participate in one of two public forums Nov. 6 at the Howard Brubeck Theatre on the campus grounds. Neault’s forum will begin at 9:30 a.m. and Anderson’s will begin a 10:45 a.m. Both hour-long forums will include a question-and-answer session where the public will be able to pose written questions to the candidates.
Anderson, in his position of vice president of instruction, leads transfer, basic skills, career technical education, equity initiatives, online learning, and academic support programs.
Before Cañada College, he was a dean at De Anza College, where he also taught for seven years and served as academic senate president. Anderson has a doctorate in higher education from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree from the School for International Training, and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin.
Neault, the vice chancellor of Student Services for the San Diego Community College District, is responsible for providing leadership for the implementation of new programs and services for student success, enrollment management, state reporting, compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, policy development, oversight of student records, as well as management of the student information system.
She has served in this capacity for almost 25 years. In 2013-14, she served as interim president of San Diego City College. Neault has a doctorate in educational leadership, a master’s degree in public administration, and a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University.
Palomar College’s presidential search officially began in December 2014, two months after Deegan announced his intention to retire effective June 30, 2015. The finalists were identified through a pool of applicants that were initially screened and interviewed by a search committee composed of representatives of college constituent groups.
Adrian Gonzales, who formerly held a vice president/ assistant superintendent title at Palomar, has served as interim superintendent since July 1.
