JoAnna Downey-Schilling was officially named Vice President of Academic Affairs on March 21.

Downey-Schilling, who is currently serving as Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs at Rio Hondo College, will take the place of Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Marilyn Brock, who filled in for Bill Farmer, who resigned from his position in August.

In a statement made to the Cerritos College Public Affairs office, Downey-Schilling said, “Nothing is more important than offering affordable educational opportunities to students at our community colleges.

“I am committed to finding clear and innovative pathways to help our students succeed in their educational goals.”

Cerritos College President Linda Lacy describes the deciding factor in choosing Downey-Schilling over Santiago Canyon College’s John Weispfennig and Cuesta College’s A. Cathleen Greiner, the other two finalists for the position.

“She had administrative experience and she already has connections with the community. Her strengths are working with faculty and various groups and especially what she has done in the community,” Lacy said.

One of Downey-Schilling’s goals is to help improve class availability for students.

“We want to preserve as many classes as we can for students and look at creative scheduling so that some of the news that was shared at the budget forum, we can mitigate as best as we can serve as many students as possible,” she said.

Downey-Schilling will begin her duties on July 1.