The Cerritos College Board of Trustees has made their decision about filling the vacant seat left by the passing of Cheryl A. Epple.
The board has appointed Robert Epple to fill the position on the board at the last meeting on Aug 18.
Cerritos College President Dr. Noelia Vela, said, “When all was said and done, there were two nominations from the board. Epple received the most votes and it was quickly followed to make the vote unanimous.”
“The other candidate stepped down at the board meeting once he found out that Epple was the other candidate,” Vela said.
He will be sworn in on Wednesday at the board meeting at 6 p.m. in the Boardroom.Epple will complete the term of his late wife and the term will run until the elections in November 2005.
He is a former Board Member, former California State Assemblyman and also involved with the Cerritos College Foundation Board. Epple is an attorney at law with a private practice in Bellflower. A 1973 graduate of Cerritos College, he later attended California State University at Dominquez Hills and received his juris doctorate degree from the American College of Law.
There were 15 letters of interest were received and considered by the board. Some applicants were candidates that ran for the board last November.
There were a couple of tools that the board used for looking through the applications for the qualifications that the board would like to see in a candidate. The tools consisted of characteristics, how committed the individual is to student success and the advancement of the college. They were particularly looking for a candidate in higher education that is familiar with Cerritos College and the candidate needed to live within the college district.
President Dr. Vela, said, ” the decision was a really nice decision to make.” She was referring to the qualifications of the applicants made it difficult to find someone that didn’t have what the board was looking for.
Before selecting Epple, the board did have a couple questions when thinking of who to select. The board question is the candidate should be someone from the election in November 2004 that received the next largest number of votes.
Also, if they should select a person who was female since the board is entirely made up of male members and the late Epple was a woman.
Another topic among others was if they were selecting a candidate that the person makes a commitment not to run in November of 2005.
Board President Bob Arthur said, “We’re honored and grateful that Bob will join the board.”
He continued by saying “His own deep devotion to the college and his prior experience on the board will both complement our leadership and continue Cheryl’s enthusiasm for wisely governing the college’s resources and always seeking students’ best interests.”
