Dr. Peter Perhac gave both faculty and students a taste of the kind of leader he plans to be if elected as the new Cerritos College superintendent/president during the fourth round of the presidential open forums that took place Thursday, March 12 in the Teleconference Center.
The event was held from 11 a.m. to noon.
Before the questions began, Perhac was given the floor to give some opening comments where his nonchalant attitude gave the those that attended a laugh.
“I thought he was very charismatic and straight forward about the questions,” Carlos Chavez, undecided major, said.
Perhac was asked questions varying from his previous experience as Vice President for Colorado Mountain College, how he plans to communicate with the faculty and student body, the issues of campus safety and how he hopes to make the transition from a Colorado College to a California Community College.
Not only stressing student success as the number one priority, Perhac also placed strong emphasis on how he hopes to become more in touch with the school as he believes working with people is the key to success.
“That’s the only way, [to] me, for an organization to move forward and to do great things.” Perhac said.
Many attended the open forum ranging from students, faculty and media outlets.
Hugo Gonzalez, architecture major, felt that the forum was well organized and appreciated the intellect of the questions.
“it is very important for us because what ever [the candidates] are trying to voice, it will affect the future. It’s important we chose wisely. This individual is going to represent the school,” Gonzalez said.
Making a transition from different states and the community college laws seems like a challenge, but Perhac reassured everyone that his experience in legislation and passed experience in northern California make the transition easier.
Dr. Perhac is currently vice president of the Steamboat College campus and in the past has been senior vice president for academic affairs for Colorado Mountain College where he oversaw over 24,000 students.
