SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — After voting to place Chancellor Dianne Van Hook on administrative leave, the Santa Clarita Community College Board of Trustees is preparing Tuesday to search for a new chancellor and to fill two seats left open by trustees who have recently resigned.
Board member Joan MacGregor is resigning effective Aug. 5. She said the board meeting on Wednesday, when Van Hook was put on administrative leave, was her last.
Board member Chuck Lyon resigned in June. The five-member board will have three active members as of Aug. 5.
There will be an election in November for Lyon's seat on the board. MacGregor's open seat can be filled either by appointment by the board or in a special election. The deadline to add a ballot in the November general election for her seat has passed.
The board voted unanimously 3-0 to place Van Hook on administrative leave after a closed session special meeting on Wednesday.
"The laws prevent us from discussing what happens in closed sessions, and personnel matters," College of the Canyons board vice president Jerry Danielsen said in a statement. "We can assure the public that the board is working hard to ensure the health and well-being of the entire college community, with nothing but the best of intentions for the future of the college in mind."
Van Hook's contract as chancellor and CEO of the Santa Clarita Community College District will expire in June 2027.
David Andrus, a former president of the COC Academic Senate and political science professor at the college, was selected by the board to be the interim chancellor of the district and began serving in his new role Monday.
Board member Sebastian Cazares was not present for the vote to place Van Hook on administrative leave. Van Hook was not present at the meeting either.
MacGregor was reelected as a member of the College of the Canyons board in 2022 and is in her 31st year as a board member. Lyon was first elected to the board in 2022 and was the athletic director at COC until 2016.
Lyon represents Trustee Area 1. The winner of the election for Trustee Area 1 will serve for the remainder of the unexpired term, which runs to 2026.
MacGregor represents Trustee Area 5 and her term was set to expire in November 2026. The board will have the option to call a special election or appoint someone to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.
Van Hook was the longest serving community college CEO in California. She was hired by the college in 1988 and at the age of 37 was the youngest CEO and community college chancellor in the state's history.
The board is planning a nationwide search for a new chancellor and said it will provide updates when available.
"College of the Canyons is known for its commitment to serving students and putting their needs first. That will continue to be our focus as we move through this period of transition," board President Edel Alonso said in a statement. "We launch a new academic year when the fall semester begins Aug. 19, and the college*s faculty, classified staff, and administration are all working hard to create opportunities for our students to succeed."
The college's next regularly scheduled board meeting is Aug. 14 at 5 p.m.