Alberto J. Román, the temporary chancellor of Los Angeles Community College District who assumed the post in the middle of the system of the system with legal problems, was appointed on Wednesday to the permanent position by the District Board of Directors.
Román, who promised a “culture of responsibility”, was named Acting Chancellor after Francisco C. Rodriguez suddenly resigned last year, criticisms and shocking champions.
During the decade of Rodriguez at the helm, the district of nine colleges was faced with prosecution alleging sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and reprisals of the Reports, among other complaints. He and the administrators endured a vote of non-confidence of the district academic senate in 2024 which was focused on what he described as a failure to tackle the allegations of harassment and sexual discrimination sufficiently, among other concerns.
Román, 47, who worked for the country’s largest university system in various roles covering more than 11 years, received a contract of about three years, which takes effect immediately and pays $ 440,000 per year. Former president of the East La College, he was also vice-chancellor of human resources for the Community College District.
“We are proud to be leaders and to identify and fight against any type of discrimination,” said Román in an interview with The Times. “I also highlighted the importance of transparency, the construction of confidence, both internally and with the wider audience.”
A Mexican immigrant who came to the United States, Román, Román supervised the creation of the East Central Central Studies program The College, which was launched in 2023. He was presented as the first effort of this type in California at the level of the community college and offers students the possibility of winning a diploma in the field.
“It was really, for me, a very important program to have here in Los Angeles,” said Román, who has been working in education for more than two decades. He said that a trip to Salvador with the teachers had inspired him to create the program. “I really aroused an interest in learning more about our Central America community here.”
Legal disorders in progress
Barely a year ago, Román had congratulated Rodriguez in an open letter for his “decade of service transformation, leadership and vision”.
But the end of the mandate of the former chancellor had been difficult.
In August, Rodriguez said he would resign to help take care of his sick father. This decision was a major surprise, in part because the district had given it an extension of the four -year contract a year earlier. Rodriguez left on November 2, Román by assuming the intermediate position thereafter.
Rodriguez did not respond to interview requests.
Among the legal proceedings, Rodriguez and the district were confronted, there is an ongoing person tabled by former lawyer General Maribel Medina for allegations of sexual harassment, reprisals of the reporters and other complaints.
She allegedly allegedly allegedly allegedly in 2024 against Rodriguez, the district and an administrator that she was placed on leave – then dismissed – after complaining to the chancellor of the time of disparities in her salary and bringing her attention to “obvious lack of conformity in the district with training on sexual harassment”.
Medina, who is Mexican American, also allegedly allegedly allegedly said Rodriguez said in his presence: “Mexican women are used and they love it.”
The defendants have denied allegations, according to court documents. Their lawyers did not respond to interview requests. Medina’s lawyer refused to comment.
A trial in the case is scheduled for January.
How Román responds
Asked about some of the controversies that the former chancellor has resisted, Román said that in a system as important as the college district – he has a workforce of almost 10,000 people – “problems will invariably arise” and that he could not discuss the current disputes.
He also pointed out that the district “actively worked” to ensure that professional driving policies are updated. He added that the employees would be formed on a continuous basis so that they understand the codes and the guidelines revised.
Another area of control was the construction bond program of several billion dollars in the district. Since the early 2010s, he has been delighted by allegations that he was poorly managed, wasted and was subjected to nepotism.
Román insisted that the program had been revised, praising “more rigorous measures of responsibility” and improved the “supplier selection process”, while noting the hiring of this year of an independent third party obligations instructor.
“The problems that was identified about 10 years ago have been resolved,” he said. “I think that a program of this size will undoubtedly have thrusts, but we have managed them.”
Román faces other challenges, including the reinforcement in the process of a massive drop in mixed registration by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district said it had around 210,000 students for the 2019-2020 school year-but registrations dived at 158,000 for the year 2021-2022. He resumed from there and was held at 194,000 students in 2023-2024.
He praised the upward trend and said that the district, as a whole, had not seen a drop in registrations in the past four years. He attributed success, in part, to the accent on career technical education, which, according to him, could be useful when the region is preparing to welcome both the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Olympic Games.
Then there is President Trump. Its executive orders on higher education, the launch of investigations on anti -Semitism on university campuses and the expulsion of students turned into its university.
Until now, Román said, the various actions of the president have not directly affected the university district. He said that in his knowledge, no district student was expelled and that none of his funding was eliminated – although a subsidy of around $ 500,000 linked to the arts was “settling.”
“We will continue to monitor our funding and do our best to protect it,” he said. “We will continue to monitor policies that may have an impact on our students. We hold firmly with them. ”
Román also said that no program had been changed to comply with Trump guidelines to eliminate the efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion on university campuses. “Our programs … (are) inclusive to all students,” he said. “It is in substance how we can continue the work we have to do.”
In a press release, Gabriel Buelna, a member of the board of directors, noted that Román took over “at a time of intense national pressure”.
He said that the Chancellor had “exceptional references, proven talents and the vision and integrity necessary to lead the LACCD through difficult times and strengthen our region”.
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