Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Marchelle Fox, the new president of West Valley College, came here from San Diego.

West Valley's new president wants to form community ties

By Anne Gelhaus

Starting her tenure as West Valley College president in July gave Marchelle Fox the chance to familiarize herself with the campus in relative peace and quiet, but she says she's looking forward to Aug. 19, when the fall semester begins.

"Colleges weren't meant to be empty," Fox says. "During the summer, I miss the energy created by the students. On the other hand, I've gotten a lot of reading done."

Fox, who came to West Valley from the San Diego Community College District, has also used this quiet time to get to know faculty and staff at the Saratoga campus.

"My first and foremost goal is to become a real part of this college," she says. "To do that, I've been taking time to interview as many pioneer faculty as possible. These people have invested their lives and careers in this college. They know the history of the college, the dreams and frustrations that have gone into it. It's important for me to be part of that.

"West Valley has built its reputation on the quality of its faculty and staff," Fox adds. "From my month here, I can tell you that reputation is well-deserved."

Joseph Samuels, West Valley's dean of instruction, has described Fox as being "committed to diversity." Fox says it's important to have a faculty and staff that reflect the diverse cultural backgrounds of West Valley's student body.

"We need to provide role models," she adds. "We're making sure that the faculty and staff we have are representative of all groups, as well as being highly qualified. It does us no good to hire token staff."

Fox says West Valley is continuing to attract minority students through community outreach and high-school recruitment efforts.

"One of the greatest strengths of the educational process is to bring together people of diverse backgrounds in an environment of respect and sharing," she adds. "I believe this college is committed to that issue."

Fox is committed to building West Valley's ties to local business and industry and strengthening the ties between the college and the city of Saratoga.

"There's a lot of that already going on," she says, "but the president plays an important role in continuing to develop these opportunities.

"West Valley has embarked on a path of building a partnership with the city," Fox continues. "That, to me, is how a college becomes part of the community."

Fox has a good track record in economic development: As president of the San Diego City College Foundation, she tripled the group's assets and convinced influential corporate and community leaders to join the board. She says she's been talking with members of West Valley's foundation about ways to work that same magic here.

Fox also served as dean of instruction at San Diego City College, and her last position in that district was interim vice president of student services at Miramar College. Though the student body at Miramar is a bit smaller--9,000 as compared with almost 11,000 at West Valley--Fox says the campus environments at both colleges are similar.

"The community around Miramar is suburban, and the student population is very much like the population here," she adds. "The largest minority population is Asian, and the next-largest is Hispanic."

As far as course offerings, however, Fox says West Valley has more in common with San Diego City College.

"San Diego's programs are similar to West Valley's," she adds, "although the ratio of vocational programs to arts and sciences is about 50-50, and here it's about 75-25."

Although West Valley has cut several programs in the last few years, Fox says she intends to keep this ratio intact.

"Everyone's coming to college to prepare for a career," she adds. "A lot of things employers say they need in their employees are things we're teaching in transfer-oriented programs, so there's a real blending. I think it's artificial to try to separate the two."

Fox says declining enrollment in a program is a good indication that it's outlived its usefulness. When that happens, she adds, it's time to either revamp it or cut it.

"Some programs at West Valley were developed 32 years ago," Fox says. "It would be foolish to believe that community interest in them wouldn't have changed. We have to look at ways of changing programs to meet the needs of the community."

One issue that's created conflict between West Valley and the surrounding community is the ongoing battle about the use of the college's athletic field for football games. Fox is reluctant to hazard a guess as to the outcome of a lawsuit filed by neighbors who say the college is holding the games illegally.