Dean Vacancies
Dear College Community,
I hope you are doing well. I want to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to everyone who joined us at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new food pantry on Wednesday. It was a truly heartening moment to witness the community's support for this vital resource. If you haven't had the chance yet, I encourage you to visit the new Food Pantry, located between the bookstore and cafeteria, and learn more about the services it provides to our students and the broader community.
Through this message, I'd like to address the recent vacancies in our dean positions and share the steps we are taking to ensure a smooth transition and reduce disruption to our departments, faculty, and, most importantly, our students.
Our Dean of Career Education and Workforce Development retired at the end of last year. Recognizing the critical importance of this role, we expedited the recruitment process and are thrilled to welcome Dean Vins Chacko, who joined us from De Anza College last week. Vins brings over 25 years of invaluable experience in higher education, and we are confident that he will be a tremendous asset to our team. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Vins.
We also face the upcoming retirement of our Dean of Nursing and Allied Health, Dr. Enna Trevathan, at the end of this academic year. Dr. Trevathan's contributions have been significant, and we are deeply grateful for her years of dedicated service. To ensure a seamless transition, we are currently interviewing finalists for this position, with the goal of having the new dean in place by May. This will allow Dr. Trevathan to provide a soft handoff to the new dean and minimize disruption to the Nursing and Allied Health department.
The recent departure of Dean Noah Lystrup from the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences division has created a significant vacancy. Noah was a highly respected member of our college community, and his contributions will be missed. Given the timing of his departure, we decided to immediately begin the search for a permanent replacement. The position is now open, and we are actively seeking qualified candidates. Please help us spread the word about this opportunity to ensure we find the best person to serve our students and faculty.
To minimize any adverse impact caused by this vacancy, our dedicated deans, faculty, and Dr. Fayek have generously taken on additional roles and responsibilities, despite their already demanding schedules. We are immensely grateful for their willingness to step up and ensure the continuity of our programs and services. Our goal is to finalize all transitions by the end of this semester, allowing us to begin the Fall 2025 semester with all dean positions fully staffed and ready to support our departments and students.
We understand that these transitions can be challenging and disruptive, and we are committed to managing them with care and efficiency. If you or anyone impacted by these changes needs clarification or support, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Fayek. We are committed to open communication and ensuring everyone feels supported during this time.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we navigate these transitions. We are confident that, together, we will continue to provide our students with the highest quality education and support.
Sincerely,
Dr. Pedro Avila
Superintendent/President
5055 Santa Teresa Boulevard | Gilroy, CA 95020
instagram.com/gavilanprez
facebook.com/gavilanprez