Around Town: Orange Coast College names three deans
Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa has named three new deans for the fall in business and computing, technology and social and behavioral sciences.
They will provide permanent leadership for divisions that previously had been headed by interim administrators or other OCC deans, according to a news release.
Daniel Shrader will lead the technology division, Kevin Henson the social and behavioral sciences division and Ron Johnson the business and computing division.
Johnson has been interim dean of the business and computing division since January. He was interim vice president of instruction at the college in 2012.
Shrader previously was dean of the industry and technology division at El Camino College in Torrance. He has worked and taught in the industry, including for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He will start in mid-July.
Henson is replacing Paul Asim, who retired from Orange Coast in May. Henson previously was dean of the creative arts and social sciences division at the College of San Mateo, as well as a tenured professor of sociology at Loyola University in Chicago. He is expected to begin in early August.
“I am very excited to have Dr. Henson, Dr. Johnson and Mr. Shrader join our administrative team of instructional deans, and I look forward to their leadership,” Kevin Ballinger, OCC’s vice president of instruction, said in a statement. “All three have community college administrative experience, and they will be a great addition to Orange Coast College.”
OCTA unveils new look for buses
Buses with a new look and a new name will soon be rolling on streets throughout Orange County.
The Orange County Transportation Authority board voted Monday to introduce a new design for its buses as part of an effort to retain and attract riders.
The existing design, more than 20 years old, will be phased out for the new look, which will feature a light blue and orange wave across the buses, along with the words “OC Bus.” The blue and white OCTA logo will remain.
“We’ve succeeded in refreshing the design so that longtime riders will still recognize the buses they know they can depend upon while also coming up with something modern to attract new riders who will discover all the benefits transit has to offer,” OCTA Chairman Jeff Lalloway, the mayor pro tem of Irvine, said in a statement.
Concepts for new bus designs were reviewed by customers, advisory committees, members of the OCTA Teen Council and others, OCTA said.
The agency is replacing more than 40% of its fleet with 201 buses powered by compressed natural gas. Those buses are scheduled for delivery from late 2015 to early 2017.
Irvine event raises $725,000 for Public Law Center
The Public Law Center, a Santa Ana-based pro bono law firm that serves low-income residents of Orange County, raised a record $725,000 at its 2015 Volunteers for Justice Dinner on Monday night at Hotel Irvine, according to a news release.
About 900 members of the county legal community heard a keynote address by California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and music by Mariachi for All, a nonprofit client of the Public Law Center.