Finalists Named for New Las Positas College President

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Chancellor Joel Kinnamon has announced three additional finalists for the president of in Livermore.

The finalists will appear at the President Candidate Forums from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday in Building 800, Room 801 of the Livermore campus on 3000 Campus Hill Drive.

In April, the college decided to extend its recruitment period after a previous search failed to find a new president by a March deadline.

The campus has been searching for a new chief for seven months. is heading the college as its interim president and will continue in that capacity until a permanent president is chosen, officials said.

The initial search appeared to be nearing an end when officials narrowed its group of candidates to four finalists.

The four at the college in late February.

One of the finalists, Joseph Olsen, was hired as president of Umpqua Community College in Oregon.

When officials decided to reopen the search, district spokeswoman Laura Weaver said each of the previous four finalists “will remain in active status unless requested otherwise by the candidates.”

Here are the new finalists and their bios provided by Las Positas College:

Kindred Murillo, Ph.D.

Kindred Murillo, Ph.D., currently serves as the Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services for Contra Costa Community College District. She began her higher education experience in 1996 when she was hired as a part-time faculty member, later to become full-time, at the Desert Community College District. She was promoted to Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services when Copper Mountain Community College became a separate district, overseeing fiscal services, budget, facilities, maintenance and operations, and technology services.

Murillo also served as the Vice President of Administrative Services at Pasadena Area Community College District.  She has served on six visiting teams for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Murillo’s experience outside higher education includes 13 years at the electric utility, Southern California Edison, in several management positions including area manager, employee relations manager, and Business Offices regional manager. She also has held public office as the Mayor and Councilmember for the Town of Yucca Valley, and became a field representative from the Third District Supervisor in San Bernardino County.

Murillo is a product of the community college system, graduating from Barstow Community College with a liberal arts degree. She went on to complete her B.S. in Business Administration at Redlands University, and her M.S. in Organization Development at Pepperdine University. She recently completed her doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University.

Barry Russell, Ph.D.

In November 2009, Barry Russell, Ph.D., was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger as the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs for the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. A graduate of the Community College Leadership Program (1991) at the University of Texas at Austin, he also holds degrees in music from Texas A&M University - Commerce (previously East Texas State University).

Prior to becoming Vice Chancellor, Russell served as Vice President of Instruction at College of the Siskiyous in Weed. He also served as the Dean of Fine Arts and Communication at Cerritos College and held the same position at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, before moving to Cerritos.

Russell was Director of the Central Texas Tech Prep Consortium and was a faculty member in music and computer science at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas. He is active in both state and national community college organizations, serving as a member and officer on several boards.

In 2009, Russell was awarded the Instructional Leadership Award from the National Instructional Administrators, an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges. In 2010, he was awarded the Carter Doran Leadership Award from the California Chief Instructional Officers of the California Community Colleges.

Kevin Glen Walthers, Ph.D.

Kevin Glen Walthers, Ph.D., is the Vice Chancellor for Administration for the West Virginia Community and Technical College System and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. His duties include responsibility for the state’s financial aid program, which includes the Higher Education Grant Program and the PROMISE Scholarship.

Walthers also oversees the West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing, the state’s educational technology provider to K-12 schools, colleges, and universities.

Prior to his time in West Virginia, Walthers served as Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services at the College of Eastern Utah.

The College of Eastern Utah has two locations: a main campus in Price, Utah and the other in Blanding, Utah serving the Four Corners Region that includes Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Walthers initially went to the College of Eastern Utah as a temporary assignment stemming from his position with the Utah Commissioner of Higher Education. He has an extensive background as an educator with the K-12 system and as a policy leader through his work with the Utah State Legislature.

Walthers attended Eastfield Community College in Mesquite, Texas and holds a B.S. from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s of Educational Administration from Texas A&M University - Commerce, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah.