The Desert Sun 3/8 – COD board needs to stop creating obstacles and get to work

James G. Williamson Special to The Desert Sun Hope is vital. Education is the key to translating hope into opportunity. With the vote by the board of trustees of the College of the Desert at their February  meeting to move forward with the West Valley campus, our students finally have hope. Hope that they will…

PMPB 3/9 – THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS RIGHT NOW, BUT THE TIDE IS SHIFTING

The tide is now shifting since the last couple of years that Superintendent/President, Dr. Martha Garcia took her position. Her lack of transparency and attempt to pause the Palm Springs Campus and Cathedral City Roadrunners program created an uproar in the community, along with a lawsuit filed against COD last September from the City of…

UKEN REPORT 3/6 – BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF COD CAMPUS DERAILMENTUKEN REPORT

PALM DESERT — Former College of the Desert Superintendent/President Joel L. Kinnamon announced in December 2020 that he was stepping down to spend time with his mom who he had learned probably had a year to live. He retired on March 31, 2021. Almost immediately, it appears wheels were put in motion to derail the COD campus…

DESERT SUN 3/1 – COD’s Martha Garcia named finalist for superintendent role at Mt. San Antonio College

The community college is located in the City of Walnut, east of Los Angeles, and has a larger enrollment than COD College of the Desert Superintendent/President Martha Garcia has been named one of five finalists for the top job at Mt. San Antonio College. The community college, which is located in the City of Walnut about…

UKEN REPORT 3/1 – COD PRESIDENT MARTHA GARCIA FINALIST IN WALNUT

Less than two years after Martha Garcia was hired to lead College of the Desert, she is one of five finalists to become the next president of the state’s largest single campus community college district in Walnut, Mt. San Antonio. According to a news release from the college, the candidates, in alphabetical order, are: The final…

UKEN REPORT 2/27 – EARTHQUAKE OF QUESTIONS HITS COLLEGE OF THE DESERT

PALM DESERT — The question for some College of the Desert leaders isn’t so much what did they know and when did they know it, but better, what did some know and why did they not disclose it? In less than two months, questions have shaken the offices of President Martha Garcia, Trustee Rubén AríAztlán Pérez,…

The Palm Springs Post 2/17 – COD trustees go back to drawing board for planned Palm Springs campus

New designs are expected to take months and may still leave half the 27-acre site undeveloped. When and if a second phase will be developed on the remainder of the land remains unclear. Driving the news: During a regular meeting Thursday morning, the Board narrowly voted to move forward with a plan proposed by Trustee Joel…

Desert Sun 2/16 – College of the Desert to move forward with some of old Palm Springs campus plans

The College of the Desert Board of Trustees voted to move forward with amended plans for the Palm Springs campus. The catch: the plans approved don’t entirely exist. Approved plans will ultimately be a blend of incomplete designs drawn prior to 2021 with new additions that need to be made. Plans from 2021 are about…

UKEN 2/16 – ETHICS PROBE STEMS FROM COMPLAINTS AGAINST TRUSTEE PÉREZ

PALM DESERT — The College of the Desert Board of Trustees on Thursday appointed a subcommittee of Fred Jandt and Bonnie Stefan to review allegations against Trustee Rubén Pérez as part of an ethics probe. The ethics probe is in response to written complaints against Trustee Pérez for College of the Desert’s Code of Ethics…