Despite being named a finalist for the presidency at Mt. San Antonio College, Superintendent-President Dr. Andreea Serban will remain at City College for the foreseeable future.

Two months ago, Serban spoke at an open forum for the five prospective replacements for current Mt. SAC President-CEO Dr. John S. Nixon. Nixon announced his retirement in August 2010, effective next month.

“The right path for the college includes me as president,” said Serban in an interview with The Channels.

She said the outpour of support from faculty, students and the community in late March showed her she belonged here.

“As support came in, I no longer wanted to pursue this position,” Serban said.

The support for Serban included a petition, signed by more than 730 people, that was presented to the Board of Trustees on March 24.

Academic Senate President-elect Dean Nevins, speaking as a member of the public, presented the petition to show the support Serban had at the college.

The petition was in response to the news that Serban was a finalist at Mt. SAC after the new board majority, elected this past November, appeared to pushing her out. After running on a Continuing Ed platform, the new majority was elected in response to the cuts Serban made  to the program that were unpopular with the community.

Following the election, the new majority held closed session meetings in December to discuss a possible evaluation of the president. The evaluation annually takes place near the end of the school year.

Serban said the closed sessions and the overall dynamic with the new board prompted her concern.

“It made me feel like I needed to look at various alternatives,” she said.

After applying at Mt. Sac in early January, she added that she considered applying elsewhere, but elected not to. Serban said that the applying for the Mt. SAC position was “painful.”

“This is my home, this college is my life,” Serban said. “I feel I belong here and I feel I do a good job as president.

“I will do anything I personally can to work with the new board members.”

Serban also said that after five months, the two sides were beginning to understand how each side works.

“I’m optimistic we can work towards a productive and effective relationship,” she said in regards to the new board majority.

Mt. SAC has yet to announce their decision on a new president and according to Suzi Hayward, executive assistant to the vice president of human resources at Mt. SAC, the decision will be announced at their Board of Trustees meeting May 25.