College of the Canyons chancellor, already on administrative leave, announces retirement

The district and has yet to offer a public explanation for placing Dianne Van Hook on administrative leave, citing legal reasons and personnel privacy.

By TIM HADDOCK

Two weeks after she was placed on administrative leave for still-unexplained reasons, Dianne Van Hook, the chancellor and CEO of the Santa Clarita Community College District, has announced her retirement, ending her 36-year career at College of the Canyons in Valencia.

The district’s Board of Trustees voted 3-0 on July 10 to put her on leave. The board met in closed sessions several times to discuss Van Hook’s future at the college, and the district and has yet to offer a public explanation for placing her on administrative leave, citing legal reasons and personnel privacy.

In a email to college staff sent by Van Hook on Monday and obtained by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, she wrote, “As I am retiring from my 36 years at COC, I want to convey to you that it has been the honor of my life to work alongside you, get to know you, and see the amazing things that can be accomplished when people put their minds, hearts and hard work into collaborating, inspiring creativity and staying focused on what helps students develop the confidence in themselves to explore their potential and achieve their dreams.”

David Andrus, a political science professor and former president of the Academic Senate at the college, was named the interim chancellor of the college district after Van Hook was placed on administrative leave. He began his new role on July 15.

Van Hook was under contract with the district until 2027, and her retirement announcement comes at a time when the district’s board is in a leadership transition. Two board members, Chuck Lyon and Joan MacGregor, recently resigned, and trustee Sebastian Cazares is not seeking reelection in November.

Jerry Danielson, vice president of the district board, said the search process for a new chancellor has not yet begun.

“We are not currently searching because we’re getting David Andrus, who just started his role on (July 15) — it’s only been a few days — he is just getting his feet on the ground, figuring out what’s going on,” Danielsen said.

However, there will be a search for a new chancellor, and Danielsen said he wants the board to include community input in the process.

“There will be a robust, active search,” Danielsen said. “We will probably have a committee steering us toward where to look, about putting the word out nationwide. That’s a process that can take months and months and months. It could take six months, it could take eight months. That process has not officially yet begun because this is all brand new stuff. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”

In her notice of retirement, Van Hook said College of the Canyons has served as a source of inspiration for students and members of the community for decades.

“College of the Canyons is a model institution of higher education today. Why? Because people at COC bring magic with them and, as a result, this is a place of higher education that inspires those who dare to dream and has redefined what community college can be for its students,” Van Hook wrote in her retirement letter. “Because of the selfless work that so many here do every day, over many decades, College of the Canyons has grown into a top-tier institution at which hundreds of talented people have chosen to work. That certainly was why I wanted to work here. It was always my dream to work at COC. When I first ‘met’ COC in 1983, it was a very small community college. When I returned in 1988 as president — after applying three times — because I wanted to work at this community college, it was a high-quality institution, but only 19 years old and with still much growth, development and potential ahead.”

The CSEA Chapter 725, a union that represents some employees at the college, and the Classified Senate presented a resolution to the Board of Trustees in June. It included a request to “hold accountable those responsible for the current climate conditions and those who have perpetuated and enabled a culture of psychological unsafety.”

“I appreciated that resolution, the thought that went into it, the words that went into it,” Danielsen said. “And I agreed with a lot of it. The resolution was not at least part of my personal consideration … I was listening. I was listening to what they had to say.”

The resolution asked to board to tell employees what specific measures and direct actions were being taken to rectify what they called the “current climate crisis” at the college.

A survey to gauge the feelings of employees and state of workplaces at the college was conducted by the Research and Planning Group in the spring of 2024.

The results of the survey were mostly positive, with 64% of respondents rating the campus climate at COC as either somewhat (36%) or very (27%) positive, while 32% rated the campus climate as either somewhat (21%) or very (11%) negative.

“The climate survey revealed very great things about the college,” Danielsen said. “It’s a wonderful place. It’s like yin and yang. You can focus on negative or focus on positive. I try to look at it and look at how great this college is. Are there things we can work on? Yes.”

The survey contained 64 items — 52 fixed-choice items and 12 open-ended items — and included employee demographic and characteristic information and questions related to campus work climate and employee engagement.

The survey was completed by 625 employees at the college, about 58% of those who were asked to participate. The campus climate experiences were mixed, with notable differences between employee classifications.

“In general, the feeling of workplace belonging was high among employees, but experiences varied at the department and college levels when it came to feeling heard and fearing retaliation for speaking up,” according to a report from RP Group. “Overall, employees feel welcome at the college and enjoy the work they do there. However, they do not feel they can report concerns or provide critical feedback about the college without fear of retaliation, nor do they feel that complaints and concerns are taken seriously and addressed promptly.”

Van Hook wrote in her notice of retirement how much of a privilege it was to work at College of the Canyons and to see it grow into the institution it is now.

“Few people have an opportunity to work in a place that they truly like. Few people have an opportunity to build things from scratch. Few people have a chance to help build teams that become better together than they were alone, and few people have an opportunity to design, and dream, and DO. I count my blessings every day and consider myself privileged to have been able to work with incredible people to create opportunities for our students and our community at every turn.”

The college’s next regularly scheduled board meeting is at 5 p.m. Aug. 14.