Colombia RPCV Joann La Perla-Morales named new president of Middlesex County College
MCC board names a new president
Published in the Home News Tribune 10/15/04
Began career as ESL teacher
By KATHLEEN G. SUTCLIFFE
STAFF WRITER
MIDDLESEX COUNTY: Middlesex County College officials named Joann La Perla-Morales as the college's new president after a unanimous vote last night by the board of trustees.
Courtesy of Middlesex County College
Joann La Perla-Morales will take office as Middlesex County College president on Jan. 1.
La Perla-Morales, who is expected to take office on Jan. 1, will leave her post as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, N.Y.
La Perla-Morales will be paid an annual salary of $147,000. She has previously served as dean of instruction at Nassau Community College and associate dean for academic affairs at Bloomfield College. She has also held administrative posts at Union County College and Montclair State University.
A former Peace Corps volunteer in Bogota, Colombia, La Perla-Morales began her education career teaching English as a Second Language.
"I'm at heart an ESL teacher," La Perla-Morales said. "I know all the issues of students who come to an institution with English not as their first language."
La Perla-Morales called community colleges "the most exciting, dynamic area of higher education," and said, as president, she hopes to reaffirm the college's mission to support student success.
"We really need to take a look at the way students are moving through the curriculum at the college and make sure they are moving along toward graduation," La Perla-Morales said. "The retention and graduation rate at community colleges is a nationwide issue, so much of the focus is to support students through their studies."
La Perla-Morales will replace John Bakum, who is retiring after eight years as president of the college. Bakum is expected to serve as president until La Perla-Morales assumes the post.
She could potentially begin her term in the midst of a contract dispute between college faculty and administration.
Faculty contracts expired June 30, and negotiations have been ongoing since March. In September, faculty members of Local 1940 of the American Federation of Teachers voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations remained stalled. Union members also voted to suspend all voluntary services.
La Perla-Morales said she hoped an agreement could be reached before she took office.
"I certainly hope both sides will come to an agreement soon because that would be in the best interest of all parties," La Perla-Morales said. "If that does not happen, I would just have to consider that as the first thing I'd need to do in my role."
Patricia Payne, president of the faculty union, weighed in on how a new president could affect negotiations:
"It's hard to say at this point whether it would be a positive or a negative," Payne said. "I can't imagine it would make it any easier."
College spokesman Tom Peterson declined to comment on negotiations, except to say, "Negotiations are continuing, we're trying to get them done as quickly and fairly as possible."
La Perla-Morales lives in Rumson with husband Rubil Morales, a professor of history at Bergen County Community College.
La Perla-Morales was selected from a pool of 40 applicants. She was among three finalists, including Carole M. Berotte Joseph, dean of academic affairs at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Ronald M. Davis, vice president for academic affairs and student affairs at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, Va.
Kathleen G. Sutcliffe: (732) 565-7263; ksutcliffe@thnt.com
