The search to find a new president of Los Medanos College came to a close this summer as former Interim President Pamela Ralston was selected for the job. Her journey with LMC began as a temporary one in January but she was appointed as the seventh permanent president in June.
After the retirement of former President Bob Kratochvil in December, who led the college for 10 years, the process began in February to find a replacement. Four finalists were chosen from a long list of candidates, including Ralston, as the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board put together a forum to allow attendees to offer feedback on the candidates through an online survey.
Ralston remembers feeling “incredibly excited and thrilled” when she was awarded the position by the Governing Board after a thorough search. She said the experience was “nerve-racking” as the “other people who competed for the job all had great histories and experience,” but believes her prior work as interim president helped set her apart as she “had a sense of who [LMC] was a little more deeply.”
Ralston’s career in higher education grew over two decades after she earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Oregon and her Master of Arts and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington in Comparative Literature.
From there, Ralston held many positions as a professor at the university and community college levels, as well as dean, vice president and president. She has led curricular redesign, student services program innovation, strategic enrollment, new facilities design, fund-raising campaigns and written grant applications as her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion on campus remains a priority.
Ralston’s career has taken her across California, but she believes LMC is unique from the rest as each community has access to the “best opportunities for everyone.”
“We’re positioned right in between industry, in the river, the Delta and agriculture. And I think what our community college can do here is probably even more powerful than what other colleges are able to do in other locations,” said Ralston. “We can be a part of what the future looks like.”
Given her role, Ralston has made some difficult decisions involving budget cuts and layoffs but found the best way to mitigate these challenges was to prioritize community feedback to lead her toward the right decision. Days have held challenges and triumphs, but said she is grateful for the opportunity to lead the college and stays centered on students when times are difficult.
Reemerging from the pandemic, Ralston is seeing the campus come back to life after several years in a mostly virtual world. She is looking forward to interacting with more faculty and students, as she recalls some of her favorite memories on campus were participating in the “dunk tank activity,” during the Transfer Celebration May 9 and the graduation ceremony May 19, where students, staff and faculty were all together as a campus community.
Ralston and her wife Chris Cummings recently relocated to Pittsburg from Morro Bay, CA, where she served as President of Santiago Canyon College. Together, they love learning about different local communities as their curiosity about their new home takes them on drives, exploring new places to eat and talking with peers. But nothing can beat the comforts of home as they spend time reading and walking their six-year-old black pug named Ozzie.
In the current year at LMC, Ralston is working toward bringing enrollment numbers back up and she has high hopes for the future. Plans that remain essential to her include high-quality academic and support opportunities, access to career education programs, and pathways for transfer.
“I am really invested in the success of all of us and I am here for the long run,” she said.
