Compton — After more than a year of serving as provost of El Camino College Compton Center, Lawrence Cox has relinquished the position in what he describes as a move to better serve the district and move the institution closer to accreditation.

The change was not a demotion or the stripping of a title, said Cox, but simply a refocusing of his duties as chief executive officer. “What the change has done is allowed me to increase my focus on the scope and the demands of the [Compton Community College] District,” he said, “more so than I was able to when I was trying to serve in both roles.”

As provost, Cox said he spent up to three days a week at El Camino College in Torrance, which was disruptive in terms of him being able to perform district duties. Now, with a full five-member board of trustees in place, Cox’s responsibilities increased.

Then came the establishment of the district’s foundation, which is made up of 20 officials charged with raising funds for scholarships and other academic related services and programs. The district is currently working on reconstituting a bond oversight committee, which will help prioritize certain initiatives, such as infrastructure, and ensure that money is being spent properly.

Compton Community College — as it was known prior to entering an agreement with El Camino College — still has a few years before it can again become fully independent. Officials at CCCD, which has remained an independent body despite the college’s loss of accreditation, say they will have a better idea of its proximity to that goal after this year.

Following several comprehensive assessments of the Compton Community College District by the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, dating back to October 2004, it was discovered that the district did not meet accreditation standards and rated poorly in five operational areas that were crucial to the college’s survival.

In August 2006, after the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges conducted its own evaluation, the college’s accreditation was formally withdrawn. A memorandum of understanding was then signed, sealing a partnership between Compton Community College District and El Camino Community College District, and giving El Camino oversight responsibilities of Compton Community College, its academic programs and student services.

A progress report for April 2007 found that the school’s true financial standing could not be determined due to the delayed results of an installed database. In addition, communication between the colleges had been mostly disconnected, personnel had either vacated their positions, been suspended or reintroduced into El Camino College’s staff.

The roles and responsibilities of the remaining staff and student body had yet to be structured, textbooks were not accessible, water mains and sewers posed contamination problems and many buildings lacked equipment, electricity and were not up to code.

Today, the campus is thriving with approximately 8,500 students. Insiders say communication has improved, employees are less disjointed, many structural pitfalls have been addressed and academic materials are more readily accessible.

Cox will be replaced as provost by El Camino administrator Barbara Perez, who will now serve as the center’s vice president. Cox and Perez are expected to work closely together because the decisions she makes will have a financial impact on the district.

This is “allowing two individuals to very strongly focus on the district, its operations and the foundation,” said El Camino spokesperson Ann Garten, “[rather] than them working independently.”

Perez first joined El Camino in 1983 as a chemistry professor and faculty coordinator for the Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences as well as for the Human Resources Department and Academic Affairs Division.

In 2002, she was appointed dean of the college’s Division on Natural Sciences and later named interim associate vice president of human resources. Over the past several years, Perez has aided in the oversight of the science complex renovation project. In addition, she served as a member of a task force aimed at implementing student-learning outcomes, the Budget Development Task Force, the Division Advisory Committee, the College Council and co-chaired the 2002 Accreditation Steering Committee.

She continues to work on the Calendar Committee, the College Technology Committee and the El Camino College Staff and Student Diversity Advisory Committee.

“I think Compton is moving in the right direction,” said Cox. “And while I’m not certain how long before we become fully accredited, I do know that it is certainly a part of our near future.”