College of the Canyons is one of the prime jewels of the Santa Clarita Valley. Lead by Dianne Van Hook for 36 years, COC today reigns as an esteemed dynamo of accessible public education benefitting wide swaths of our community. From providing super-affordable two-year degrees with over 110 areas of focus, to matriculating students to four-year colleges, to providing targeted job training skills, COC empowers our community with educational and growth opportunities for all.
Further, the COC University Center provides access to advanced degrees right here in our valley, and the Academy of the Canyons provides advanced, alternative high school education with college credits. There’s not space in this paper to list the features and benefits of this uniquely powerful community college, all directed by COC’s remarkable and highly respected chancellor, Dianne Van Hook. Now, oddly, the publicly elected COC board of trustees — Edel Alonso, Joan MacGregor, Jerry Danielsen, and Sebastian Cazares — has created extreme doubts about its intent in continuing Van Hook’s employment despite three years remaining in her contract.
Exact motivations are unknown. However, public notices for three closed-door meetings indicate discussions regarding the chancellor’s continued employment. These doubt-inducing notices, coupled with the board’s failure to mention positive comments on Van Hook’s 36th anniversary Monday, create substantial doubts about their intentions.
With state budgets.
