Alberto J. Román, the interim chancellor of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Faculty District who assumed the submit amid the system’s yearslong reckoning with authorized troubles, was appointed to the everlasting position Wednesday by the district’s Board of Trustees.
Román, who pledged a “tradition of accountability,” had been named interim chancellor after Francisco C. Rodriguez abruptly resigned final yr, stunning critics and champions alike.
Throughout Rodriguez’s decade on the helm, the nine-college district confronted lawsuits alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment and whistleblower retaliation, amongst different claims. He and the trustees endured a vote of no confidence from the district’s Tutorial Senate in 2024 that centered on what it described as a failure to sufficiently deal with sexual harassment and discrimination claims, amongst different issues.
Román, 47, who has labored for the nation’s largest two-year faculty system in numerous roles spanning greater than 11 years, was given a roughly three-year contract, which takes impact instantly and pays $440,000 yearly. A former president of East L.A. Faculty, he additionally beforehand served because the vice chancellor of human assets for the neighborhood faculty district.
“We delight ourselves on being leaders and figuring out and combating any kind of discrimination,” Román mentioned in an interview with The Instances. “I’ve additionally emphasised the significance of transparency, of belief constructing, each internally and with the broader public.”
A Mexican immigrant who got here to the U.S. as a baby, Román oversaw the creation of East L.A. Faculty’s pioneering Central American research program, which launched in 2023. It has been billed as the primary such endeavor in California on the neighborhood faculty stage and affords college students the prospect to earn an affiliate diploma within the area.
“It was actually, for me, an important program to have right here in Los Angeles,” mentioned Román, who has labored in training for greater than twenty years. He mentioned a visit to El Salvador with college had impressed him to create this system. “I actually grew an curiosity in studying extra about our Central American neighborhood right here.”
Ongoing authorized troubles
Only a yr in the past, Román had praised Rodriguez in an open letter for his “transformative decade of service, management, and imaginative and prescient.”
However the finish of the previous chancellor’s tenure had been rocky.
In August, Rodriguez mentioned that he would step down to assist look after his ailing father. The transfer was a significant shock, partially as a result of the district had given him a four-year contract extension a yr earlier. Rodriguez departed Nov. 2, with Román subsequently assuming the interim place.
Rodriguez didn’t reply to interview requests.
Among the many lawsuits Rodriguez and the district have confronted is an ongoing one filed by former basic counsel Maribel Medina over allegations of sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation and different claims.
She alleged in a 2024 L.A. Superior Court docket swimsuit introduced towards Rodriguez, the district and a trustee that she was positioned on go away — after which fired — after complaining to the then-chancellor about disparities in her wage, and bringing to his consideration the “evident lack of compliance on the District with sexual harassment coaching.”
Medina, who’s Mexican American, additionally alleged within the criticism that Rodriguez as soon as mentioned in her presence, “Mexican girls serve me they usually prefer it.”
The defendants have denied the allegations, in line with courtroom filings. Their attorneys didn’t reply to interview requests. Medina’s legal professional declined to remark.
A trial within the case is about for January.
How Román is responding
Requested about among the controversies that the previous chancellor weathered, Román mentioned that in a system as massive as the school district — it has a workforce of practically 10,000 folks — “points will invariably come up,” and that he couldn’t talk about ongoing litigation.
He additionally burdened that the district was “actively working” to ensure insurance policies associated to skilled conduct are up to date. He added staff could be skilled on an ongoing foundation so that they perceive the revised codes and pointers.
One other space of scrutiny has been the district’s multibillion-dollar development bond program. For the reason that early 2010s, it has been dogged by allegations that it was poorly managed, wasted cash and was topic to nepotism.
Román insisted that this system has been overhauled, touting “extra rigorous accountability measures,” and improved “vendor choice processes,” whereas noting the hiring this yr of an unbiased, third-party bond monitor, Affiliated Screens.
“The problems that have been recognized about 10 years in the past have been resolved,” he mentioned. “I feel a program of this measurement will undoubtedly have flare-ups, however we’ve got managed these.”
Román faces different challenges, amongst them the continued restoration from an enormous drop in enrollment tirggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The district mentioned it had about 210,000 college students for the 2019-2020 college yr — however enrollment plunged to 158,000 for the 2021-2022 yr. It picked up from there and stood at 194,000 college students in 2023-2024.
He touted the upward development and mentioned the district, as a complete, hadn’t seen a decline in enrollment during the last 4 years. He attributed the success, partially, to an emphasis on profession technical training, which he mentioned could possibly be useful because the area prepares to host each the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer time Olympics.
Then, there’s President Trump. His government orders on increased training, the launching of investigations into antisemitism on college campuses and the deportation of faculty college students have roiled academia at massive.
Up to now, Román mentioned, the president’s numerous actions haven’t instantly affected the school district. He mentioned that, to his information, no college students within the district have been deported and none of its funding has been eradicated — although a roughly $500,000 arts-related grant has been “positioned on maintain.”
“We’ll proceed to observe our funding and do every little thing we are able to to guard it,” he mentioned. “We’ll proceed to observe insurance policies that might affect our college students. We stand agency with them.”
Román additionally mentioned that no applications had been altered to adjust to Trump’s directives geared toward rooting out variety, fairness and inclusion efforts on faculty campuses. “Our applications … [are] inclusive of all college students,” he mentioned. “That’s in essence how we’re in a position to proceed the work that we have to do.”
In a press release, Gabriel Buelna, a member of the Board of Trustees, famous that Román was taking on “at a time of intense nationwide stress.”
He mentioned the chancellor had “distinctive credentials, confirmed expertise, and the imaginative and prescient and integrity wanted to steer LACCD by means of difficult occasions and strengthen our area.”
