STORY BY GABI GARCIA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
PHOTO BY
Cypress College chose Dr. Scott W. Thayer, Vice President of Student Services at San Bernardino Valley College, to be the college’s new president on Wednesday Nov. 8.
Thayer has served as an administrator in the California Community College system for over 25 years. He has held various executive leadership positions including, interim president, vice president, dean, assistant dean, and director at San Bernardino Valley College, Cuyamaca College, Pasadena City College, and Los Angeles Southwest College.
He will be stepping into his new role on Jan. 2, and is patiently waiting to get started on his journey at Cypress College, “A new year and in a new place, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Thayer was returning from a conference for the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities in Chicago when he got the news that he was chosen to be the next president, “It was a whirlwind of a week,” he said.
Thayer is very active in different organizations and has spear-headed several of those organizations in an effort to further support students through their education, so it was no surprise that he was attending a conference that showcased his dedication to students.
There are several things that Thayer wants to achieve in his time at Cypress, starting with making connections with staff, faculty, and students. He wants to learn the ins and outs of each program offered at Cypress and believes that making these connections with the campus community is the best way to get started.
He went on to explain that announcing news broadly is critical to a campus’s success, and how being an open access institution is necessary for the community surrounding the college.
Thayer reflected on his success at San Bernardino Valley College and said “I’m going to miss the work we were able to accomplish together around student equity and the great relationships with the people.”
He is excited to continue to build those relationships from his previous work but is ready to create new connections at Cypress. “I hope to be a voice, an advocate, the chief story-teller to sharing the great things that are happening [on campus],” Thayer said.
