Atlanta — August 9, 2006

Dr. Anthony S. Tricoli, president of West Hills College, in Coalinga, Calif., was named today as president of Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) by the Board of Regents, as recommended by University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr.

The national search to fill the position vacated in July 2005 by the retirement of GPC President Jacquelyn Belcher was led by Regent Wanda Yancey Rodwell, chair of the Special Regents’ Committee, and Tina Philpot, chair of GPC’s Department of Business Administration and Computer Science, who chaired the campus Presidential Search and Advisory Committee.

USG Chief of Staff Rob Watts has been serving as the institution’s interim president since Belcher’s retirement.

Tricoli will assume the presidency of the institution on Oct. 1.

“Dr. Tricoli’s experience, leadership skills and track record in getting results make him a perfect match for Georgia Perimeter College,” said Watts, to whom Tricoli will report, as do all USG two-year-college presidents. “He is very attuned to diversity, developing partnerships and connecting with the community.”

Tricoli has provided the leadership for West Hills College (WHC), a rural, Central California, Hispanic-serving institution, since 2002. The Coalinga based college is the flagship institution of the West Hills Community College District, which serves more than 5,000 students. Tricoli’s responsibilities as president also have extended to the college’s North District Campus, and he served as a member of the chancellor’s executive team.

During Tricoli’s tenure as president, WHC won national recognition when the MetLife Foundation declared it to be the most outstanding community college in the nation at serving disadvantaged students. In addition, in 2005, Campus Compact recognized WHC nationally with five “Best Practice Awards” in the categories of institutional culture, administrative and academic leadership, student voice, community-campus exchange and external resource allocations. The recognition stemmed from a comprehensive strategic planning process developed under Tricoli’s leadership.

Tricoli’s career in higher education senior administration spans 26 years. Before his arrival in Coalinga, he was affiliated with the Ventura County (Calif.) Community College District from 1997 to 2002, first as associate vice chancellor for student learning and later as executive vice president for student learning at Oxnard College. Tricoli functioned as chief instructional officer and chief student officer for this district serving 32,000 students. When he moved to Oxnard College, he added the role of chief operating officer.

Tricoli also served as dean of instructional services for technical education and workforce development at San Joaquin Delta College, in Stockton, Calif. (1990-1997); assistant to the vice president for instruction and student services at Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula College (1988-1990); and manager of technical training and manufacturing technology for General Motors/Hughes Aircraft Company, in Newport Beach, Calif. (1982-1988).

Between 1978 and 1988, he also held a variety of teaching assignments in California’s two-year college system.

Tricoli earned his Ed.D. in college leadership and administration from Pepperdine University (1984), a Master of Arts in education/counseling from the University of Redlands (1979), and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Whittier College (1978), and an associate of arts degree from Golden West College (1976).

He is a member of the board of directors of the City of Coalinga Chamber of Commerce and was named as the chamber’s Educator of the Year in 2005, prompting the United States Congress, the California State Assembly and the California State Senate to recognize his exemplary civic contributions with resolutions and certificates.

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