We are backdating this post since the Chancellor Search is over… and we are hoping that Bryan Reese turns out to be a good chancellor and wishing him nothing but success in our district.  We look forward to working with him.

Bryan Reese does not have a lot of senior management experience.  He was president of Norco College from January 2017 – June 2019.  The rest of his experience is as a VP of Instruction at Crafton Hills College (about 6 years) and 3 years as a Dean of Academic Success and Institutional Effectiveness.  He is a former Academic Senate President and faculty member (19 years- Political Science) at Cerritos College. Norco College has an enrollment of about 15,000 and FTE student population of 7,385.  Crafton Hills College has about 6,000 students.  Cerritos College has about 21,000 students.

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For Bryan Reese’s professional website go to .. https://www.bryanreecephd.com

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There are a number of possible red flags with Bryan Reese, but unlike the other candidate, Raul Rodriguez, it is hard to find facts in Reese’s case.  He was fired without explanation from his position as President of Norco College, in a removal the newspaper compared to Katrina VanderWood’s dismissal from Contra Costa College.

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He seems to have had substantial community support, whatever the untold story may be.

• https://www.pe.com/2019/06/12/norco-college-president-fired-after-community-pleads-for-3-hours-to-keep-him/
• https://viewpointsonline.org/2019/06/25/rccd-students-and-faculty-respond-to-the-termination-of-norco-college-president/

However, there is a new lawsuit filed by the district’s former Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Employee Relations, Terri Hampton, against the current Riverside Community College chancellor (who only came in power around 2017).

• https://www.pe.com/2020/04/01/riverside-community-college-district-chancellor-sued-accused-of-sex-discrimination/

The suit also accuses Isaac of giving preferential treatment to male employees, including a “golden parachute” payout to a Norco College president, “in spite of the fact that he had engaged in egregious misconduct which actually merited termination for cause.” Hampton’s attorney declined to name which president the suit refers to, saying “all this will come out in the litigation.”

According to the districts spokeswoman, Diana Meza, Bryan Reece did receive a payout of $239,712, minus payroll tax deductions when he was fired without cause last June.

To see the actual lawsuit go to: https://thirtymilesofcorruption.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/complaintissac.pdf

At paragraph 17 it states: ” Plaintiff is aware that there have been payouts to employees as a result of disagreements that employees have had with the Chancellor, this includes the release and removal of the Norco College President, who received a payout in spite of the fact that he had engaged in egregious misconduct which actually merited termination for cause.”

We believe this had to be Bryan Reese.