LONG-TIME local educator Galvin S. Deleon Guerrero has accepted the presidency of Northern Marianas College.
The NMC Board of Regents on Friday unanimously voted to offer the job to Deleon Guerrero, president of Mount Carmel School.
In a statement, Deleon Guerrero said:
"I am humbled and honored by the offer by the Board of Regents. I have accepted the offer and I look forward to working with the Board and the entire College community to build on NMC’s 40 year legacy to continue transforming lives and meeting the needs of our community through education. I must also thank Interim President Frankie Eliptico for all that he has done to lead the institution through typhoons, a pandemic, and numerous other challenges. His leadership has kept the College’s proa afloat and sailing ahead.
"I must admit that I am sad to leave Mount Carmel School as its president, but I am thankful to Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez, MCS board chair Vicente Babauta and the board, and the entire MCS family for helping build the school into the amazing institution it is today. I love my school family and, as I work with Bishop Ryan and Chairman Ben on this transition, I take comfort knowing that we have great people and sustainable systems in place at MCS that will ensure that transition is smooth. Plus, as I have done in the past, I will definitely stay connected to my alma mater in one way or another. Some people like to golf. Others like to fish. I love being a Knight. The only difference is that I’ll be a Knight sailing on a proa."
The NMC regents met at 3:30 p.m. Friday to decide on the NMC presidential search. Besides board chairman Charles V. Cepeda, the other regents who attended the meeting were vice chair Elaine H. Orilla, Jess Tudela, Irene Torres, Zenie Mafnas, Michaela Sanchez and Michelle L. Sablan who attended via Zoom.
Also present were NMC’s interim president, Frankie Eliptico, who had earlier declined the college presidency, and Deleon Guerrero himself.
During the board meeting on Friday, Mafnas moved to vote on making an offer to Deleon Guerrero. All the regents voted yes.
After the vote, Orilla stated that the position was offered to Eliptico “multiple times but he had respectfully declined.”
Cepeda thanked Eliptico for his patience and hard work.
Eliptico was NMC’s interim president when Super Typhoon Yutu slammed into the island, and destroyed most of NMC’s buildings and facilities.
Besides overseeing NMC’s recovery efforts, he also has to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions it imposes on the college’s operations while navigating through austerity measures and other challenges in the past two years.
Once the new college president is sworn in, Eliptico will be NMC’s vice president of administration and advancement.
He became interim president when then-college president Carmen Fernandez finished her contract in Aug. 2018.
As for Deleon Guerrero, he has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington state, a master of arts in Catholic School Leadership from the University of San Francisco in California, and an EdD in Organizational Change and Leadership Program from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.
He is a former NMC regent, Office of Institutional Effectiveness director and accreditation liaison officer.
He is also a former Board of Education member and special assistant for special projects in the administration of former Gov. Juan N. Babauta.
An award-winning filmmaker, he is a three-time recipient of the Governor’s Award for the Humanities and is a former board member of the Humanities Council and the Council for the Arts and Culture.
At Mount Carmel School, he teaches Advanced Placement English, Advanced Placement U.S. History and Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics. He is also the adviser of the MCS Theatre Club.