Inglewood native Dr. Dena Maloney was named the sixth Superintendent/President of the El Camino Community College District on Monday. She will assume the position when current president Tom Fallo retires next February. Fallo has been college’s president for 20 years.
“Her experience and leadership will serve the district well during this time of transition,” said Board President Bill Beverly.
Maloney currently serves as Superintendent/President of the West Kern Community College District/Taft College. She began her career in higher education at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, where she served as director of the Employee Training Institute and director the Center for Applied Competitive Technologies. She then became dean of economic development for the Santa Clarita Community College District. In 2007, Maloney was named founding dean of the Canyon Country Campus, a new educational center within the Santa Clarita Community College District. She then became assistant superintendent/vice president, with responsibilities for the Canyon Country Campus, as well as the district’s economic development programs. She was appointed to her current position in 2012.
Maloney was born at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood and lived in Hawthorne before her family moved to the San Gabriel Valley, where she grew up.
Maloney received a doctorate in education from the University of La Verne, a master’s degree in government from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University.
She was among five finalists from a nationwide search that began this past spring. A search committee comprised of students, faculty, staff, managers and community members, screened candidates and recommended the five finalists who participated in public forums and interviews with the district’s Board of Trustees.
