Veteran Trustee Bonnie Stefan Faces Lone Challenger

Bonnie Stefan, who for the second consecutive year, serves as chair of the Board of Trustees for College of the Desert is seeking re-election in the Nov. 5 election. She faces one challenger. She represents Area 5, which includes Indio, Bermuda Dunes, La Quinta and parts of Palm Desert.

Stefan has served on the Board of Trustees since 1999. Stefan has taught at Jefferson Middle School in Indio for 19 years and is currently a teacher at Amistad High School.

Mark W. Meyer, who serves on the board of the COD Alumni Association, is challenging Stefan. Little is known about him.

Uken Report (UR) submitted identical questionnaires to all candidates. Meyer did not respond.

Following are Stefan’s unedited responses.

UR: Age and occupation

Stefan: 69, Teacher, Community College Trustee

UR: Who or what motivated you to run for the COD Board of Trustees?

Stefan: Education is my passion. I have taught K-12 students in Indio for more than forty years and have honorably served on College of the Desert’s (COD) Board of Trustees since 1999. I currently serve as COD’s Board Chair. During my tenure, COD became the fastest growing community college in California, set record graduation rates, and earned national awards for academic excellence.

I ran to increase access to a higher education for all the K-12 students throughout the Coachella Valley. Eliminating barriers to access has been my biggest accomplishment. COD now provides free tuition for every Coachella Valley high school senior and free public transportation on Sunline to work, school and home. We also just started Roadrunner Express, a shuttle service that allows students to ride from one COD campus to another campus, free of charge. Additionally, during my tenure on the board, COD built new campuses throughout the Coachella Valley including COD’s East Valley Campus in Indio, the Mecca/Thermal Campus, and the temporary campus in Palm Springs. We also made incredible improvements at the Main Campus in Palm Desert.

The second reason I ran was to ensure COD continues offering a high-quality education. Our community relies on COD to train nurses, firefighters, peace officers, accountants, business leaders, and auto mechanics. I want to make sure that the training COD provides will prepare students to earn a degree or certificate, and in return, start a career that offers a living wage for their families.

UR: Do you unconditionally support a West Valley Camus in Palm Springs? Why or why not?

Stefan: Absolutely. The students in the West Valley have been waiting for nearly 20 years for a campus that can serve their needs while providing specialty programs geared towards the needs of our local economy including health care, green energy, hospitality, culinary, film and digital arts, architecture, and gaming management. Everyone will have an opportunity to utilize this new facility.

UR: Are you prepared to lead COD into the future? How?

Stefan: I have served COD since 1999 and am currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the second year in a row.  I believe I have the institutional knowledge and drive to take COD well into the future.

UR: Are the COD Board’s practices, best practices? How do you know?

Stefan: As the Board Chair, I do everything in my power to run the board meetings utilizing best practices. We are fortunate enough to have training by the Community College League of California annually to keep us apprised of the best practices in our roles as trustees.

UR: Are you prepared to select your next long-term Superintendent/President? Why or why not?

Stefan: Yes. COD interviewed some of the best search firms in the country and selected a fantastic firm to guide us through this process.  COD will conduct a national search for our next Superintendent/President. Internally, we have also formed a search committee with representatives from all areas of the college including faculty, staff, and students. They will review and provide feedback throughout the process. We will also receive feedback from the community and listen to their input and concerns. I will serve as the Chair of the new presidential search committee.

UR: Can your students count on you? Why? Provide an example of when you have stood up for a student?

Stefan: Yes, COD students can count on me to do everything in my power for their success. I have worked to pass two educational bond measures totaling nearly $1 billion to build college facilities throughout the Coachella Valley. All high school students who graduate in the Coachella Valley can go to COD tuition free, get to school and back home on Sunline for free, and we have created student resource centers to support our very diverse student body. During my tenure COD has established and enhanced the COD Food Bank for food insecure students, the Veterans Resource Center, the Dreamers Resource Center, Gender and Sexual Diversity Pride Center, Black Student Success Center, Foster Youth Center and the Berger Faculty Innovation Center at COD. We also worked with the California Indian Nations College to begin its process of full accreditation through a collaboration with COD.

Image Sources

  • Bonnie Stefan: Courtesy photo