WCC gets interim president

By Jim Smith Enterprise staff writer

An interim president has been named for Woodland Community College.

The appointment of Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay is pending final approval by according to the district’s interim chancellor Dr. James Houpis.

Bandyopadhyay began serving as interim president this past Tuesday, according to an email sent by Houpis to Woodland college staff. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay brings with him a wealth of needed experience,” Houpis said. “He has been a transformational leader in three community colleges, Cypress, Columbia and Modesto Junior College. His most recent assignment was as the president of Modesto Junior College.

Prior to that, he served as president of Columbia College (a rural community college) within the same district from July 2018.”

Houpis noted that before moving to the Central Valley, Bandyopadhyay worked as executive vice president at Cypress College in Southern California from July 2013 to July 2018, where he was responsible for instructional programs and student services. Bandyopadhyay replaces Woodland Community College President Dr. Art Pimentel, who left on Dec. 22 to assume the presidency of Folsom Lake College in the Los Rios Community College District. Pimentel had been president of the Woodland school since 2019. Before being named president of WCC, at 2300 E. Gibson Road, Pimentel served as a Woodland city councilman and as mayor. As college president, he oversaw the start of construction of the new $42 million, 36,859-square-foot Performing Arts and Culinary Services Facility.