Re “West L.A. College President Leaving” 

Some have said that the presidency of West Los Angeles College is the academic equivalent of the government’s witness protection program.

Obscurity, thy name is West.

When presidents departed, the only person who noticed was the neighborhood launderer.

Not so with the impactful Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, who announced yesterday that he is leaving this summer, after four years, to assume the presidency of  Grossmont College, San Diego.

For a non-partisan evaluation of Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s term, Vice Mayor Andy Weissman, who came to know him well, was consulted. He hit upon what has been a tender and sore spot for decades, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s tight relationship with the city of Culver City. This has been a  sometimes-awkward mating since the college is in county territory, in the middle of Culver City.

Said Mr. Weissman:

“Nabil has been a refreshing addition to the Culver City landscape.

“He has taken an institution that never really was thought to be a part of Culver City because it is on county land, and he has made it a member of the community.

“He has been accessible, involved. He has brought West into community activities, and he has made the institution a part of the community, something his predecessors may have wanted to do —I am unsure whether they really wanted to do – but did not do.

“In the four years Nabil has been at West, there has been a sea change.

“We have had conferences up there. We have had community events.

“When the School District and the Exchange Club were unable to agree on Fourth of July (fireworks) at the high school, Nabil and West L.A. College stepped up to host it. And they are going to have the event again this year on the Fourth.

“Nabil has been an active member of the (City Hall) Oversight Board, working through the dissolution issues related to redevelopment.\

“It just has been totally different under Nabil. The college had a reputation for being difficult to deal with. Neighbors in and around West were not happy with the way the campus was operating.

“I daresay in the time Nabil has been there, if there have been issues, the neighbors all seem pleased with the way the college has become incorporated into the community.

“Nabil will be missed, at least until a replacement is named who will be as committed to making West a part of the community as Nabil did.”