LEADING – The Next Generation – Meet COC’s Dean of Mathematics, Sciences and Health Professions

For College of the Canyons’ Dean of Mathematics, Sciences and Health Professions, student success is one of the most important aspects of the job. Omar Torres has loved education since he was a boy, when he would play with his chalkboard in his parents’ garage, put on magic shows or compete against other children with math flash cards.  He has long been inspired by his mother, an immigrant from Cuba who eventually worked her way up to become a principal.
Torres graduated from UCLA and worked at a high school as a chemistry teacher, but he always knew his heart and soul was in community college.
After completing his Master’s degree, he worked as part-time faculty at Los Angeles City College, full-time and department chair at Moorpark College and arrived at COC as the Dean of Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering Division.
“I decided ‘I think I’m gonna go for it.’  I had heard wonderful things about the Santa Clarita Valley,” Torres said.  “College of the Canyons has an exceptional reputation as a highly innovative, entrepreneurial, progressive college, and that suits my personality.”
Torres got the position and says he felt he really fit in with the school and loved working as an administrator.  Torres enjoyed administration so much that he wanted to continue moving up the ladder and was hired as the vice president in academic affairs at Santa Ana College, where he worked for eight months before he realized he missed COC.
“The longer I was there, I really started longing for COC, and realized I was missing the energy and that sort of pioneering innovation that are hallmarks and trademarks of College of the Canyons,” he said.
Torres reached out to COC and was welcomed back with a new title – Dean of Mathematics, Sciences and Health Professions.  His department includes about one-third of COC’s full-time students.
“There’s no place like home, like Dorothy said,” Torres said with a smile, “and it’s great to be back.
“What I love about this job is the inherent uncertainty of what each day will bring.  It’s uncanny – something will characteristically come up unexpectedly.  Even though I had a plan for the day, something always comes up.”
Torres’ job isn’t easy.  Sometimes the most difficult parts of the job involve taking the unpopular stance, working with a variety of opinions and learning how to not take things personally when colleagues are not in agreement.
“When you’re in a management position, people don’t always agree with your decisions,” he said.  “I always tell my colleagues, ‘That’s okay, I don’t expect you to always agree with my decisions.’  Part of the collaborative nature I’ve tried to continuously instill in our school is, if you don’t agree with me, great; tell me.  Tell me why.”
Torres also takes his education passion from COC to the gym on the weekends, where he teaches a high-impact cardio class at LA Fitness in Culver City.
Torres is currently working on several projects to better his departments, including more short-term weekend classes, applying for grants, scheduling speakers to come talk to students, implementing the Next Generation Science Standards and construction of a permanent science building at the Canyon Country Campus, which is scheduled to open for students in Spring 2019.  He says it’s important to get student feedback when working on new projects.
“I work for the students and with the students because we’re trying to create opportunities for our students,” he said.  “We’re trying to make College of the Canyons unique.”
For more information, visit www.canyons.edu.

photo by Joie de Vivre photographie

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