The president of Palomar College announced his decision to retire for the end of next semester.

Robert Deegan has been the president of Palomar for nearly ten years and announced his decision to retire at the end of Spring semester 2015.

Deegan told the Governing Board the day before he announced it publicly about his plan to retire and said they were supportive.

The Governing Board approved for the campus to move forward with an Supplemental Early Retirement Incentive on Sept. 9.

Deegan said his decision to retire is not related to the approval of the incentive plan. He reiterated that the SERP is to save money for the district and to bring diversity to Palomar.

Why did you decide to retire?

“There is never the perfect time,” Deegan said about why he chose this moment to retire. After serving 35 years in community college and 37 years in higher education Deegan said this was time that seemed best.

What are you looking forward to most about retirement?

Deegan said what he is looking forward to most about retirement is the time he will be able to spend with his family along with gardening and traveling.

He has never traveled during the spring or fall because of the school semesters and he might plan a trip to Italy next year.

Also, he and his wife, who recently retired, just bought a house in La Jolla and will now have time to enjoy it as well as participating within the community or community colleges in some way.

What will you miss the most?

“The students,” Deegan said is what he will miss the most when he retires.

He will miss the opportunity to share in the students’ success. His favorite part of his is commencement “when we stop to celebrate all of the hard work.”

What do you want to accomplish before you leave next year?

Before Deegan leaves he said he wants to make sure the accreditation process goes well when the accreditation committee visits Palomar in March 2015. He added how

he feels optimistic about it.

Even though he won’t be here for the completion of the new library, he said he is glad he will be here for the groundbreaking.

What is the process for hiring the next president?

The process of hiring a new president of the college is a time consuming and carefully chosen task. There will be a committee comprised of about 25 members who will oversee the process of hiring the new president.

The selection committee is still the process of being selected. The selection committee will be a similar design to that of the one used in 2003.