P. Wesley Lundburg, an experienced community college leader who for the past five years has been serving as Executive Dean and CEO of the Ammerman Campus at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island, New York, has been named the new president of San Diego Miramar College.
Ammerman is the largest of Suffolk County Community College’s three campuses with more than 17,000 credit and non-credit students. Suffolk County Community College is the largest community college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
“The San Diego Community College District’s Board of Trustees and I were impressed by Wes Lundburg’s student-centered approach,” said SDCCD Chancellor Constance M. Carroll. “Also impressive is his commitment to cultivating an environment where diversity is a priority, his dedication to ensuring equity in implementing policy, and his track record of building programs and curriculum that are inclusive.”
Miramar College, with an enrollment exceeding 16,000 students, offers more than 160 degrees and certificates and is a hub for transferring to a University of California and California State University campus. A center for workforce training in the region, Miramar College also is home to the Southern California Biotechnology Center, Advanced Transportation, and Fire Technology & EMT programs. Since 1969, it has provided training for nearly all law enforcement officers and firefighters working in San Diego County. Miramar College was recently ranked by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University among the nation’s top colleges and universities for return on investment, including ranking #1 in San Diego County and #11 in California.
"I'm thrilled to be joining the faculty and staff at San Diego Miramar College in serving the students and community,” said Lundburg. “This college has a rich history of offering high quality academics with a truly comprehensive array of programs. Having grown up in Penasquitos, I'm particularly invested in the community and am excited to have the opportunity to return home and contribute to the place I love. The faculty and staff are clearly a dedicated group, and I am honored to have been selected to join them and work alongside them."
At Suffolk County Community College, Lundburg oversaw the Ammerman Campus’s development and continued growth of a new cybersecurity program, an expanding Automotive Technology program certified by numerous automobile manufacturers, the completion of multiple capital improvement projects, and annual increases in enrollment. He also served as an adjunct English professor who taught composition and literature courses.
Prior to arriving at Suffolk County Community College, Lundburg served as Dean of Bristol Community College’s New Bedford Campus in Massachusetts; Interim President and CEO at Prince William Sound Community College in Valdez, Alaska; Dean of Instruction/Chief Academic Officer at Prince William Sound Community College; and Dean of Academic Affairs at Minnesota State Community & Technical College – Fergus Falls following eight years as an English professor.
Lundburg is currently completing his PhD in Education, Community College Leadership from Walden University, where he also earned a master’s degree in educational research. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He also has an associate degree from Fresno City College.
Lundburg is a Coast Guard veteran who for several years owned and operated a full-service fishing charter boat company.
SDCCD Board President Maria Nieto Senour says Lundburg’s leadership qualities will benefit the campus and community. “The board was unanimous in supporting the appointment of Wes Lundburg,” said Board President Senour. “All five board members value the many educational contributions of Miramar College to our community and believe that Mr. Lundburg’s educational experience in the military and private sector and commitment to all forms of diversity will provide the leadership the college needs for the future.”
Lundburg’s first day as President of Miramar College is July 1. His appointment is subject to ratification by the SDCCD’s Board of Trustees at the board’s June 11 meeting.
