Alberto J. Román, interim prime minister of the Los Angeles Community College District, held the position amid a systematic years-long estimation of legal troubles and was appointed to a permanent position by the district’s board of directors on Wednesday.
Román promised a "culture of responsibility" and shocked critics and champions after his sudden resignation last year by Francisco C. Rodriguez.
During Rodriguez's decade at the helm, nine campuses face lawsuits alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment and whistleblower retaliation. He and the trustees suffered a vote of no confidence in the area's academic Senate in 2024, including their described failure to adequately address claims of sexual harassment and discrimination, among others.
Román, 47, who has held various positions in the country's largest two-year annual system, covering more than 11 years, received a contract of about three years, effective immediately and paid $440,000 a year. He was former president of East Los Angeles College and previously served as vice president of human resources in the community college district.
“We pride ourselves on being a leader and identifying and combating any kind of discrimination,” Rome said in an interview with The Times. “I also stress the importance of transparency, trust building within and across the public.”
Rome is a Mexican immigrant who came to the United States as a child to start the groundbreaking Central American research program at the East Los Angeles College in 2023. It is known as the first effort of California Community College and provides students with the opportunity to earn a degree in the field.
"For me, it's really a very important plan that can be held in Los Angeles." Rome has been working in education for more than twenty years. He said the trip to El Salvador with teachers inspired him to create the program. “I’m really interested in learning more about our Central American community here.”
Just a year ago, Rome praised Rodriguez's "transformative decade of service, leadership and vision" in an open letter.
But the end of the term of the former prime minister is difficult.
Rodriguez said in August that he would resign to help take care of his sick father. The move was a big surprise, partly because the district gave him a four-year contract a year ago. Rodriguez left on November 2, and Román then took on temporary positions.
Rodriguez did not respond to an interview request.
In the lawsuit, the lawsuit faced by Rodriguez and the area are ongoing charges of sexual harassment, whistleblower revenge and other claims filed by former chief attorney Maribel Medina.
She filed a lawsuit against Rodriguez, the district and a trustee in a 2024 Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Rodriguez, the district and a trustee, who was asked for leave after complaining about the then-paying difference, and then fired and caught his attention, “It is obvious that there is a lack of compliance in sexual harassment training in the area.”
Mexican-American Medina also claimed in the complaint that Rodriguez had said before her: “Mexican women serve me and they like it.”
According to court documents, the defendant denied the allegations. Their attorney did not respond to interview requests. Medina's lawyer declined to comment.
The trial of the case is scheduled for January.
Asked about some of the controversy over the weathering of the former prime minister, Rome said that in a system as large as the university district — it has a workforce of nearly 10,000 people — “there is always a problem,” he couldn’t discuss the ongoing lawsuit.
He also stressed that the region is “actively working” to ensure that policies related to professional behavior are updated. He added that employees will be continuously trained so that they can understand the revised regulations and guidelines.
Another area of review is the multi-billion dollar bond construction program in the region. It has been accused of mismanagement since the early 2010s, wasted money, and affected by nepotism.
Rome insists that the program has undergone an overhaul, touting “stricter liability measures” and improving the “supplier selection process” while noting this year’s hiring of independent third-party bond monitors, affiliated monitors.
"The problems found about 10 years ago have been resolved," he said. "I think there will be no doubts about the outbreak of programs of this scale, but we have managed these plans."
Roman faces other challenges, including a massive drop in enrollment from the 19th pandemic. The district said there were about 210,000 students in the 2019-2020 academic year, but the enrollment rate fell to 158,000 in 2021-2022. It picked it up from there, standing 194,000 students in 2023-2024.
He touted the upward trend and said the entire region has not seen a decline in enrollment in the past four years. He attributed the success to part of the focus, focusing on vocational and technical education, which he said could help as the region prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics at the same time.
Then, there is President Trump. His executive orders on higher education, anti-Semitism investigations on university campuses, and deportation from college students have destroyed the entire academic community.
Rome said that so far, the president's various actions have not directly affected the university district. He said students in the area were not deported to his knowledge and the funds were not cancelled - despite “about $500,000 art-related grants were put on hold.”
“We will continue to monitor our funds and do our best to protect it,” he said. “We will continue to monitor policies that may affect students. We are firm with them.”
Roman also said that no plan has changed the following Trump’s instructions to work rooted in diversity, equity and inclusiveness on university campuses. “Our plan … includes all students,” he said. “Essentially, how we continue the work we need to do.”
Board member Gabriel Buelna noted in a statement that Román took over “at a time of intense national pressure.”
He said the Prime Minister has “excellent qualifications, proven talent, and the vision and integrity needed to lead LACCD through challenging times and strengthen our region”.