Spevak: New Merced College dean in Los Banos returns to her hometown

The new dean of Merced College’s Los Banos Campus is a hometown girl, or more accurately, a hometown woman. Jessica Moran, confirmed as the ongoing LBC dean by the college’s Board of Trustees on April 13, was born and raised in Los Banos.

Although she went to UC Berkeley for her college education and worked in Merced for several years, her heart has always remained in Los Banos. A 2005 graduate of Los Banos High School, Jessica has always wanted to make a difference in her home town.

As the new Los Banos Campus dean, Jessica succeeds Lonita Cordova, who was selected to be the Vice President of Student Services at San Joaquin Delta College in March.

After Lonita left, Jessica was named acting LBC dean by Merced College president Chris Vitelli, who then recommended to his board that she be officially named ongoing dean.

Jessica will continue to also serve as Merced College’s Dean of Adult Education, Noncredit and Workforce Development, a position she has held for the past year, until a successor for that role can be found.

Jessica will be the eighth dean of the Los Banos Campus since it opened 50 years ago in September 1971. Previous deans, besides Cordova, include Ted McVey, the “founding dean,” as well as Bob Edminster, Anne Newins, Karyn Dower and Brenda Latham. The other dean, from 1985 to 1992, was a guy named Spevak.

As a resident for the past 50 years, I’m happy for Los Banos that Jessica is the new dean. I’ve had a chance to get to know her over the past few months, and I’m impressed. She is bright, energetic, dedicated and perseverant. Above all she wants all students at the Los Banos Campus to succeed.

As a person who was an active part of the Los Banos Campus for 21 years as an instructor and administrator, I believe Jessica has the spirit and approach not only to keep the campus moving forward but also to enable it to grow and flourish.

Since the day I started teaching English in 1971 until the day in 1992 when I was brought to the Merced Campus when Merced asked for my help, the Los Banos Campus was my home, a place which gave all students an opportunity to be whatever they aspired to be.

From 1992 to 2008, while I was commuting to Merced to work in the Office of Instruction, Los Banos remained close to my heart. I tried to make sure the campus received its fair share of attention and resources.

I was proud to see the deans who succeeded me--Anne, Karyn, Brenda and Lonita--continue the initial spirit of the campus as a family, for students and staff alike. I believe Jessica will not only continue that spirit but also take the campus to new horizons I could have only imagined.

Jessica has prepared herself well for her time as the Los Banos dean. At Los Banos High School she took many advanced placement courses and graduated in 2005 as the valedictorian of class.

She applied and was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley, with a major in Environmental Economics and Policy. While at Berkeley she had dinner with Kobe Bryant, whose foundation sponsored her and other students from various California schools with a trip to Europe.

In 2008 Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in just three years. To the surprise of her UC professors, who thought she could go anywhere with her degree and talent, Jessica returned to live in Los Banos, where her heart was and still is.

She decided to further her education by earning a Master’s in Business Administration at CSU Stanislaus in 2010. In 2013 she was hired by Merced College as a Special Projects and Grants Assistant.

She worked her way up to director of special projects and then moved to an accounting position at the college. In 2016 she was promoted to Director of the Student Outcomes Transformation project.

Two years later, after earning another master’s degree, this time in academic school counseling from Brandman University, Jessica was promoted to Director, and in 2020 to Dean, of Adult Education, Noncredit and Workforce Development.

Now she’s the Dean of the Los Banos Campus, and she’s already thinking about how the campus can grow and develop, especially in the areas of workforce development and career technical education. And she’s already enrolled in another graduate program to earn her doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Jessica is fluent in English and Spanish and credits her parents for inspiring and encouraging her to advance her education. She likes to hike, travel and experience different cultures and countries.

She enjoys the process of learning, wants to be of service to others and hopes to be a person who can encourage all students at the Los Banos Campus to utilize their full potential. She hopes to inspire each student to earn a degree or certificate and move on to find fulfillment in their work and their lives.

As she settles into the role of campus dean, Jessica plans on introducing herself to many people, businesses and organizations in Los Banos and becoming an active part of the community.

Jessica Moran, I believe, is just the person Los Banos and the Los Banos Campus needs to advance to an even brighter future.

This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.