MSJC officials pay tribute to departing trustee Zimmerman

New Menifee Mayor Bill Zimmerman chats with Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Sobek at the end of Wednesday's city council meeting. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

Editor's note: Due to his appointment Wednesday night as mayor of Menifee, Bill Zimmerman is resigning from his position on the Board of Trustees of Mt. San Jacinto College. MSJC officials released the following statement regarding Zimmerman's contributions in that position:

The announcement of Bill Zimmerman’s appointment as mayor of Menifee during a city council meeting on July 18, 2018 is bittersweet for Mt. San Jacinto College. Mr. Zimmerman, a staunch advocate for students, higher education and taxpayers, has served Trustee Area 3 on MSJC’s Board of Trustees since 2014. He was named board chair in 2017. The mayoral appointment means Mr. Zimmerman will step down from the MSJC board.

"Mr. Zimmerman’s leadership has helped shape MSJC’s future and continued the course for student success," said Dr. Roger Schultz, superintendent/president of MSJC. "Mr. Zimmerman championed the purchase of our new facility in Temecula, provided leadership on the district budget and Measure AA projects and was committed to ensuring our district was meeting its goals. He has been a part of a unique team of five board members who, collectively, were recognized by the accreditation team for their integrity and support of student success.

"He will be missed, but we are pleased to have a strong leader in the city who supports the college. We will work with the remaining board members to determine a course for replacing Mr. Zimmerman."

Mr. Zimmerman called the college a quality institution and praised his fellow board members and the leadership and staff at MSJC. He said serving as a trustee at the college "has been a wonderful learning experience."

"I'm pleased that the many positive relationships I've established with students, faculty and administrators will carry over to my new role as city mayor," Mr. Zimmerman said. "The city of Menifee is fortunate to have the campus producing a skilled and educated workforce, while also providing community-based opportunities for our residents. I've often said, the campus is the jewel in the city’s crown."

Trustee Tom Ashley, who serves as clerk of the board, said he considered Mr. Zimmerman a good friend and believes the transition to a mayoral role will help to further strengthen the relationship between the city and the college district.

"Trustee Zimmerman provided us with many years of stable, solid leadership," Trustee Ashley said. "Although he will be greatly missed and his wide breadth of experience will be hard to replace, our loss will be the city of Menifee’s gain. He is ideally suited to lead the city."

The board will be asked in August to determine how the district will fill the vacancy.

During Mr. Zimmerman’s tenure on the board, the district reached many milestones that will set the district’s course for generations to come. In just the first six months of 2018, the institution received re-accreditation with no compliance issues and purchased a new facility on Motor Car Parkway in Temecula.

Mr. Zimmerman has helped maintain a fiscally responsible budget, saw the increase in the Measure AA bond rating and he worked to strengthen partnerships in Menifee and other communities within the district’s 1,700-square-mile boundaries. With student success a district priority, Mr. Zimmerman spent time volunteering and working directly with students. He served as a judge on a number of student contests, supported scholarship fundraising events through the MSJC Foundation, supported Measure AA and attended many events on campus. Prior to his service on the MSJC board, Mr. Zimmerman served on the MSJC Foundation Board of Directors between 2012 and 2014.