At its regular monthly meeting and annual organization of the Board on December 6, the Long Beach Community College District (LBCCD) Board of Trustees unanimously elected Trustee Vivian Malauulu as Board of Trustees President for 2024. Trustee Dr. Virginia Baxter was unanimously elected as the Board of Trustees Vice President.

In this role, Malauulu will preside over the meetings of the Board and act as chief spokesperson for the Board, among other duties. The positions are elected annually among the five Board members for a one-year term.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve as President of our Board,” said Malauulu. “I am grateful to my colleagues for once again entrusting me to lead and represent them. My previous tenure as Board President in 2019-2020 coincided with certain challenges that presented unique opportunities to experience firsthand the perseverance and strength of our college family. We witnessed the incredible transformative initiatives undertaken by Long Beach City College to support our students and step up as a caretaker and provider in the community.”

In addition to the municipal realignment of elections with the county that extended Malauulu’s first presidency from the normal one year to 18 months, there were unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. LBCC transitioned all operations to remote and hybrid systems, partnered with health officials to provide COVID testing and vaccines to the community, established various wrap-around services to deliver basic needs, and loaned laptops and hot spots to LBCC students. That term was a case study in Board and District governance that reinforced LBCC’s standing as an institution of higher education committed to providing holistic assistance to students and valuable resources to the community.

“We are energized and ready to elevate our prominence to even higher altitudes as the community college of choice in the region,” added Malauulu. “I look forward to working with the rest of the Board to make this happen at both our Liberal Arts and Pacific Coast campuses, which together are a great source of pride in the LBC.”

In 2016, Malauulu became the first Latina elected to the Board, and the first Board member with direct ties to the Pacific Islander community. She served two previous terms as Vice President in 2018 and 2023. She represents LBCCD Area 2, which covers all of West Long Beach, parts of the south-central downtown Long Beach area, and Signal Hill. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge, a master’s degree in Educational Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and four K-14 bilingual teaching credentials. She is a full-time registered longshore worker and the elected benefits officer of Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Malauulu spearheaded the establishment of the LBCC Labor Center in 2020, which is the first and only labor center in the Los Angeles Harbor Region.