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# Trustees tap Donner to take over at SMC
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/trustees-tap-donner-to-take-over-at-smc/
- Published: 2004-12-08T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:47:12.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Donner to take the reins at SMC for second time*

*By Daily Press staff*

SMC — The local community college will have a new leader, at least for one year.

The Santa Monica College Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday night to install Tom Donner as interim president, beginning Jan. 1\. Donner now serves as SMC’s executive vice president of business and administration.

The action comes less than three weeks after SMC President Dr. Piedad F. Robertson announced she would leave next month to head up the Education Commission of the States, an education policy group based in Denver, Colo.

Robertson’s retirement becomes effective on Jan. 31, allowing for a month-long transition period. Donner will serve in the interim position for one year, about the length of time officials expect it will take to find a replacement. He will be paid Robertson’s base salary of $178, 846\. Donner also served as interim president from October of 1994 to June of 1995, between the presidencies of Richard Moore and Robertson.

A fixture at the college since 1976, Donner has had extensive senior administrative and financial experience, overseeing the business operations of SMC through massive facilities changes and more than one state budget crisis. The Community College Business Officers, a national organization, last month named Donner “Outstanding Chief Business Officer of the Year.”

Donner is credited with chartering the college’s fiscal plan through the aftermath of the Proposition 13 tax reform and developing a strong international student recruitment program to supplement state funding, according to school officials. He is also credited with forming a team to rebuild the college following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and procuring federal funding for the science, library and business buildings, and other reconstruction projects.

Donner negotiated the establishment of satellite sites for the college at Santa Monica Airport and several other locations throughout Santa Monica. He received a bachelor of science degree in finance and his MBA from California State University, Long Beach. He holds a juris doctorate degree from Southwestern University and is an active member of the California State Bar.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 8, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120804.pdf?ref=smdp.com)