On the weekdays, Dena Maloney is the president of El Camino attending several meetings; on the weekend she is golfing with her husband and spending time with her adult son and daughter.

“I’m very honored to be the first female president of El Camino,” Maloney said. “It’s a fantastic institution with such a great history and legacy.”

Twice a month, Maloney attends a meeting as chair of the College Council that consists of faculty, administrators and students to discuss policy changes and campus wide planning.

Maloney is also the chair for the Facilities Steering Committee which meets once a month to provide input and carry information to groups on campus about new building projects and facilities on campus.

She also has meetings with her cabinet that consists of various vice presidents on Academic Affairs, Student and Community Advancement, Administrative Services, etc.

Maloney also meets regularly with the Foundation Board which deals with scholarships and the Promise Program to help make college more affordable.

“She was really interested and engaging since the beginning and supported us financially with donations,” Andrea Sala, foundation executive director of El Camino, said. “She’s a terrific leader.”

Sala added that when Maloney goes out into the community she’s friendly, sincere, and warm to the people they meet in the community.
Maloney is very supportive of they do and that she is a good cheerleader for the foundation and the campus, Sala said.

Fine Arts Associate Dean Walter Cox said that from what he’s heard Maloney spends a lot of time in meetings and running the campus.
She works about 10 to 12 hours a day and about four hours on the weekend.

“The most challenging thing about my job is that there’s not enough hours in the day,” Maloney said. “Setting priorities and figuring out what’s most important is something you have to learn.”

Maloney said her favorite part of this job is getting to interact with students and those that serve the campus.

“She very warm and approachable and is always ready to listen to faculty and the administration,” Cox said.

Maloney has been married to her husband for 35 years. She met him while studying at Loyola Marymount University.

Maloney enjoys eating Italian food, spending time with her family and listening to jazz music. She looks forward to attending the Jazz Festival in April.

For Maloney, it is all about student success.

“There is such a wonderful energy at El Camino College around student success,” Maloney said. “The best day every year is graduation.”