No ruby slippers are necessary on this side of the rainbow to take an EC dean “home, sweet home.”

Acting Dean Bobbi Villalobos has left the Humanities Division, the biggest division on campus, to take a similar position at Long Beach City College.

“I feel like I’m just going home,” Villalobos said, “I’m taking everything that I know, everything that (Thomas Lew, acting dean of fine arts) taught me, all of the skill and talent, and I’m taking it home to the city that I really know.”

Villalobos will be dean of the School of Language Arts, she said.

The difference between her position at EC and the position she intends to take is the proximity to her home.

“I feel very fortunate; you’re not usually that lucky in these positions to get a job that’s right in your hometown,” Villalobos said.

With Villalobos gone, Lew will have the opportunity to step back into his role as dean of Humanities.

Lew served as dean of Humanities for more than 15 years before becoming acting dean of humanities.

“What I’ve tried to do is facilitate an easier transition from Doctor Roger Quadhammer’s retirement to the hiring of a new dean, which we hope to accomplish this spring,” Lew said.

It is still yet to be determined as to whether Lew will return to his former position, or if he will continue as dean of fine arts and the new hire will run Humanities.

“Humanities still has a dean, it’s just a matter of hiring a Fine Arts dean and figuring out what to do there so Tom can come back here,” Villalobos said.

“If the president asks me to run back and forth, then I guess I’ll get the best of both worlds, but probably a great deal of work,” Lew said.

“I would work both areas if I could, but there really is a great deal of work in managing areas like Fine Arts and Humanities, two of the largest divisions on campus,” Lew said. “So, although I’d like to do both jobs, I know it would not be fair to either.”

The college is accepting applications for the position and should have a new dean of Fine Arts hired by July 1.

“We have the job announcement out right now; it closes in about a week,” Lew said.

“The position was actually advertised for this spring, but the number of applicants we received did not comprise a competitive pool,” Lew said.

Faculty members and staff will miss Villalobos, Lew said.

He said Villalobos was “liked by everyone” and had an “easy way of working with people.”

Villalobos, too, will be missing the staff and faculty members, she said.

“They have been a great assistance to me the whole time I’ve been here, but particularly since I have become Acting Dean,” Villalobos said.

Though Villalobos is pleased and excited about her new position, she regrets not being able to finish projects she started at EC, such as the planning for the new Humanities Building.

“It’s going to be a great building, it would have been really nice to follow through with that,” Villalobos said.

“If our roles were reversed, I would be very happy and feel confident in being her director,” Lew said, “she’s that good.”