WOODLAND HILLS : Acting Vice President Appointed at College

Carmelita Thomas, dean of instruction at Los Angeles City College, has been named Pierce College’s acting vice president of academic affairs, officials said.

Thomas will replace William Norlund, who last month was made acting president of Mission College in Sylmar. Her assignment will last for one year.

“I look forward to being part of the growth that is going to take place at Pierce College, including the expansion of an international, multicultural perspective in the humanities, the arts and the sciences,” she said in a statement.

Thomas’ salary will be $71,226, college officials said. She will be in charge of organizing, administering and supervising various educational programs, including curriculum development, community service programs and instructional support services, according to her job description. Among other duties, she will also help recruit staff members and enforce affirmative action guidelines.

Thomas, 56, said she believes in working to integrate technology into the classroom, including computers and other interactive media. The use of this technology, she said, makes education programs more flexible because students can receive instruction by computer from their homes or other locations.

Before becoming an administrator at Los Angeles City College, Thomas said, she was a humanities and foreign language instructor. She later became chairwoman of the school’s foreign language and humanities department. During that time, Pierce College officials said, Thomas helped develop a program that uses computers to teach foreign languages.

Thomas said she graduated from UCLA in 1967. She began her career as an educator teaching French at UCLA. She has a doctorate in education from UCLA, and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in linguistics and literature.