S.J. Delta College official to take lead at Cabrillo College

When Matt Wetstein first moved from the Midwest to California more than 20 years ago, it wasn’t for his own career opportunity.

It was for his wife’s. Cindy Ostberg leads the Pacific Legal Scholars program at University of the Pacific.

But it didn’t take long for Wetstein to land solidly at San Joaquin Delta College, where he’s remained for 21 years, first as a political science instructor and then as an administrator, eventually securing the second-highest position on campus.

Wetstein announced recently that he will leave Delta to become president at Cabrillo College, near Santa Cruz. He’ll say a final farewell to Delta in January.

“It’s bittersweet,” Wetstein said this week. “I’ve always liked working at Delta. It’s where I grew up professionally. I learned a lot from people there and it’s hard to leave.”

Wetstein has been one of the more prominent members of the Delta community. In his days as an instructor, he was an outspoken union advocate who criticized college leadership for various policy and budget decisions. And as a political science expert, he was frequently asked by reporters to share his opinion on local, state and national affairs.

Eventually, he crossed over into college administration, where he led a research and statistics office before becoming vice president for instruction and assistant superintendent.

Wetstein made no secret about his desire to eventually lead a community college. Last year, he participated in a national fellowship for aspiring college presidents.

“In the midst of doing all of that work, I just thought, ‘I’m probably ready for that next jump,’” he said.

While he’ll be moving to the Santa Cruz area, Ostberg will continue working at Pacific, Wetstein said. The couple will travel for weekend visits.

Delta board President Janet Rivera called Wetstein’s departure a “big loss” for Delta.

“He was an excellent political science teacher for the college,” she said. “And he gave a lot of himself for the community as well.”

Wetstein leaves during a time of heavy turnover at Delta. A vice president of finance also has departed, though an interim replacement has been brought on board.

Delta also is saying goodbye this month to 47 employees who took advantage of a special retirement incentive, as the college seeks to reduce costs in the face of low enrollment. Most of those departing are staff, but nine instructors and three managers also are retiring.

“There’s a lot of experience leaving,” Trustee Steve Castellanos said, “but (President Kathy Hart) been great at attracting young and highly skilled staff.”