Jim Griffin
Associate Vice Chancellor, Senior Vice President
LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology
281-542-2089
James.Griffin@sjcd.edu
Jim Griffin is the San Jacinto College associate vice chancellor/senior vice president for the petrochemical training division. Griffin has more than 30 years of experience in the petrochemical manufacturing industry. He has experienced the many changes in workforce demands of the petrochemical industry and the increased need for workers with degrees and certificates. Griffin began his career in petrochemical manufacturing as an environmental, health, and safety engineer in Illinois, following completion of his master’s degree thesis on chlorine handling and application safety. He is the past chairman of the board for EHCMA and has served in a variety of key roles at chemical plants including corporate director and plant manager. Before joining San Jacinto College, he was vice president of manufacturing for Dianal America, a Mitsubishi Chemical Company. He has also served as manufacturing director as well as in a variety of leadership positions with PolyOne Corp.
James Ragaisis
Dean of Business and Technology
281-476-1806
James.Ragaisis@sjcd.edu
James Ragaisis is the San Jacinto College Dean of Business and Technology for the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology. Ragaisis has been an industry consultant, community college faculty member, administrator, and leader in higher education for more than 20 years. Ragaisis is board member of the Arizona Tooling & Machining Association (ATMA) Training Center, member of ATMA Education Team, member of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) Education Team, and a member of the South Pasadena Rotary.
Tom Stang
CPET – Director of Petrochemical Technology
281-542-2042
Thomas.Stang@sjcd.edu
Tom Stang is the director for the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology. Stang brings 42 years of industry experience to CPET, having worked for several Fortune 500 companies. Prior to San Jacinto College, Stang worked for Dow Chemical for 15 years as an engineer and infrastructure operations and improvement leader.
Joe Zwiercan
Department Chair – Petrochemical & Energy
281-998-6150 ext. 1352
Joseph.Zwiercan@sjcd.edu
Joseph Zwiercan is the San Jacinto College Department Chair for Petrochemical/Energy at the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology. Now in his ninth year at the College, Zwiercan brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his role including new construction, contract maintenance, material and plant maintenance, logistics operations, accounting, fire, medical, HAZMAT, and core rescue. Zwiercan is a member of the Instrument Society of Automation (ISA) and the North American Process Technology Alliance (NAPTA) and serves on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for the State of Texas Energy Advisory Committee and the NAPTA Outreach Committee as the Education Co-Chair.
Les Crnkovic
Department Chair – Industrial Technology
281-478-2799
Leslie.Crnkovic@sjcd.edu
Les Crnkovic is the San Jacinto College Department Chair of Industrial Technology at the LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology. Crnkovic has more than 40 years professional experience in the non-destructive testing and petrochemical fields ranging from inspector, auditor, KVM systems engineer, mechanical contractor, and sheet-metal worker. Crnkovic has also earned ANSP Pilsbry, AMNH, Berger, COA, DuPont, Festivus, Goold, and PRI industry awards for malacological research.
Jeff Pearce
CPET – Coordinator of Education and Workforce
281-476-1501 x1413
Jeffrey.Pearce@sjcd.edu
Jeff Pearce serves as a liaison for all marketing, recruiting, and outreach involving CPET. This also includes any soft skills workforce development outside of the standard curriculum such as resume writing and interview success seminars for students nearing graduation. He facilitates industry visits to the building and student interaction with industry professionals to help CPET students gain careers in the industrial fields. Pearce sits on the Scholarship Committee and the Communications Committee for Petrochemworks. As a former collegiate coach, he also works to strengthen faculty team efforts and integration throughout the programs.