Nic Candidates Narrowed To 11 Semifinalists For President’s Position To Be Interviewed Thursday And Friday
Three women and eight men will arrive in Coeur d’Alene Thursday and Friday to interview for North Idaho College’s presidency.
The list of semifinalists was made public Tuesday. Three are from Texas, two from Colorado, two from Washington and one each from Montana, Arizona, Ohio and Illinois.
They will be interviewed by NIC’s search committee before the list is cut to five finalists in mid-February.
Here are the candidates in alphabetical order:
Michael Burke is vice president of finance and planning at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas. Built as the second campus of the Dallas County Community College District in 1970, Eastfield enrolls about 9,000 students each semester for one and two-year degrees.
The college is known for its partnership with Toyota, which provides cars, training aids, tools and scholarship money. The college is building a large state-of-the-art technology building to house the mechanics program.
Sonia Cowen is the assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of Toledo, Ohio. She is one of six vice presidents to report to the chief academic officer. The four-year research school enrolls 22,000 students and is recognized for its nationally acclaimed Student Recreation Center. A $33 million science complex is under construction.
Joe Forrester is dean of the Timberline Campus in Leadville, Colo., a branch of Colorado Mountain College. It was one of two community college campuses to open in 1967. Located an hour from eight ski areas, the school is known for its student recreation programs, including the Ski Area Operations program and the Nordic Ski Team. The campus also houses an environmental technology program and is a center for summer conferences and institutes.
Richard Fulton is the dean of faculty at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash. Clark is the third largest community college in the state, serving 11,000 students in programs for academic transfer, vocational and work force training and basic skills.
Kae Hutchison serves as special assistant to the president at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash. Hutchison’s administrative duties include institutional effectiveness and tracking student success.
Karen LaRoe is vice chancellor for academic affairs at Montana State University-Northern in Havre, Mont. MSU-Northern is a technology focused university established in 1929. LaRoe serves on the Information Technology and Research Committee, which directs policy for computer usage and training throughout the campus.
James Mathews is interim president at Presbyterian Pan American School in Kerrville, Texas. The school was formed in 1956 when the Texas-Mexican Industrial Institute was merged with the Presbyterian School for Mexican Girls. It has an operating budget of $1.3 million and is an international Christian school serving both Hispanic and Anglo students.
Robert Musgrove is the dean of instruction at Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater. Part of the Texas State Technical College System, the state-funded college offers two-year associate degrees and certificates of competition in technology fields.
Eric Reno serves as vice president of Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, Colo. He began as vice president of the school’s Larimer campus in 1992. He is credited with construction of a new campus center, science labs and joint library there. Before working at FRCC, he spent 18 years at Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Paul Thompson was the president at William Rainey Harper College in Paletine, Ill., for 10 years. He resigned as president of the suburban community college in September, but will serve until June. Thompson was credited with building up Harper College as a feeder school for four-year institutions and vastly improving facilities. But he was criticized by some for spending more time off campus improving corporate and legislative relationships than on campus nurturing students and faculty. This year, the school faced a budget deficit and serious labor relations difficulties with its physical plant workers.
Stanley Witt is dean of instruction at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz. Pima is a two-year institution serving more than 53,000 credit and noncredit students each year. It has five campuses offering transfer programs, occupational and developmental education and general studies courses.
Candidates from the Pacific Northwest and Montana receive $100 each for travel reimbursement. Those from Arizona and Colorado receive $200 and those from east of Colorado receive $300 each.
, DataTimes