Local Colleges Pick Chancellor From Texas Charles Taylor Ran San Antonio School

After an 18-month search, the Community Colleges of Spokane have a new chancellor/chief executive officer.

The board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to name Charles A. Taylor, president of a San Antonio community college, to the district’s top job.

One of 48-year-old Taylor’s first tasks will be to help fill two other key positions: presidencies at both Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College.

“This is the most glorious moment of our year, I’ll tell you,” said Betty McInturff, chairwoman of the CCS board of trustees. “This is the end of a long, long, long search.”

Taylor replaces Terrance Brown, who resigned last year to pursue other interests. The resignation came amid board complaints that he was insensitive to women, usurped the board’s power and had angry outbursts. Ronald Bell has since filled in temporarily.

Taylor, who’ll become CCS’s first black chancellor, has served as president and chief executive officer of St. Philip’s College in San Antonio for the past four years. The college, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, was originally established to educate freed slaves.

Taylor said Tuesday he looks forward to moving here with his family.

“I like the atmosphere, the quality of life,” he said. Spokane is “a nice blend of the business component and the commitment to education.”

One of his priorities will be building closer relationships between the colleges and community businesses, Taylor said.

“We can respond quickly and effectively to a lot of society’s needs. And we can also respond quickly to the changes in business and industry as new technology comes in, to help companies compete internationally.”

Coming into a large organization with several key positions open will be challenging, but it will also give him a voice in choosing the people he’ll work with closely, Taylor said.

Before joining St. Philip’s in 1995, Taylor spent seven years as vice president for student services at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Mich., and two years as dean of student development at Chicago State University.

Taylor, whose base salary will be $145,000, will start sometime in July. The date hasn’t been set.

Search committee members favored Taylor unanimously, said trustee Roberta Greene. The board’s vote Tuesday morning was also unanimous.

“He’s a visionary. He thinks outside the box,” said McInturff, listing traits that impressed her. “He has an open-door policy for everybody, not just administrators. He’s extremely, critically student-oriented.”

She hopes Taylor will help the Institute of Extended Learning become CCS’s third campus, increase student enrollment and team up with businesses “to heights nobody has ever dreamed of.”

McInturff said the appointment should also put to rest concerns of an African American citizens group after Jim Williams, the most recent president of Spokane Community College, didn’t get the job.

Williams, an African American, was the only one of four finalists remaining after an initial search a year ago. The other three dropped out or took other jobs.

“I’d hope that this might show we are indeed inclusive and always have been,” McInturff said.

Williams left last month to head Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo.