The search for Mitchell Community College’s replacement for retiring President Dr. Doug Eason began, unofficially, Wednesday at the college’s Board of Trustees monthly meeting at the Kirkman House.
Kennon Briggs, executive vice president of the North Carolina Community College system, addressed the board and discussed how the selection process works.
“The greatest responsibility as a board and most important decision you will make as a board is the hiring of the next president,” he said. “It’s the integrity of the process you carry out that’s going to be important.”
Eason, who has led the college since 1990, announced earlier this month his intentions to retire effective Dec. 31, or until MCC finds his replacement.
The board, after its search, will eventually submit three candidates to the State Board of Community Colleges for approval. All final decisions as to the presidency will be made locally once the final candidates have been approved by the state. Only once in the past three years has the state board turned down a candidate.
“It’s not our goal to intrude,” Briggs said. “This needs to be a local decision.”
Local boards have the option of selecting the candidates entirely on their own or hiring an outside consulting agency to help with the search. The board voted Wednesday to use a consultant, a process the college did not use when it hired Eason.
Board Chairman Dr. Ralph Bentley said that he thought a consultant would help in narrowing down the field to about 20 candidates, at which point the board would take more control in the process. Before Eason was hired, the board interviewed 10 candidates. That field was narrowed down to five, and then three.
Briggs said a normal selection process can take anywhere from six months to a year. He said that other colleges typically advertise the position for two to three months before interviewing. Bentley said he thought one month of advertising would be enough to find a pool of candidates.
“This board is dedicated to finding someone, not as good as Dr. Eason because we know that won’t happen, but someone as close as possible,” Bentley said.
Dr. Doug Knight of Mitchell’s Faculty Senate said he hoped there would be transparency in the selection process.
“We would like to somehow have faculty input,” he said. “Our main concern is who’s going to replace Dr. Eason.”
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