Mitchell Community College President Dr. Doug Eason first interviewed for his current job 22 years ago today.
“I so well remember coming to Statesville on I-40 from Nashville, Tennessee,” writes Eason in his weekly column, “From the President’s Desk.”
“I was very impressed by the professionalism and seriousness of the search committee during our meeting…I felt good about the interview, but of course I had no idea how the committee felt about me. Nevertheless, the rest of the story is pretty clear.”
Eason was offered the presidential post after a second interview about a month later and started July 1, 1990. Strangely, the date the MCC Board of Trustees initially asked Eason to return for a second interview, he was forced to postpone because of an invitation to the home of the nation’s president, the White House. Eason’s wife was to be honored for a national teaching award. He said changing the date for that reason didn’t concern him too much.
“I don’t think (being invited to the White House) hurts your chances,” Eason said.
To recognize Eason’s years of service to the college and community, the Board of Trustees is holding a retirement reception today from 3-6 p.m. at the Statesville Civic Center. Anyone is welcome to attend.
“It’s very gratifying to be ending my career of 50 years in education and feel such genuine satisfaction,” Eason said.
Eason described Feb. 14 as a day in his life that always felt lucky or magical. The date of his first interview at MCC also marked the first time Eason had seen the city of Statesville from anywhere but the interstate.
A job as president of a college, Eason said, is something he never planned on pursuing when he first broke into the education field as a teacher at a private high school in Massachusetts.
“I never gave it a thought,” Eason said. “I wanted to be a teacher. I didn’t change plans. I kept getting promoted. It’s just evolved.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement