RELEASE DATE: October 19, 2007
CONTACT: Audrey Bailey, (919) 807- 6963
Chancy Kapp, (919) 807- 6962
State Board approves four new community college presidents
WELDON – It was a meeting filled with personnel issues today when the State Board of Community Colleges met at Halifax Community College in Weldon. The meeting culminated three days at the college that began with the State Board retreat. The four presidents represent the most ever approved at one time.
The Board approved Dr. Molly A. Parkhill as the third president
of Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock. Parkhill served as
interim president of the college after the retirement of her
predecessor, Dr. David W. Sink, Jr., who had been president since
1987. Parkhill began her career at Blue Ridge in 1986 as Job
Training and Partnership Act (JTPA) trainer and advanced steadily
over the years until finally serving as dean for continuing
education for nine years before becoming interim president upon Dr.
Sink’s retirement. She was recognized in 2006 as the North Carolina
Community College System BB & T Corporation Staff Person of the
Year.
The Board approved Dr. Deborah Friedman as the fifth president of
Surry Community College in Dobson. She is presently vice
president for human resources at Fayetteville Technical Community
College. She succeeds retiring president Dr. Frank Sells. Friedman
has been in the Community College System since 1980, having also
worked at Sampson Community College. She assumes her new position
January 1, 2008.
The Board approved Dr. Donna Tipton-Rogers as the next president
of Tri-County Community College in Murphy. Tipton-Rogers is
currently Vice President of Graham County Operations for the
college, a position she has held since 2001. She succeeds Dr. Norman
Oglesby, who was president from 1996-2006. Tipton-Rogers started her
career in higher education as Director of TCCC’s Graham County
Center in 1996. She became Dean of the Graham County Center in 1998
and Vice President in 2001.
The Board approved Dr. Bill Ingram as the fourth president of Durham Technical Community College in Durham. He succeeds Dr. Phail Wynn who has led Durham Tech for the past 27 years. Ingram joined the college in 1983 and has served as a continuing education director and dean of the college's technical and vocational programs served as senior vice president and chief instructional officer since 1995, before being named vice president. He has also served as special assistant to the dean of instruction at Southeastern Community College. Ingram will take the helm on January 1.
Herbert Watkins, chair of the Presidential Search Committee, reported that the panel has whittled the applicants to replace retiring president, H. Martin Lancaster, down to seven candidates. The Committee will meet on October 31 and November 1 at the System Office to interview the semi-finalists and reduce the number to a list of three finalists. The Committee will present those three names to the Board at its November 16 meeting.
The State Board does not usually meet in December. However, today the Board voted to meet on Thursday, December 6 for the express purpose of interviewing the three finalists and then selecting the next president of the North Carolina Community College System.
Dr. Linwood Powell, chair of the Personnel Committee, shared some laudatory comments about President Lancaster. The State Board conducted its final evaluation of the System President, which Powell said found him to “have done a tremendous job, as usual. He has stood head and shoulders along and above all the rest,” said Powell.
In other action the Board:
Ø Approved language that reinterprets how Student Activity Funds can be used by the colleges. Last month the Board raised the fee cap from $38 to $65. The new guidelines reinterpret permissible uses of the fees as it relates to personnel. The new funds may only be used for student activities coordinators, staff to the Student Government Association, and athletic coaches
Ø Approved the allocation of $560,000 to four colleges that will serve as Centers for the Virtual Learning Community. Southwestern, Wayne, and Surry Community Colleges will each receive $150,000. Fayetteville Technical Community College will receive $110,000.
Ø Approved Jane Worsham, the former executive director of the State Board of Education, as the special assistant to the president for education.
Ø Approved the State Board Calendar for 2008
After the State Board meeting adjourned, many of the Board and several staff members attended the noon Convocation and Investiture of Dr. Ervin Verome Griffin, Sr. as the fourth president of Halifax Community College. SBCC Chair Hilda Pinnix-Ragland and NCCCS President Martin Lancaster were among the speakers. One year ago, the Board approved the appointment of Dr. Griffin to lead Halifax CC.
The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than 800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges. Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its programs, the System is North Carolina's primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education. For details, visit www.nccommunitycolleges.edu.
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Friday, October 19, 2007 02:52:37 PM
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