Four finalists vie for EGCC presidency

By Denise Dick | February 14, 2015 at 12:02a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The provost from Stark State College, vice presidents from two Texas colleges and a vice chancellor at a Louisiana technical college are the four finalists to be the next president of Eastern Gateway Community College.

Jack Gilmore, chairman of the EGCC trustees, estimated that 34 people had applied for the job. He was pleased with both the number of applicants and the quality.

“It took a lot of work to narrow those people down to four,” Gilmore said.

Laura Meeks, president for 15 years, plans to retire in July.

Each of the four finalists will participate in public forums at both the Valley Center, East Federal Street in downtown Youngstown, and the college’s Jefferson County main campus.

The finalists and their scheduled Valley Center forum slots:

Jimmie Bruce, vice president of academic success at Northwest Vista College, one of five independently accredited colleges within the Alamo Colleges, Texas; 3 to 4 p.m. March 5.

Lada Gibson-Shreve, provost and chief academic officer at Stark State College, North Canton, Ohio; 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. March 2.

Derrick Manns, executive vice chancellor for Fletcher Technical Community College and South Central Louisiana Technical College, Louisiana; 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 3.

Anthony Summers, vice president for student development at Richland College, Texas; 3 to 4 p.m. March 4.

Trustees will interview each of the finalists while they’re in town for their forums. Gilmore said he hopes the panel will reach a decision by April.

The finalists’ background separated them from the crowd of other applicants, he said.

The search committee liked the cross section of the finalists’ experience, Gilmore said. They have both teaching and administrative experience and the committee also considered how far the candidates had risen in the administrative ranks.

The trustees’ chairman, who also led the search committee, credited the Association of Community College Trustees of Washington, D.C., with a successful search.

“ACCT did a good job assisting us,” Gilmore said. “The quality of the applicants is a reflection of the fact that we used them for the search. I’m an inexperienced presidential search man, but I had a lot of help — a lot of good help.”