Campus Visits Week of April 27 for 4 Southwest Tennessee Community College President Search Finalists

Southwest Tennessee Community College's Macon Cove campus

The search for the next president at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis has been narrowed to four finalists. Each will participate in meetings, campus forums and community receptions next week.

The finalists are

  • Edythe M. Abdullah, special advisor to the president at the University of North Florida;
  • Tracy D. Hall, vice president of Academic Affairs at St. Louis (Missouri) Community College – Forest Park;
  • Anthony G. Kinkel, president of Wichita (Kansas) Area Technical College; and
  • Kenyatta K. Lovett, assistant vice chancellor for Community College Initiatives at the Tennessee Board of Regents.

The finalists’ application materials are available to view on the Presidential/Executive Searches website at TBR.edu/Southwest2015. Detailed campus visit schedules will be posted on the website as soon as they are finalized.

During their campus visits, the finalists participate in meetings and open forums for a variety of constituent groups, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and the community. The campus forums will be streamed live online via links available on the presidential search website. Receptions for alumni and community members will also be scheduled.

The search committee’s charge is to identify and interview three to five finalists for the position of president. After the campus visits, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan will gather feedback from committee members and make the final selection for recommendation to the Board for approval. The committee worked with executive search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates to help identify a broad range of highly qualified candidates from around the country.

Southwest President Nate Essex announced last August his plans to retire effective June 30 this year after serving as president of Southwest since 2001. The new president is expected to be selected by July.

Southwest Tennessee Community College is a member of Tennessee’s Community Colleges, a system within the Tennessee Board of Regents. Southwest is a comprehensive, multicultural, public, open-access, Memphis-based college that provides citizens with an effective teaching and learning environment designed to raise educational levels, enhance economic development and enrich personal lives. With student success as its top priority, Southwest is the state’s largest community college and welcomes a diverse student population with a wide variety of backgrounds, abilities, interests, education attainment and economic circumstances. More information about the college and the search process is available at TBR.edu/Southwest2015.

The TBR is currently in the process of searching for new presidents at three community colleges – Motlow State Community College in Moore County, Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, and Chattanooga State Community College.

The College System of Tennessee is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 24 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving approximately 140,000 students. The system is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

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