Candidates for Chatt State Presidential Search Narrowed to 4; Campus Visits Scheduled Week of May 4

Four finalists have been named to the short list of candidates in line to become the next president of Chattanooga State Community College. Each will participate in campus forums and community receptions next week.

The finalists are

• Karla A. Fisher, vice president of Academics and former interim president at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas;
• Kevin A. Pollock, president of St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Michigan;
• Roger A. Ramsammy, provost and chief academic officer at Northern Virginia Community College’s Manassas Campus; and
• Flora W. Tydings, president of Athens Technical College in Athens, Georgia.

The finalists’ application materials are available to view on the Presidential/Executive Searches website at TBR.edu/ChattState2015. 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 at TBR.edu/ChattState2015. 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. Seventy applications were received.

Former Chattanooga State President Jim Catanzaro led the campus for 24 years before retiring at the end of December. Fannie Hewlett, former provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, is now serving as interim president. The new president is expected to be named by July.

Chattanooga State Community College is a member of Tennessee’s Community Colleges, a system within the Tennessee Board of Regents. It is a comprehensive institution, offering associate of arts, associate of science, and associate of applied science degrees. The college is distinguished by the diverse population of its service area, the breadth of its curriculum, and the impact it has on the business/industrial/professional communities of the surrounding region. The college boasts the largest engineering technology, health science and industrial technology divisions in the statewide system as well as the strongest corporate training activity in the region.

The Tennessee Board of Regents is among the nation’s largest higher education systems, governing 46 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology, providing programs across the state to more than 200,000 students.

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.