Two finalists selected for presidency of Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie

A Search Advisory Committee has selected two finalists for the next president of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Paris and McKenzie. The candidates will participate in online campus interviews and public forums on Thursday, March 11 for members of the public and the campus communities to learn more about them – the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are:

• Willie Huffman, vice president of TCAT Paris since 2007 and a member of the college’s staff since 1988.
• Charlene C. White, recently employed at The College of the Florida Keys and former vice president for finance and administration at Dyersburg State Community College.

Due to health precautions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the public forum and campus interviews will be conducted virtually, through Microsoft Teams videoconferencing, but will be open to the public and the campus community to participate and ask questions. Huffman is scheduled for 9 to 10:15 a.m. CT and White from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Anyone wishing access to the forums should contact Sherry Wilson at TCAT Paris at sherry.wilson@tcatparis.edu.

The two finalists’ resumes and information about the presidency and the search process are available on the Presidential/Executive Searches section of the Tennessee Board of Regents website at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/executivesearches/president-tcat-paris-mckenzie.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings will gather input from the forums and the campus community to select one nominee for the new president to the full Board of Regents, which appoints presidents of all colleges in the system. The nomination will likely go to the board’s next quarterly meeting on March 25.

The next president will succeed Dr. Bradley W. White, who is retiring March 31 after 44 years of teaching and administrative service. He began his career as an instructor at TCAT Paris in 1977, and has served as president of TCAT Paris since January 2007 and of TCAT McKenzie (jointly with the Paris campus) since July 2009.

The Board of Regents approved the search criteria at its Dec. 10, 2020, quarterly meeting. Board Vice Chair Emily J. Reynolds serves as chair of a 21-member search committee comprised of two other board members, faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the community from both Paris and McKenzie. Regents Mark Gill and Joey Hatch also served on the committee.

The committee reviewed 22 applicants with experiences across the country before selecting five candidates for interviews.

TCATs Paris and McKenzie serve students at their main campuses and other teaching locations in Benton and Weakley counties. The colleges are premier providers of career and technical education and are among the 27 colleges of applied technology and 13 community colleges comprising the College System of Tennessee, governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.