Board of Regents to meet July 27 to consider appointments of next presidents of Volunteer State Community College & TCAT McMinnville

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold a special called meeting July 27 to consider the appointments of the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville.

After a search of more than three months, TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings is recommending to the Board the appointment of Dr. Orinthia T. Montague as the next president of Vol State. Dr. Montague was among three finalists selected by a search advisory committee last month; all three participated in campus visits, including forums with campus groups and the public, June 22-24.

Four finalists for the TCAT McMinnville presidency were announced today. They will participate in campus interviews and public forums July 15. Information about the finalists and the McMinnville search are posted separately on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/executivesearches/president-tcat-mcminnville. 

The Board of Regents meeting will be held virtually, by Microsoft Teams teleconferencing, at 2:30 p.m. CT, July 27. The meeting is open to the public and will be live-streamed and archived on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/july-27-2021-special-called-board-meeting. Anyone wishing access to the Teams meeting itself should contact Board Secretary Sonja Mason by 4:30 p.m. July 26 at sonja.mason@tbr.edu or 615-366-3927, for more information.

After the Vol State campus visits and forums last month, Chancellor Tydings conducted final interviews and gathered and reviewed feedback from the public and campus communities after the campus visits in deciding on her recommendation of Dr. Montague to the Board.

Montague has been president of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York, since 2017. The public college, which also has extension sites in Cortland and Ithaca, NY, is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) System. She previously served as vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer, and dean of students, at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, MN. Earlier, she held a number of positions at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, including associate vice provost and dean of students.

Key accomplishments Montague listed as president of Tompkins Cortland Community College include reversing a decade-long enrollment decline, establishing new community partnerships, leading the construction of a new childcare center, helping secure over $3 million in philanthropic donations, developing improved communications initiatives with campus constituencies, and serving on the Governor’s New York Re-opening Advisory Task Force.

She earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, her Master of Arts degree in counseling at Lindenwood College and her Bachelor of Arts in interpersonal communication at Truman State University. Her complete resume´, the recording of the June 23 public forum on campus and other information about the search are available on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/hr/executivesearches/president-volunteer-state-community-college. 

“I’m delighted to recommend Dr. Montague to the Board of Regents,” Tydings said. “We are fortunate to have had an excellent pool of candidates and three outstanding finalists, each of whom could well serve the Vol State community as its next president. I believe that Dr. Montague was particularly well-received during the campus forums and that her broad range of college leadership experience and work with students and her vision will help her lead Vol State to even higher levels in serving its students and its communities.”

If approved by the Board of Regents, Montague would become the fourth president in Volunteer State Community College’s 50-year history, succeeding Dr. Jerry Faulkner who announced his retirement earlier this year, effective Aug. 31. He has served more than nine years as the college’s third president.

The Board of Regents approved criteria for the next Vol State president at its March 25 meeting. The position was posted, and an 18-member Search Advisory Committee was appointed March 31, including three board members and representatives of the college’s students, faculty, staff and alumni, and civic and business leaders from the community.

The committee held its first meeting and a public forum April 28. The committee spent subsequent weeks reviewing applicants and nominees before selecting the three finalists.

The president is the chief executive officer of the college. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Vol State is a comprehensive, two-year public community college primarily serving 11 northern Middle Tennessee counties. In addition to its main campus in Gallatin, it has campuses in Cookeville, Livingston and Springfield.  Additional information can be found at the college’s website: https://www.volstate.edu/