Six named finalists for post of community college president

The Board of Trustees at Craven Community College has named six finalists for the school's open president post.

They are Catherine Chew, Luba Chliwniak, Cleve H. Cox, Mark O. Kinlaw, Linda Thomas-Glover and Kerry L. Youngblood. They are a diverse group from across the country, and each holds a leadership position at a community college, said Dan Pritchett, chairman of the board and a member of the committee that helped choose applicants.

"These six rose to the top pretty easy," Pritchett said. "We had a rating system in committee where each member named out their top candidates. We kind of tracked them by numbers, and the numbers spoke for themselves. It was pretty much a unanimous decision."

Catherine Chew is vice president of academic affairs at Orange County Community College in Middletown, N.Y. She is a former public school teacher and has a doctorate in career education.

Luba Chliwniak is vice president for instruction at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md. She has a Ph.D. in organization and administration in higher education.

Cleve H. Cox is president of Williamsburg Technical College in Kingstree, S.C. He has been a vice president at Wilson Technical Community College and has a doctorate in adult and community college education from N.C. State University.

Mark O. Kinlaw is vice president for instruction and support services at Robeson Community College in Lumberton. Kinlaw has a doctorate in adult and community college education from N.C. State University.

Linda Thomas-Glover is the provost and chief academic officer at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in Elizabethtown, Ky. From 1998 to 2004, she held several positions at Guilford Technical College in Jamestown. She has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Temple University.

Kerry L. Youngblood was recently the vice president of community college affairs at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo. Youngblood has a Ph.D. in community college leadership from Colorado State University.

Parker Chesson, a search consultant who helped the school choose the finalists, said he was pleased with the experienced group of people the trustees selected. Dan Pritchett said the search committee just happened to choose six people who have been community college vice presidents or presidents.

"I think that's the traditional track for advancement," Pritchett said. "They go from academic positions into the president's role."

The finalists will come to New Bern for interviews with trustees between May 19 and June 3. Each finalist will meet with college staff and faculty and with the public.

The trustees will meet June 5 and select three candidates to submit to the state community college board.

"Our plans are to have those three to the state board the second week of June so it can be on their July calendar for them to act on," Pritchett said. "It was a pretty aggressive schedule in the beginning, and we've been able to hold force and stay on schedule."