From press release:
ASHEVILLE – The A-B Tech Board of Trustees today announced four finalists in its search for a new President.
The finalists include: Dr. Dennis R. King, A-B Tech’s Interim President and former Vice President for Student Services; Dr. Paul John Koehnke, Dean of Central Campus, Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte; Dr. Teresa Smith, Vice President of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer of Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida; and Dr. Thomas Wright, Vice President of Finance and Administration of Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tenn.
Board Chair Joe Brumit said 28 applicants applied for the position during the January to March application period and seven semi-finalists were selected at the board’s April 14 meeting. Background checks and a candidate survey then were conducted for all semi-finalists, whose names were not made public. The board chose the four finalists during a closed session at its May 2 meeting and withheld an announcement until the finalists were notified.
The Board of Trustees has scheduled a full day of interviews with each candidate in June, Brumit said. Public forums with each candidate will be announced at a later date.
The Board of Trustees announced its search for A-B Tech’s next President in January, following the departure of former President Hank Dunn, for a term set to begin on August 1 of this year. To facilitate the process, the board appointed a Presidential Search Committee to develop the job description, advertise the position and provide the Board with a report on desirable characteristics for the next President, as identified through campus and community input. Brumit appointed a committee comprised of board members and employees of A-B Tech, as well as several community leaders. Chaired by Board of Trustees member Don Locke, retired North Carolina State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, the committee also included the following members:
- Sandra Byrd – A-B Tech Foundation Board, Retired Assistant Provost, Asheville Graduate Center, UNC Asheville
- Kit Cramer – President & CEO, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
- Jayne English – President, A-B Tech Student Government Association
- Bill Murdock – Executive Director, Eblen Charities, A-B Tech Foundation Board and A-B Tech Entrepreneurial and Educational Foundation Board
- Anne Ponder – Chancellor, UNC Asheville
- Carolyn Rice – Executive Assistant, A-B Tech President’s Office
- Marlene Roden – President, A-B Tech Faculty Association, Associate Chair, Business Computer Information Systems
- Sandra Tolley – Chairman, Madison County Board of Education
- Kaye Waugh –Vice President, A-B Tech Human Resources & Organizational Development
About A-B Tech
One of 58 colleges in the North Carolina Community College System, A-B Tech offers associate degrees, diplomas or certificates in more 50 curriculum programs through its five academic divisions – Allied Health and Public Service Education, Arts and Sciences, Business and Hospitality Education, Emergency Services and Engineering and Applied Technology. The Division of Economic and Workforce Development/Continuing Education offers opportunities for specific job training and retraining and personal enrichment classes. A-B Tech enrolls nearly 27,000 curriculum and continuing education students, and an estimated one in four Buncombe and Madison residents has attended a class at the College.
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