Candidate characteristics and salary expectations were among the topics discussed as a member of search firm The Pauly Group addressed the WNCC Presidential search timeline with the Board of Governors Wednesday morning.
Dr. Angela Provart elicited a variety of comments from board members on the next president’s qualifications, among them the ability to work inside the strategic plan and with shared governance.
“We need someone who’s forward-thinking, who sees opportunities to move this college forward,” said Board Chair Lynne Klemke. “We’ve had a great interim President who has done that for us, who has been visionary, and seen opportunities to move forward. So, we need to continue that process, (and) that kind of thinking.”
Provart said the Position Profile is a key document, and the Search Committee needs to have a final draft ready for approval by the Board during their regular January meeting. “The Position Profile is going to be a document that identifies what we’re looking for in the next president. It talks about the area, it will have qualifications, the application process, all the great things going on in the region,” said Provart. “We’ll have lots of pictures, it will have graphics. So, yes, it’s going to be pretty to look at, but it’s going to have a lot of information that potential applications will be very interested in.”
Salary range was also discussed with the board, with at least one member saying if that was the top concern of a candidate, they shouldn’t even be considered. Provart said based on the size of WNCC and enrollment, she recommended a salary range between $225,000 and $245,000. The firm would be actively marketing the post to prospective candidates through the Feb. 13 application deadline.
Provart said she expected 30 to 35 applications, primarily from vice-presidents at other institutions seeking their first top administrative post, unless there was a “needle in the haystack” of a current community college president who had ties to the area and wanted to return.
The college Search Committee would be expected to screen applications as received, selecting up to nine for virtual interviews over two or three days in early March. That panel would then forward a recommendation list of three or four finalists to the Board, with in-person interviews and campus visits in early April.
The timeline would have the Board name a new President later that month, with contract negotiations to be completed in time for the Board to vote in May on final documents.
