The hunt for MCCC’s seventh president is well underway as semifinalists were interviewed by the search committee on February 10 and 11 and they will now select three to five finalists.
The firm RH Perry & Associates has been engaged to help the college in the search process. The Executive Search Profile profile packet on their website says, “The next President will be a visionary leader and advocate who is aware of trends and needs locally and nationally, to prepare the College for the changing landscape of the future.”
The initial applications for the position were submitted through their website.
Specific qualifications for the job, according to the profile packet, include a master’s degree, though a doctorate or terminal is preferred, leadership success within an institution, teaching experience in higher education though college is preferred, and traits like excellent communication and initiative to benefit students and staff.
When asked what the main qualities the next president will need are, outgoing President Dr. Jianping Wang said, “This person must be passionate about students and student success. Do the right thing when it’s difficult.”
Nina May, the Director of Institutional Research and union representative for the Professional Staff Federation on the search committee said, “They reviewed all the resumes initially. I believe there were about forty-one applicants. We made our choices and forwarded them to the consulting company.”
The committee chair is Kevin Drennan, the current Treasurer for the Board of Trustees who worked as Executive Director of the New Jersey Senate Majority Office for five years before moving to the private sector.
Drennan confirmed that RH Perry & Associates interviewed the committee’s eighteen choices of the initial forty-one via Zoom. The committee then reviewed recordings of those interviews and selected nine semifinalists.
Once the finalists are selected, the Board of Trustees will host open forums for students and faculty to attend in addition to conducting final interviews to determine who will assume the position.
The presidential search committee is composed of nineteen people, mainly administrators, trustees, and community partners. One student sits on the committee, SGA President Christian Perez, and two professors, adjunct union leader Dr. Leonard Winogora, professor of philosophy, and sociology professor Dr. Edward Avery-Natale.
Dr. Avery-Natale says he thinks two faculty members are not enough staff representation on the presidential search committee, and there should be more.
“A college, when you get down to it, its purpose is for faculty to educate students. The whole rest of the school doesn’t exist without that. I think that’s the primary function of a college,” Dr. Avery-Natale said.
One student said in an anonymous survey of student views on the college presidential search, “It is inevitable that students will face issues that can be rectified by the college. Having people who can present these problems to school administrators on behalf of other students is essential in solving any problems that arise.”
SGA President Christian Perez declined to comment.
Drennan verified the order of events and said “The committee must speak as one voice. We are not individual voices.”
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the credentials of Dr. Leonard Winogora who is an adjunct Professor of Philosophy.
