College Announces Short List of Presidential Candidates

College Announces Short List of Presidential Candidates
By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star
PWSCC- The anticipation is over for a community anxiously awaiting word on the names of the final candidates to fill the vacancy of the presidency at Prince William Sound Community College when search committee member Janice Johnson made the announcement that Drs. Ralph Ford, John Garmon and Bruce Kinghorn are the three candidates on the short list of candidates to fill the seat left behind by Dr. Jody McDowell.
The three names were posted on the college website Monday with the message that the public will have opportunities to give the search committee feedback on the three candidates by filling out a form that will be available at a reception hosted by the college at the Whitney Museum on the night of July 6 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Call 834-1645 to reserve your place at the event. The form can also be downloaded at the college website but must be submitted back to the college at the president's office or faxed to 834-1611 by Friday, July 8. Written feedback submitted by the public will be considered by the search committee when they meet on July 11 to finish the hiring process.
Dr. Ralph Ford, the current Dean of Enrollment Management and an adjunct psychology instructor at Odessa College located in Odessa Texas has made the short list of candidates.
As dean of a school with approximately 10,000 full and part time students encompassing an area of around 34,000 square miles, Dr. Ford claims experience in designing unique programs to accommodate the needs unique to local communities.
Dr. John Garmon, whose last post was President of Vista Community College in Berkeley, California is a final candidate for the presidency of Prince William Sound Community College.
In his letter of interest to the search committee, Garmon stated "In addition to keeping myself strong as a teacher by always teaching at least one course each semester, while serving as a full-time administrator, I have been a strong supporter of faculty professional development, seeking funds for faculty travel, research and development."
Dr. Bruce Kinghorn, the third candidate to make it to the interview stage for the college presidency, is currently Instructional Dean at American River College in Sacramento, California.
During his long educational career Kinghorn says that the management and leadership responsibilities that he'd accepted outside of academia provide a perspective and depth to the presidency that would not be filled by a person whose sole focus has been education.