ROCK SPRINGS – What traits should the next president of Western Wyoming Community College have?
Community leaders discussed what traits should be prioritized by the college’s presidential search committee Wednesday evening. Input focused on many of the successes the college has had during Kim Dale’s tenure as Western’s president. Leaders also spoke about the importance of having a handle on the college’s internal and external operations.
According to Angela Provart, the president of Pauly Group, which is the group tasked with helping Western find a new president, the process will take one semester to complete. Wednesday’s forum, along with additional forums scheduled with Western’s staff and faculty throughout the remainder of the week, give Provart’s group input as to what skills the next president should have. She said the college’s presidential search committee was finalized earlier this week and a public announcement is anticipated soon to announce its membership. Candidate selection and interviews are planned to take place in March, with the committee’s finalists making in-person visits to the college in April. Provart said the college board should make its hiring decision in late April.
“That’s a pretty typical timeline,” she said.
Regina Clark, a college board trustee also serving on the search committee, said Dale has done a great job in finding grant money for the college, stating the next president should have knowledge with grant resources the college can utilize for funding. She said the community college block grants provided by the Wyoming Legislature has steadily declined over the past 12 years, which makes grant funding more important in supporting the college’s goals. Clark also said the college’s partnerships with industry has led it to build programs that train students into high-paying positions. The most recent program initiated was the powerline technology program, which was accomplished through a partnership with Rocky Mountain Power.
Carl Demshar, the former mayor of Rock Springs, said the college’s location tends to naturally separate it from the rest of the community and thinks the college president should capitalize on opportunities to inform industry and community leaders about what it’s doing. He said meetings with industry representatives and local officials that occurred during his tenure as mayor were helpful in keeping people informed about what the different organizations were working on.
Jackie Freeze, the former vice president of student success for Western, described the president’s role as a hard marriage of two different personality types. She said the president should be outgoing and represent the college in the community, but also should be capable of managing the college’s internal affairs as well. For Freeze, outreach is critical to Western’s success, but ensuring the college can navigate the challenges that are ahead is also important. Under Dale, the college initiated its first layoffs in the history of the school due to declining revenues and student enrollment.
“We faced some hard times up to this point,” Freeze said.
