Hocking Trustees move forward with prez search
By Nick Claussen
October 2, 2008
The Hocking College Board of Trustees hired a consultant to assist with the search for its next president on Tuesday, and also heard from a faculty representative who said that faculty and staff hope to be involved in the search process.
The Board of Trustees also learned that a committee is being put together to help the college transition from quarters to semesters, and met with legal counsel for two hours in an executive session. No action was taken after the executive session.
Hocking College President John Light announced in September that this would be his last academic year at the college and that he would not ask for another contract. He said that this had been his intention since he signed a two-year contract in 2007, even though it was not publicly known that he would not be coming back next year.
Board Chair Larry Willard said during the meeting that the Trustees had discussed the search for a new president several months ago (before it was publicly announced) and has been examining the process for finding a new president.
During the Tuesday meeting, the Board of Trustees hired David Ponitz, a nationally recognized presidential search consultant for two-year schools. Ponitz is the former president of Sinclair Community College.
Willard also asked Trustee Alan Geiger to chair the Board of Trustees’ search committee, as he had experience with these types of searches during his many years working in the Ohio University administration.
Geiger said he will work with Ponitz on the budget for the search and on the mission statement for what the college is looking for.
The Trustee added that he wants to involve people from across campus in the search and will set up two committees to help with the process.
“This is the first time the college has gone through this,” Geiger added. Light is the only president the college has ever had.
Geiger hopes to have 12-15 people on each committee, and members will include members of the college’s Foundation, faculty and staff, as well as community members.
Marc Wayner, representing the faculty union at the college, read a statement later in the meeting requesting that faculty and other constituent groups on campus be involved with the search process.
Also at the meeting, while the college has not formally stated it is moving to a semester calendar system, Light has said it probably will because the new University System of Ohio is recommending that all state colleges and universities be on the same calendar system, and most are already on semesters.
A written report from Provost Judy Maxson to the Board of Trustees stated that that college “needs to begin conversations now about converting to semesters.” The report also stated that Maxson will be assembling a transition team to begin this work.
Hocking College is currently being investigated by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Ohio Ethics Commission, the Ohio Auditor and the FBI. None of the agencies is providing much information on the investigations, but it is widely believed that the investigations are focused at least partially on past travel expenses by Light, other college officials and members of the Board of Trustees.
The Trustees met with legal counsel in executive session for two hours during the meeting to discuss personnel and legal issues, but no action was taken after the executive session and no announcements were made about the legal issues. Light was in the executive session for a portion of the time.
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.
