Directors have officially begun the search for MCTC’s next president. Pictured here with Russ Ward, interim MCTC president, and incoming Interim KCTCS President Paul Czarapata.

Directors have officially begun the search for MCTC’s next president. Pictured here with Russ Ward, interim MCTC president, and incoming Interim KCTCS President Paul Czarapata.

The search process for a new president for Maysville Community and Technical College began this week with a special board meeting to review exactly how the search will be conducted.

Dr. Stephen Vacik said in April he would leave MCTC to accept another position with Hines Community College in Raymond, Miss.

Vacik was named president of MCTC in 2015. His last day at the school was June 30.

Dr. Jay Box, president of Kentucky Community and Technical College System who is retiring, conducted the special session and introduced board members to incoming KCTCS President Dr. Paul Czarapata, presidential search consultant Dr. Julie Golder of the Association of Community College Trustees, and Jack Cecil, assistant vice president/chief of Human Resources.

Members of the board of directors include Chair Avi Bear, Vice Chair David Rhodes, Dr. Rhonda Sims, Missy Stitt, Meredith Walters, Peter Feil, Annette Walters, Lisa McCane and Monica Hill.

Naming a president for MCTC is among the board’s top responsibilities, Box said, in partnership with KCTCS, his office and the board.

“This really is your selection,” he said, “that’s how this process works.”

Box presented a projected timeline for the hiring process although he cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic could mean a delay in the decision.

“We are living in a different world now, with this pandemic,” Box said.

Under the timeline Box presented, faculty and staff will be invited to self-nominate to serve on the screening committee and submit those nominations by Aug. 10, with the committee established by Aug. 14, andh candidates selected from the nominations by the KCTCS president and the board chair. Those selected will be notified by Aug. 17.

Following workshops on Aug. 24, a survey soliciting input from faculty and staff will be sent out. A position statement will ideally be adopted by Sept. 1 and a national search initiated the following day and continue for the next month.

After reviews and research of candidates and their qualifications are completed, the president and board chair will select semi-finalists who will move forward to the next level in the selection process, including video presentations and response to questions from KCTCS.

By Nov. 10, the president and board chair will confer on finalists to be invited to campus. and on Nov. 13, if all goes as planned, the finalists will be announced to the community with on-site interviews set for Nov. 23 and 24 with a decision expected on Nov. 24 and the new president in place by Jan. 4, 2021.

The final decision will come from Box following the board’s recommendation but in his entire tenure at KCTCS, Box said he has always taken the board’s recommendation.

While the pandemic could have an impact on the number of candidates, Box said he expects the school’s reputation to result in a good pool from which to choose.

“This is a place people want to come to be a college president,” he said.