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Northeast State presidential finalists in town for interviews

Published June 8th, 2009 | 0 Comments

BLOUNTVILLE — Three finalists to replace the retiring Bill Locke as president of Northeast State Community College are to undergo public interviews Tuesday on campus.

Janice Hoots Gilliam is to be interviewed by the presidential search advisory committee from 10:45 a.m. to noon, followed by R. Foster Chason from 1 to 2:15 p.m. and Steven R. Campbell from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m.

The interviews, to be held in Room 226 of the Wayne G. Basler Library on the Northeast State campus, will be shown live at www.northeaststate.edu/interviews and will be archived at the same Web address.

Campbell is vice president for business affairs at Northeast State Community College (previously known as Northeast State Technical Community College until legislation changing the name was signed into law by the governor last week).

Chason is vice president for student affairs and athletic director at Walters State Community College in Morristown.

Gilliam is vice president of student development services at Haywood Community College in Clyde, N.C.

Katherine High, chief of staff for the University of Tennessee system in Knoxville, withdrew from consideration after the presidential search advisory committee chose her as a finalist.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Charles Manning, in answering a question from search committee member Dwight Ferguson about hiring within the TBR system or outside it, said that while some outside candidates might bring in new personnel, the “characteristics of the individuals are probably far more important than if they are within the system.”

Manning and Robert Thomas, a TBR member who chairs the committee, also said committee members should steer clear of asking questions about family, ethnicity or other personal matters, although they said the candidates could choose to share that information during the interviews or in informal conversations with the committee members.

After the interviews, Manning will confer with committee members for input and make a recommendation to the TBR.

Locke, who has headed the school since 1996, is to retire June 30 but has agreed to stay on for a limited time if needed in the transition.

A reception will be held for each candidate, and members of the community are welcome to attend. Gilliam’s was held Monday, Chason’s will be held today and Campbell’s will be held Wednesday, each from 5 to 6 p.m. in the President’s Conference Room.

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