Sep 30, 2024

College of the Mainland’s (COM) Board of Trustees (BOT) has announced the beginning of the COM presidential search in partnership with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). The BOT will host three public forums, facilitated by the ACCT, to gather input and develop the presidential profile. The one-hour public forums will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the Doyle Family Administration Boardroom at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to discuss the qualities, characteristics, and qualifications sought in COM’s next president.

“We are fully committed to conducting an equitable, inclusive and transparent national search that will attract a strong and diverse pool of candidates from throughout Texas and the nation,” said BOT Chair Don Gartman.

In addition to the open forums, the search committee has developed an anonymous electronic survey for those unable to attend the in-person forums. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/WTQR6RP and must be completed no later than 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.

After the development of the presidential profile, the search committee will review confidential applications, interview semifinalist candidates and identify the final candidates to be forwarded to the BOT for consideration. The search committee is comprised of the following members:

  • Donald Gartman, Board Chair, College of the Mainland
  • Thomasina Allen, Community Member
  • Summer Chapman, Foundation President, College of the Mainland
  • April Ciccarello, Community Member
  • Tim Culp, Community Member
  • Bradley Denison, Professional Council President, College of the Mainland
  • Chris DeVries, Foundation Vice President, College of the Mainland
  • Kyle Dickson, Board Trustee, College of the Mainland
  • Candice Edmonston, Faculty Senate President, College of the Mainland
  • Abel Garza, Community Member
  • Sonia Kukuch, Classified Council President, College of the Mainland
  • Dr. Bill McGarvey, Board Trustee, College of the Mainland
  • Paige Parrish, Dean of Continuing Education, College of the Mainland
  • Rev. Chad Rankin, Community Member
  • Dr. David Wesse, Vice President for Fiscal Affairs, College of the Mainland

All final candidates will participate in open forums at COM, and the finalists will interview with the BOT. The Board of Trustees anticipates the open forums will take place in mid-March 2025 and will provide the dates, times and locations once they are confirmed. All employees, students and community members will be invited to attend the open forums and complete feedback forms, which will be reviewed as part of the deliberation process.

The search committee’s recruitment efforts will involve an open and thorough national search, seeking qualified candidates from all regions of the country. ACCT specializes in one-on-one recruitment of community college leaders. To assist with this process, advertisements will be placed in The Chronicle of Higher Education and other major publications and websites. The College of the Mainland website will include information on all aspects of the search. The presidential search webpage will be developed in the coming weeks and will include key information such as the timeline, presidential profile, and details on how to apply.

The search committee will continue to keep the public updated on this important process. For any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to our ACCT search consultants:

  • Stephen Head, Ph.D., ACCT Search Consultant, at shead51@hotmail.com or (832) 754-5973 (mobile)
  • Julie Golder, J.D., Vice President of Search Services, at jgolder@acct.org or (202) 384-5816 (mobile)