SCC Board to Review 10 Presidential Finalists

Though initial rounds of hiring failed to produce the new president of  (SCC) earlier this year, a search committee will recommend 10 finalists for the position to its board of trustees Monday.

Officials say there is still no time frame to make a decision after the shortlist is published, despite a planned Aug. 18 farewell charity dinner for outgoing SCC President John M. McGuire.

“[The event] doesn’t really indicate any timeline,” said vice president of marketing and communications Heather McDorman. “That date was selected several months ago," and organizers stuck to it to avoid confusion.

On June 28, after a second round of finalists were either rejected or withdrew—including SCC’s vice president for academic and student affairs Michael Banks—the board ordered a restart of the hiring process.

Thirty-four applications were received by the Aug. 1 deadline. A presidential search committee, composed of board members, faculty, staff and students, has been reviewing the candidates since.

Board president and chair of the search committee William R. Pundmann said via email that once the finalists were received, the board would decide which to invite to campus for another round of interviews with the search committee, which includes community leaders like Gaspare Calvaruso, president of SSM St. Joseph Health Center, Greg Prestemon, president of the St. Charles Economic Development Center, and Michael Lissner, SCC Foundation Board immediate past president.

Pundmann said he hoped the interviews would be completed by the end of August.

, the committee will work from a board-approved “presidential profile,” developed in January to guide the school’s decision-making. Pundmann called the document “a comprehensive, realistic snapshot of our needs and the qualifications necessary in the next successful president.” The same rubric (available online) is being applied this time around with one change: experience teaching higher education is now “required” rather than “preferred.”

According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, several former finalists may have balked due to the difficulty of selling their homes in an uncertain market.

“While many factors contributed to the selection process of the president, it is fair to say that the complexities of the housing market were a factor,” Pundmann told Patch. “Relocation in order to accept a job offer is less attractive when your home is worth less in the market today than it was in previous years.”

McGuire became the second president in the college’s 25-year history in 1996 after the retirement of its first, Don Shook. Late last year, McGuire announced his intention to retire in September 2011, but has since committed to remaining into late fall should the school require it. Pundmann praised McGuire's organizational skills and keen awareness of the major influences affecting community colleges.

Tickets to the farewell dinner honoring McGuire will cost $75. The event will be held in the College Center Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. and will feature a roast and toast highlighting McGuire’s contributions to the school. Proceeds will go to the John M. McGuire Endowment Fund, providing scholarships for under-resourced students and funding to enhance student preparation in mathematics.

What: Farewell Tribute Will Honor Retiring SCC President
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18
Where: St. Charles Community College, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. in Cottleville
Cost: $75 
Contact info: www.stchas.edu/McGuireFarewell, or Kasey McKee, 636-922-8472, kmckee@stchas.edu