Clarendon College Regents will meet October 24 to decide which of three finalists will be the next president of CC.
College officials, employees, and students as well as the public got to meet each of the men being considered for the job last week during open forums, and regents interviewed the candidates behind closed doors.
Dr. Robert Riza of Hill College in Hillsboro was the first to visit Clarendon on Wednesday, October 16. Riza currently serves as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Hill, but he came up through athletics, starting as a high school coach before going into higher education and eventually becoming an athletic director and director of student life. He has been in his current position since 2009.
Riza is involved with the Hillsboro ISD Foundation as well as the economic development foundation and chamber of commerce in Hillsboro. He has also overseen Hill’s branch campus in Cleburn.
Riza said, as a graduate of a community college, he knows the impact the college can have on students’ lives and that the college’s job is to show them there are bigger things and make their experiences better. He said athletics can be a great thing for a college in terms of rallying community support and noted that CC and Hill have both used athletics to drive enrollment. He also said that though the college has three locations, it still must be one college.
Dr. Riza also said he would have an open door for students at his office and said he would focus on building dual credit hours with area high schools to increase enrollment.
Dr. Gary Stretcher visited the campus on Thursday, October 17. He is the current Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lamar State College in Port Arthur, a two-year school that operates under the Texas State University System.
In his current position since 1996, Stretcher, among other things, is Lamar’s reporting officer to the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, the same accrediting agency that governs Clarendon. Stretcher is also a tenured professor in the math and science department at Lamar and said he is “first and foremost about making sure students succeed.”
During his time at Lamar, Stretcher said he’s helped develop and expand the student computer lab, start a student success center, remodel the library, and expand dual credit opportunities. He encouraged creative scheduling to allow students to attend classes two or three days a week and worked to expand or improve technical programs.
“I sense there is a lot of interest in doing more in Clarendon,” he said, “and I would love to develop a niche program just for Clarendon.”
Stretcher also said community colleges provide the only option for success for some students. He said athletic programs attract a core group of college age students.
Stretcher’s activities outside the college included serving on a school board and a zoning board, and he is active in the Masonic lodge, Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Red Cross.
Dr. Steve Rook of Mena, Ark., finished the week on Friday. He is currently the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Rich Mountain Community College.
Rook said he came up through student services and has a special place for students, and he likes small towns and small schools. His hometown has a population of about 1,200 people and Rich Mountain has an enrollment of about 1,000 students.
Community colleges in Arkansas have faced the same budget and funding challenges that Texas colleges are facing, he said, and so he is familiar with the “success based” funding formula that Texas is moving toward.
Rook has been involved in several fundraising efforts both from private and public sources, including a grant to fund the development of an aviation maintenance program, funding for an industrial maintenance program, and a $7 million federally funded cooperative program with other community colleges to start nursing programs at rural colleges in Arkansas.
Rook also has focused on student success initiatives that focused on better tutoring and building connections between faculty and students. He is the accreditation liaison for Rich Mountain, and he said would actually enjoy working under the accrediting body that governs Clarendon College because its guidelines are more specific and less arbitrary.
Rook said his management style would be participatory and the first thing he would do if he is president of CC is listen to people.
“I would want to hear what you think needs to be changed,” he said. “I also think any president ought to walk around and be involved, and the president needs to be the face of the institution.”
He also pledged to attend college student activities to show his support for students.
Rook’s outside interests include high school band boosters, public school activities, serving on a water utility board, serving as Lions Club president, working as a second grade basketball coach, and providing color commentary for high school football games.
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