Search committee eliminates 4

Opp’s Sauls among those knocked out in search for LBW pres

Staff

Published Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Lurleen B. Wallace Community College presidential search committee held its first of three planning meetings Friday, eliminating four of its 57 candidates for consideration, including a former LBWCC employee who works in Covington County.

Tonitta Sauls, economic and community development executive director with the Opp & Covington County Area Chamber of Commerce, had her application rejected for failing to include a list of references. The other three applications that will not be considered include those submitted by Dina V. Avery of Birmingham, Larry D. Griffin of Memphis and Dr. Warren Jones of Chicago.

Joan Y. Davis, general counsel in the legal and human resources division of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, explained that the original list of 61 applications had already been partially vetted by her division. The four incomplete applications were set aside because the candidates failed to provide the necessary information, but the committee still had to decide whether to still consider those applications in its selection process.

“We wanted to allow you to have the opportunity to see each application,” Davis told the committee Friday. “We separated the applications into ‘complete’ and ‘incomplete,’ but ultimately it is your decision as the committee on whether to consider the incomplete applications as well.”

The 11-member committee voted unanimously to exclude the four incomplete applications from further consideration.

The committee members will now be responsible for vetting the remaining 57 applications by means of a scoring system. Applicants will be awarded points based on level of education, experience in administrative management and other factors. At the next meeting of the committee, scheduled for Fri., Oct. 17, those 57 applications will be narrowed down to 12.

“This is your homework,” said Dr. James Mitchell, president of Wallace Community College-Selma and chair of the LBWCC presidential selection committee. “Each (committee member) should award a score and use that information to separate the applications into three piles — ‘yes,’ ‘no’ and ‘maybe.’ When we have our next meeting here, we will come to a consensus on which 12 should be our final selections.”

The other members of the committee are Jackie Curry, administrative assistant and dean of student affairs at LBWCC; Diaon Cook, English/reading instructor at LBWCC; Ramona Franklin, psychology/sociology instructor at LBWCC; Martha Simmons, executive director of communications in the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education; James Perdue, probate judge of Crenshaw County; Jeddo Bell, mayor pro-tem of Greenville; Allen Foster, administrator of Mizell Memorial Hospital; Brenda Petty, administrator of the Covington County Commission; Tucson Roberts, director of the Covington County Economic Development Commission; and David Walters, retired.

Gene Head with Wheless & Associates, an executive search firm out of Birmingham, explained to the committee that those 12 applicants would then be asked to fill out an “executive summary questionnaire,” which would be administered by his company. Wheless & Associates will also be responsible for performing background checks and reference checks on the 12 candidates.

“Each candidate will address the same questions,” Head said. “We believe that from those answers, you will be able to determine which five need to be chosen for interviews.”

The committee will interview the five semifinalists on Tues., Oct. 28, and Postsecondary Chancellor Bradley Byrne will interview the final three on Wed., Oct. 29. Byrne will then make a recommendation to the Board of Education on Tues., Nov. 11.

The state board hopes to have a new president in place by Jan. 1, 2009.

Wayne Bennett has been serving as interim president at LBWCC since May, when then-president Dr. Ed Meadows left to take the same position at Pensacola Junior College in Florida.

All meetings of the search committee are open to the public and subject to open meetings, also known as “sunshine laws.”