McALLEN — South Texas College held a series of forums this week as a first step to kick off its search for a new president and gauge the community’s opinion on who the board of trustees should choose to fill that role.
Shirley Reed, the college’s founding president, stepped down early this year and the college hired the Association of Community College Trustees to help find a replacement in February.
William Holda, an ACCT search consultant, led one of the forums via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon, saying that the previous day’s forums had attracted about 100 attendees and that more than 126 individuals had filled out a survey on the presidential search.
He said selecting a new president is a major step for the relatively young institution.
“With only one founding president who served about 26 or more years, this is really the first opportunity the college has had in its history to be involved in this type of a selection process,” he said.
While Holda said the final decision on STC’s new president will ultimately fall on its board of trustees, he said input from the community will help inform that decision.
Overall, Wednesday’s discussion was positive. Attendees tended to characterize their advice as ways to build on success rather than solutions to problems.
Holda heard a variety of opinions Wednesday from instructors, administrators and community members who attended the forum. Some emphasized finding an executive who can improve on communication between departments and foster a learning environment that’s more relatable for students.
Others said a leader who understands the long-term changes the COVID-19 pandemic will have on higher education — specifically a greater emphasis on online learning — should be a priority.
Holda said a frequent desire community members have expressed is finding a president who understands the culture of the Rio Grande Valley and the different communities that comprise it.
“A person coming in will really have to understand the culture and do their own homework before implementing change for sure,” he said.
Survey results also indicate some jitters in the community about STC’s diminished enrollment and a desire to address that problem, Holda indicated.
“A number of the 100 or so responses have identified the recent three- or four-semester decline in student enrollment, and particularly the decline in enrollment since COVID, as a real concern and a concern that those numbers are somewhat higher than the statewide average, which reflects on the challenges that the community faces,” he said.
STC’s board likely won’t choose a president until sometime this summer.
Holda says a document based on information collected through surveys and forums will be presented to the college’s search committee Friday with a first draft of a presidential profile.
He said once the full board finalizes that profile, the position will be publicized nationally and statewide through March and the search committee should review applications a week or two after Easter.
Eventually, applications will be winnowed down to a handful of candidates who are slated to visit the campus in May, Holda said. Finalists should be revealed at that point.
