NWFSC trustees name 3 presidential finalists

NICEVILLE – Three finalists for the presidency of Northwest Florida State College were named March 2 at a meeting of the college’s governing Board of Trustees.  The finalists were recommended by the college’s 14-member search advisory committee from a pool of 76 candidates following a nationwide search process that was coordinated by Academic Search, Inc. of Washington, D.C.

Trustees interviewed candidates on March 8 and 10 and will hold a March 19 special board meeting at 5:45 p.m. at the college’s Niceville campus.

The interviews will be held in the Learning Resources Center (LRC), Room 131. An open forum and reception will be held at 3:30 p.m. in LRC Room 128 on the Niceville campus to give students, staff and members of the community the opportunity to meet each candidate. The March 19 presidential candidate forum and the board interviews are open to the public. 

''We are pleased to have such a distinguished panel of finalists and look forward to the on-campus visits of each candidate,” noted Wesley Wilkerson, chair of the college's Trustee Board and chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee.

Wilkerson commended the work of the advisory committee who reviewed the large pool of applications which came from 30 different states. “Each of the community leaders, college and student representatives on the advisory committee worked long and hard to help our trustees find the right person to lead this dynamic college into the future. We thank them sincerely for their service,'' said Wilkerson.

Trustees have established a goal to have a new president report for duty in July, prior to the start of the next academic year.

Following the interviews with the finalists, NWFSC trustees are scheduled to meet again in special session on March 22 to discuss and potentially make a decision to offer the post to one of the finalists. Trustees will also meet March 16 in regular business session. For updates and information on the search process, see the college's Web site at www.nwfsc.edu/presidentialsearch.

 Finalists include:

 • William Edward Coppola, Ph.D., who has served in several instructional administrative positions in the Lone Star College System in Houston for nearly 10 years.  These positions include executive director of Academic Partnerships and Initiatives; vice president of Instruction; dean of Instruction, Math, Science and Health Care; and dean of Instruction, Computer Information and Applied Technology.  He served in the Maricopa Community College District, Phoenix, as Senior Associate Dean of Instruction and Director of the City Colleges Center.  He also held positions in the Dallas County Community College District as associate dean of Technical/Occupational Programs and dean of Technical Education/ New Program Development.  He has 12 years of full time teaching experience in the community college.  He earned the Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and the M.Ed. from the University of North Texas and the BA in telecommunications from Michigan State University.

• Ty Julian Handy, Ed.D., president of Vermont Technical College, a public associate and baccalaureate institution. He joined VTC in January of 2006 after serving over four years as chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College – Southern Indiana, a comprehensive two-year community and technical college in the Ivy Tech Community College System. Other positions held include vice chancellor for academic affairs, University of Arkansas Community College – Batesville; dean of academic affairs, Elizabethtown Community College, Kentucky; and dean of business technologies/social sciences, Jefferson Community College, Ohio. Handy earned the Ed.D. degree from the University of Memphis in Higher Education Administration, the MBA in Accounting and Finance from Drexel University and the BS degree in finance from Western Kentucky University.
• William L. Kibler, Ph.D. serves as vice president of student affairs at Mississippi State University, a position he has held for six years. He holds an adjunct professorship in counselor education.  His previous experience was at Texas A&M University beginning in 1980 as assistant director of student affairs.  He was promoted to positions of increased responsibility: associate director, assistant vice president, associate vice president and interim vice president of student affairs. Kibler also was a member of the graduate faculty (adjunct) as associate professor of educational administration and human resource development.  He earned the Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University; the Ed.S. and M.Ed. in Counselor Education from the University of Florida; and the BA in Economics from the University of Florida.  He received his Associate of Arts degree from Pensacola Junior College.