The search committee tasked with finding Lone Star College System's next chancellor has narrowed the field down to two candidates. After a series of public forums June 9 and 10, the LSC board of trustees is expected to select a chancellor. The decision would become official 21 days after the finalist is named.
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will have a new chancellor July 1," said trustee and search committee member Ron Trowbridge.
One of the two remaining candidates is Steven Head, president of LSC—North Harris since 2007. Head, who received his doctorate in history from Texas Tech University, has served a number of roles with LSCS, including as executive vice chancellor, acting chief operating officer and president of LSC–Kingwood.
Michael Burke, president of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, was also selected as a finalist. Burke received his doctorate in educational administration from the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also served as the president of San Jose City College and held various positions within the Dallas County Community College District.
The winning candidate would replace Richard Carpenter, who has served as chancellor since 2007 and plans to retire this summer. The search committee has been working since March with the search firm Gold Hill Associates, taking all submitted community input into account, to come up a list of necessary qualifications the new chancellor has to have, Trowbridge said.
"The qualifications were very heavily deliberated," he said. "They had to be. The stakes are high. We're picking the captain of the ship."
Nineteen candidates applied for the position. After screening the candidates and factoring in the necessary qualifications, the field was narrowed to six. Each of the semi-finalists was interviewed by the search committee in 1.5 hour sessions.
After the interviews, Gold Hill had each member of the search committee rank the candidates privately. The committee unanimously ranked Head and Burke at the top of the list, Trowbridge said.
"The rankings were based on achievements and substance of the candidates, not on the candidates' theoretical concepts," he said.
Candidates will now be required to give independent, open presentations June 9–10 on each of the 6 LSC campuses. The presentations are open to anyone, and candidates will answer questions from the public.
The dates and times of the candidates' appearances are:
LSC–CyFair Theatre
Steve Head—June 9,9:30–10:15 a.m.
Michael Burke—June 10, 9:30–10:15 a.m.
LSC–Kingwood Student Conference Center
Michael Burke—June 9, 10:30–11:15 a.m.
Steve Head—June 10,10:30–11:15 a.m.
LSC–Montgomery Bldg. G, Room 102
Michael Burke—June 9, 9–9:45 a.m.
Steve Head—June 10, 9–9:45 a.m.
LSC–North Harris Student Conference Center
Michael Burke—June 9,1:30–2:15 p.m.
Steve Head—June 10,1:30–2:15 p.m.
LSC–Tomball Teaching Theatre
Steve Head—June 9,3–3:45 p.m.
Michael Burke—June 10, 3–3:45 p.m.
LSC-University Park West Dining
Steve Head—June 9, 1:30–2:15 p.m.
Michael Burke—June 10, 1:30–2:15 p.m.
LSC–System Office Community Building
Michael Burke—June 9, 3:30–4:15 p.m.
Steve Head—June 10, 4:30–5:00 p.m.
Audience members can fill out feedback forms, which will be delivered to the board of trustees to evaluate before a decision is made. Candidates will also meet separately with the executive counsel—composed of the six college presidents, six vice chancellors, the general counsel and the special assistant to the chancellor—as well as with the presidents of the faculty senate and a community leaders group.
John Burghduff—a member of the American Federation of Teachers and department chair of the LSC–CyFair math department—urged board members not to go overboard with the salary offered to the next chancellor, saying money would be better spent increasing the number of classes covered by full-time faculty.
"Our concerns do not minimize the importance of making the right decision and in no way reflect the two finalists, both of whom have considerable achievements and talent," Burghduff said. "Whomever is chosen, we favor a reasonable salary."
More information on the candidates, including bios and presentation details, can be found on the Lone Star College website.
