Committee to bring recommended timeline, process for selecting MCC’s next president before Board

By Kate Stockrahm

Mott Community College’s presidential search is on, with an ad hoc committee set to make timeline and process recommendations to the college’s full Board of Trustees this week.

Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, who has helmed the college for a decade, is stepping down on May 24, 2024, and the race has begun to find both an interim president as well as her permanent replacement.

During an ad hoc committee meeting to discuss that process on May 16, 2024, MCC Board president Andy Everman, Treasurer Jeffrey Swanson, and Trustee John H. Daly III discussed the short runway the college faces in securing an interim president.

“So our biggest issue at this point is not the actual search,” Everman said early on in the hour-long meeting. “We need to look up what we’re going to do for an interim. The interim will need to be ready to go by … July 1.”

The committee members ultimately agreed that the posting for the interim position should go up as soon as possible: ideally by May 21 assuming the full Board votes in favor of the ad hoc committee’s recommendation at its meeting on May 20.

As for who should serve in that role, the men agreed that the interim position could be filled by internally or by someone already within the state of Michigan.

“For an interim I would see, unless something’s really crazy, I would not see the need for national search,” Daly said. “And certainly a familiarity with the college is going to become important.”

Swanson agreed with Daly, saying there are “plenty of local people” and “people right here at the college we can look at, too.”

Should the Board approve of the committee’s May 21 post date, the committee members also formed a suggested timeline of two-weeks for responses (putting application closure at June 4) and a potential special meeting to review applicants on June 12.

Additionally, Daly suggested that the committee also recommend “promulgation,” or promotion, “of the RFP for the search for the position of president.” The ad hoc committee agreed unanimously to bring this recommendation before the full board, as well.

The college’s next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Monday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the MCC Event Center, located on the college’s main campus at 1401 E. Court St.

Author: East Village Magazine

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