President Search Progress Report #1

Dated: December 17, 2007.

As you know, the process of selecting a new President/Superintendent for Ohlone College began recently. Obviously, this is a very important task, and we will conduct a national search in order to recruit and identify the best possible candidates. The entire process will take approximately four months. Assisting us in this process is a search consultant with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), Dr. Pamila Fisher, who is a former California community college chancellor. Ohlone’s search liaison for during this process is Sarah Daniels, Assistant to the President & PIO.

As an early step in the process, the Board of Trustees asked the leaders of constituent organizations to appoint members to serve on the search committee. A community representative was also selected. Attached is a complete list of the committee members, for your reference. The search committee held its first meeting on November 30 and underwent an orientation and training related to the process that will be used in this search. They also discussed in depth with the consultant the results of the two open forums that had been held that day. The search committee reached general consensus about the opportunities and challenges facing Ohlone College, and discussed the ideal characteristics of the next President. The search committee is currently working on refining the final version of the position announcement, which should be available to everyone and posted on Ohlone's website by the end of next week.

During the next two months, the primary focus of the search will be on recruitment. There will be national mailings and advertising in major higher education publications. There will also be information available soon on the college website and on ACCT’s national website. Additionally, our ACCT consultant will be seeking and following up on nominations of candidates, as well as recruiting specific candidates that appear to meet our qualifications and desired characteristics.

Needless to say, all information about candidates will be strictly confidential. However, we will continue to keep you informed as to the progress and activities of the search committee. If you have any questions about the search process or if you would like to nominate someone you feel should be invited to apply, please contact our ACCT consultant, Dr. Pam Fisher, at pamfisher@bresnan.net or (406) 570-0516.

Thank you to those of you who already have contributed to this process by participating in the forums or on the search committee, and to all of you for your ongoing support and interest.

Garrett Yee
President, Ohlone College Board of Trustees