The Tennessee Board of Regents moved forward Friday on its selection of a new president for Chattanooga State Community College, announcing a search advisory committee to review candidates for the office.
The board also approved criteria for the next president, which is the first step in the process to replace Dr. Flora Tydings. She will assume her new role as chancellor of the Board of Regents system on Feb. 1.
The new president should have "an earned doctorate from an accredited institution, a distinguished record of teaching and experience in public higher education and a minimum of five years of successful campus administrative experience" among other things, according to a news release.
The search for the next president will launch on Feb. 10 with a public forum and an organizational meeting of the 19-member search committee on the Chattanooga State campus.
At the public forum community members will be allowed to voice their views about the qualities the committee should look for when reviewing candidates.
Applicants will be reviewed by the committee, which will identify three to five finalists who will be invited to the campus for interviews with the committee, students, faculty, administration, staff and the public.
Ultimately one candidate will be recommended to the full board for consideration and approval.
Regent Tom Griscom will be chairman of the committee, which also includes regents Howard Roddy and Danni Varlan along with 16 representatives of the Chattanooga State community, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology and the greater Chattanooga area.
On Friday the board also approved a transition plan in which outgoing Chancellor David Gregory will remain as a Board of Regents employee until Feb. 28 to serve as a transition advisor and to coordinate introductions to key stakeholders.
Debbie Adams, Chattanooga State's vice president of student affairs and workforce development, will serve as the school's interim president until the new president is appointed and in place, hopefully by July 1, per the board's timeline.