By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
The Oregon Coast Community College board has selected three finalists to come to campus in late August to go through two days of interviews to succeed Birgitte Ryslinge as the third president in the college’s 32-year history.
The board met in special session Wednesday night to name three men as finalists:
- Joel Keebler, dean of science at American River College in Sacramento;
- Brian Kelly, president of Clinton (Iowa) Community College, one of four in the Eastern Iowa Community College system; and
- Marshall Roache, dean of career and technical education and public safety at Chemekta Community College in Salem.
Ryslinge, 66, announced her retirement in January after 10 years leading the college. She had hoped to leave by September, but the presidential search took longer than expected and she has told the board she can stay on through the end of 2024 to help with the transition to a new leader.
There were seven initial applicants for the job, two withdrew and five went through a screening process involving 90-minute interviews and competency assessments with six OCCC administrators. Keebler, Kelly and Roache had the highest scores on those assessments, which were drawn from the American Association of Community Colleges and dealt with budgeting, accreditation, facilities, and curriculum, college officials said.
The college has had the help of a consultant, Kathleen Rodden-Nord of Human Capital Enterprises and former longtime superintendent of the Junction City School District.
The college is working on plans for two days of interviews Aug. 26-27 with the seven-member board in executive (closed) session and then meetings with staff, administrators, students and school or community partners.
“We’re looking for an extremely open and inclusive process,” human resources director Joy Gutknecht told the board Wednesday.
Rodden-Nord also suggested another board executive session Aug. 28 to discuss hiring and authorizing contract negotiations if board members want to proceed. A decision on a contract would then come at the board’s regular meeting in September, she suggested.
“You have some excellent candidates,” said Rodden-Nord.
Oregon Coast Community College was founded in 1987 and held classes almost anywhere around the county. It didn’t have a campus until 2004 when voters – on the third try – passed a $23.5 million bond to establish a main campus in the South Beach area of Newport and satellite buildings in Lincoln City and Waldport. Those facilities were finished in 2009.
In May, voters approved by a wide margin a $33.6 million bond to build a technical and trades education center on the college’s Newport campus and make other improvements to facilities. That bond replaces the 2004 bond.
Oregon Coast Community College is the smallest of Oregon’s 17 community colleges. It has a yearly operating budget of $20 million, 900 full- and part-time students, 105 employees and just last week finished negotiating new, five-year contracts with faculty and staff unions.
Ryslinge, who sat in on Wednesday night’s meeting and the executive session last week, welcomed any of the three finalists who may have dialed into the online meeting via Zoom.
“It’s been the best job of my life,” she told them.
- Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com