Louisburg College picks new president

Louisburg College, the only private two-year college in North Carolina, named a new president today.

Mark David La Branche, senior vice president of external affairs at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala., will lead Louisburg in its quest for survival.

Late last year, the financially troubled school was warned that it could lose accreditation. That would bring almost certain demise for the college, because students would no longer be eligible for federal financial aid.

Louisburg's last president, J. Michael Clyburn, resigned after less than a year. He had cut jobs at the heavily indebted college, which revived a long-dormant football program in 2005 in an effort to attract more students.

Last month, a review team from the Southern regional accrediting agency visited Louisburg and cited progress, according to the college, but Louisburg remains on probation.

The naming of a new president today signals the college's intent to try to turn around its finances. La Branche has been an administrator for six years at Huntingdon, a college that had been on probation by the same accrediting agency but subsequently regained its financial footing.

"I believe the experience and knowledge gained during this time of challenge and opportunity would serve me well in responding to similar challenges and opportunities at Louisburg College," La Branche said in a news release before his interviews on campus this week.

The other finalist for the job was Judy Blankenship Cheatham, an English professor and administrator at Greensboro College.