Community college list is cut to 3
One of the candidates will be selected to replace retiring President Martin Lancaster
Published: Sat, Nov. 17, 2007 12:00AM
Modified Sat, Nov. 17, 2007 03:24AM
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closeRALEIGH -- The state community colleges board picked three finalists to lead the state system Friday, shutting out a pick pushed by the governor.
Gov. Mike Easley appoints 10 members to the 21-member state board. Easley asked his appointees to urge the full board to give an interview to Dan Gerlach, the governor's senior fiscal adviser, according to a written statement by a governor's spokeswoman. Gerlach did not get an interview.
The final three candidates to replace retiring President Martin Lancaster are:
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* Kennon Briggs, vice president for business and finance for the N.C. Community College System.
* Philip R. Day Jr., chancellor of City College of San Francisco.
* Scott Ralls, president of Craven Community College.
The state's community college system is one of the largest in the nation. The system includes 58 public community colleges. Lancaster, who will step down in May 2008, has been the system president for the past decade.
Just before the board's Friday meeting, Easley replaced two members whose terms had expired five months ago. When asked whether the appointments had anything to do with Easley's support for Gerlach, his press office wrote, "Their terms expired, so we needed to make new appointments."
State Senate leader Marc Basnight spoke to three board members about Gerlach, said Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for the senator.
"This is a process, and it is up to the members of the Community College Board, and he [Basnight] certainly wanted them to know why he thinks Dan Gerlach would be an excellent choice," Johnson said.
At the meeting Friday, the board met in closed session to discuss the choice for president. Board members declined to talk about what happened behind closed doors, but the session was apparently tense at times.
"This could go on for a week," board member Jim Daniels said as he left the closed session for a break. The session lasted about 90 minutes.
The final three candidates will go through another round of interviews before Dec. 6, when the board could announce a decision.
ben.niolet@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4521
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