PORT ANGELES — Public forums featuring each of the four finalists under consideration for the Peninsula College president’s post have been scheduled next week in Port Angeles, Forks and Port Townsend.
Each candidate will visit the main campus in Port Angeles and the Forks and Port Townsend Extension sites to participate in the community forums.
Peninsula College trustees chose the finalists from a field of 23 applicants
Feb. 21.
The earliest trustees can make a decision is March 20; the college may have a permanent president by the end of June.
The finalists, all affiliated with institutions outside of Washington state and all of whom hold doctorates, are:
■ Dorothy J. Duran, vice president for academic affairs at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
■ Cheri A. Jimeno, president of New Mexico State University, Alamogordo, in Alamogordo, N.M.
■ John R. (Ron) Langrell III, executive vice president of Riverland Community College in Austin, Minn.
■ Luke P. Robins, chancellor of Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe, La.
The new president, once chosen, will replace Tom Keegan, who was hired to be Skagit Valley College’s new president after 10 years leading Peninsula College.
Brinton Sprague, a retired community college leader now living in Port Ludlow, is serving as Peninsula’s interim president.
Schedule of forums
■ Port Angeles:
All of the public forums in Port Angeles will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday in Keegan Hall on the main campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Robins will be featured Monday, Jimeno on Tuesday, Langrell on Wednesday and Duran on Thursday.
■ Forks:
Each candidate will meet with Forks faculty, staff and community members from 11 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday at the Forks Extension site at 71 S. Forks Ave.
Robins will be at the Monday forum, while Jimeno is scheduled Tuesday, Langrell on Wednesday and Duran on Thursday.
■ Port Townsend:
Port Townsend forums are set Tuesday through Friday.
Each candidate will meet with Port Townsend faculty, staff and community members from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the chapel at Fort Worden State Park.
Robins will be featured Tuesday, Jimeno on Wednesday, Langrell on Thursday and Duran on Friday.
Robins has served as chancellor of Louisiana Delta Community College since 2006.
In 2010, the college completed construction of a new $45 million main campus and consolidated operations with two former technical college campuses.
On April 1, Robins also assumed leadership responsibilities as interim regional director of Northeast Louisiana Technical College.
He was executive vice president and chief academic officer at National Park Community College in Hot Springs, Ark., and dean of instruction at Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
He received his doctorate in educational administration with a specialty in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin; his master’s in English, community college teaching track, from Illinois State University in Normal, Ill.; and his bachelor’s in Christian education from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.
Langrell has served as executive vice president of Riverland Community College in Minnesota since 2005.
In that time, the college secured legislative and community support for the campus, founded five community leadership programs throughout southeast Minnesota, created the Professional Intercollegiate Education Center at Owatonna Hospital and developed and implemented full accreditation of selected online degrees.
Langrell also served as chief administrative officer for the Owatonna College and University Center from 2005 to 2008 and as chief student affairs officer from 2005 to 2010.
Prior to his work in Minnesota, Langrell served as vice president of instruction-chief workforce officer and as instructional director of Vocational-Technical & Continuing Education at Walla Walla Community College.
He also was director of student services personnel-chief student affairs officer for the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho.
He earned a doctorate in higher education from Florida State University College of Education in Tallahassee, Fla.
His Sp. Ed. in vocational teacher education, his Master of Education in guidance and counseling, and his bachelor’s in psychology are all from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
New Mexico State University, Alamogordo, in Alamogordo, N.M. — where Jimeno has served as president since 2007 — has been listed in Community College Week magazine as the second-fastest-growing community college for its size in the nation.
She implemented an office of student retention and success, receiving more than $12 million in federal grants and more than $2.5 million in capital outlay from the New Mexico Legislature.
She also has served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Montana State University, Northern, in Havre, Mont., and as dean of the School of Education, Business and Technology at the University of Montana, Western, in Dillon, Mont., where she also was an associate professor of business and department chair.
She earned a doctorate in education and business information systems from Utah State University in Logan, Utah; a master’s in business education from Montana State University, Bozeman; and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Montana, Missoula.
As vice president for academic affairs at Iowa Western Community College, a position she has held since 2006, Duran supervises five academic divisions, one branch campus and four educational centers.
She established an Academy for Teaching Excellence and developed a renewable-energy initiative that includes a new wind energy technician program and sustainable construction building, hybrid automotive and biotechnology programs.
Prior to her work in Iowa, Duran served as dean and director of the El Rito campus of Northern New Mexico College and also worked at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, and at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, N.M.
She holds a doctorate in education administration with a specialty in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.
She earned a master’s in educational foundations with a specialty in administration and a bachelor’s in English and sociology from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, as well as a bachelor’s in education from West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas.