Public comment session planned to help choose next president of Fort Lewis College

 

DURANGO – On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union, Vallecito Room, the Board of Trustees for Fort Lewis College will hold a public comment session for both campus and community members to express their opinions on the three Fort Lewis College presidential candidates. The Board will then use this input to make their selection of the next president of Fort Lewis College. The announcement of the Board’s selection will come within the next few weeks.

 

The three final candidates under consideration to become the ninth president of Fort Lewis College have completed their visits to campus. Each candidate held open sessions with College faculty, staff and students, as well as public receptions open to the community.

 

The community is encouraged to attend the Board of Trustees public session and voice their opinions. The College has a significant impact on Durango, economically and culturally, for example, and the next president will certainly have an impact on how the College interacts with the community.

 

The presidential finalists designated by the Board include, in alphabetical order:

 

Dr. Elizabeth S. Grobsmith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona

 

Dr. Grobsmith has served in her current position for eight years, having previously served as Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Utah State University; Dean of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; and a number of administrative positions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she also was a Professor of Anthropology. She received a doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Arizona.

 

Dr. Dene Kay Thomas, President, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, Idaho

 

Dr. Thomas has served in her current position for nine years. Previously, she served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Associate Dean, College of Letters and Science and Director of Writing in the Department of English at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. Dr. Thomas received her doctorate in English from the University of Minnesota.

 

Dr. Kent M. Tingey, Vice President for Advancement, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho

 

Dr. Tingey has served in his current position for 12 years. Previously, he was Director of University and Government Relations for Idaho State; executive assistant for U.S. Representative Wayne Owens of Idaho; Director of Public Relations for Dixie College, St. George, Utah; and assistant director of University Relations at Brigham Young University – Hawaii Campus, Laie, Hawaii.

 

Videos of each candidates open sessions with College faculty and staff are posted online at the Presidential Search website (www.fortlewis.edu/presidentialsearch).

 

Comments can also be emailed directly to the Board at [email protected]. Anonymous comments can be submitted at www.fortlewis.edu/presidentialsearch.