CLC hopes to find its new president by December

The search for the College of Lake County's next president could be completed by December.

Trustees approved a timeline this week for conducting the search. Under the plan, the college will find its own president, rather than hiring an external recruiting firm as it has in the past.

"We're looking for someone who can lead us, who has the ability to collaborate with a wide variety of groups and who can establish trust with the board of trustees," Board Chairman William M. Griffin said Wednesday.

A committee of faculty, staff, students and the community will review the pool of applicants, conduct interviews and recommend finalists to trustees.

Griffin was poised to take over as CLC's president, but removed himself as the lone applicant July 26 when more than 300 faculty members and students protested.

He said he has no plans to throw his hat in the ring again.

The search committee, co-chaired by Susan Yasecko, executive director of human resources, and Nancy McNerney, acting vice president for administrative affairs, will be appointed in April.

Announcements and advertisements of the position will be published in May and June.

The committee is scheduled to conduct initial interviews in September and October. Trustees will interview finalists in November.

Under this time frame, a new president could be named in December 2008 or January 2009, Yasecko said.

James Rock, vice president for administrative affairs, has been CLC's interim president since September.

Griffin said Rock has expressed interest to be hired permanently.

Rock earns an annual salary of $146,904. He receives an additional $2,000 per month as interim president.

The position had been vacant since June when Richard Fonte resigned to serve as special assistant to Griffin.

Fonte's work for the college ended March 1.