COCC seeks new president, may save newspaper

Central Oregon Community College is now one step closer to finding its next president – and also may be closer to reviving its previously halted campus newspaper.

The COCC Board of Directors got an update on the presidential search process at Wednesday night’s meeting..

It’s still early, but they are still on track, according to John Mundy the chair of the board. They have created a committee to help in the search for their next president, succeeding Dr. Shirley Metcalf, who retires at the end of next June..

The board approved the committee to lead the hiring process for the new president, along with a profile or description of what they are looking for in the next college leader.

Mundy said the board is looking for someone who’s inclusive and is able to create good relationships with the faculty, staff and the students, and also create a good relationship with the community.

“We have what are called career technological programs, or CTE. We also have workforce development.” Mundy said. “We want to make sure that we have someone who is astounding in that respect, somebody who can really grab the bull by the horns and coordinate with the local business leaders and give them what they need to develop our local workforce.”

The next step is to advertise the open position, within the next week.

From there, the committee will review the resumes received and give the board four candidates to interview.

Mundy said he hopes to have the hiring process completed by mid February or early March.

The future of the college’s student run newspaper is in question as well.

The COCC student-run newspaper, The Broadside, was shut down recently due to a lack of funding and support, but now it may be coming back.

Those in the journalism department would like to see the paper return, even if it is in another form.

The college received feedback suggesting they take a second look at shutting down the paper.

Andrew Davis, the director of student and campus life at COCC, said the college is now forming a group that will take a look at just how viable it is for the news source to continue.

Davis said the paper really is a unique experience for students.

“It’s a teaching tool. Students get work opportunities in the field of journalism , and that’s a good piece,” Davis said. “It also gives them a good opportunity to examine campus and community issues, and raise questions in a really specific format that otherwise they might feel like they don’t have the ability to do.”

About 25 students were involved in running the paper each year, but by last year, that number was down to just 10 students.

About 400 papers were printed for each edition, but fewer than half of them were being read.

That’s why the paper could take a different form, if it’s to be brought back. It might not just be a hard copy, but digital/online.

That’s what the newly created focus group will have to decide.