COCC adds Jim Clinton to board, names 3 presidential finalists

The Central Oregon Community College board of directors, in a pair of unanimous votes on Wednesday, named three finalists to be the school’s next president and appointed former Bend mayor Jim Clinton to represent Zone 5 of the COCC district, one of two positions covering most of the city

Clinton will serve on the board through June 30. T he seat will appear on the May ballot and will be filled by election for a full four-year term.

Clinton was asked during his interview with the board and indicated he likely will be running for the position in May, said Ron Paradis, executive director of college relations.

Clinton replaces John Mundy, who resigned in December. A committee of three board members interviewed three candidates for the position this past week.

Clinton served as Bend mayor from 2012 through 2016, the final four years of his 12 years of service on the Bend City Council. He was born and raised in Lakeview and earned his bachelor’s in physics from the University of Oregon, and both a master’s and doctorate degree in physics from the University of California at San Diego.

As a scientist, Clinton was president of Energy Science Laboratories, Inc., and owner of both Solar Energy Analysis Lab and D-Star Labs, a contract research and development company that worked on sensors and medical devices. He also developed and taught a class for solar energy technicians at a community college in California, and was on the faculty at the University of California, San Diego.

“Dr. Clinton showed us in the interview that he has true passion for our students and the work of COCC in the community,” said Laura Craska Cooper, chair of the COCC board of directors. “We believe he will be a great addition to our board and be able to assist us immediately.”

The board also named three community college administrators as finalists for the position of college president, whose tenure would begin with the 2019-20 academic year. Finalists will visit the Bend campus in February for two days of interviews and meetings.

The three finalists are:

Dr. Kimberlee Messina, former vice president and interim president at Foothill College in California, most recently served as interim vice chancellor for the San Mateo County Community College District. She will be in Central Oregon on Feb. 4 and 5. Messina earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in Spanish from the California State University at Sacramento. She then earned her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of California at Davis. Messina taught Spanish at UC-Davis and, for 12 years, at Santa Rosa Junior College. She then served as a dean of science, technology, engineering and mathematics at Santa Rosa. From there, she moved to Foothill College as vice president of instruction and institutional research for four years, and then interim president for one. For the next two years, she served as interim vice chancellor of educational services and planning for the San Mateo district. She owns K.S. Messina, Equity in Education Consultant.

Dr. Tod Treat serves as interim vice president for instruction at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington. Treat was executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Tacoma Community College for five years. He is scheduled to visit COCC on Feb. 7 and 8. Treat earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in chemistry (concentration in bioorganic chemistry) from the University of Colorado. He returned to the University of Illinois and earned his doctorate degree in education. He taught chemistry for nine years at Parkland College in Illinois and served in a number of other roles there before being named dean of academic services, a position he held for five years. Following that, he was vice president of student and academic services at Richland Community College, also in Illinois, before moving to Tacoma in 2013.

Dr. Laurie Chesley is provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan. She will be in Central Oregon on Feb. 13 and 14. Chesley earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Alma College and her master’s and doctorate degrees in English at the University of Notre Dame. She taught English at a variety of higher education institutions for 14 years, including five years of full-time teaching at Northwestern Michigan College. She has 18 years of administrative experience, including interim dean of learning at Northwestern Michigan, assistant vice president for academic affairs at Ferris State (Michigan) University, dean of humanities at Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Community College, and then associate dean and dean of arts and sciences at Grand Rapids Community College, before becoming vice president in 2015.

As part of their time in the region, each candidate will have a formal interview with the COCC board and participate in community meetings in Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville. They will also have sessions with various employee groups on COCC’s campuses.

The board hopes to name the new president by early March and have that person in place by July 1. The successful candidate will replace Dr. Shirley I. Metcalf, who has served as president since August 2014.