SFCC’s hunt for a new permanent president was in full swing until the campus found the right fit.

In a December interview with The Communicator, interim president of SFCC, Nancy Fair-Szofran, spoke about the presidential search. Szofran was appointed interim president after the previous president, Darren Pitcher, left office amid allegations of sexual harassment.

“When we did the presidential search last year, it was a failed search,” Szofran said. “I chaired that search. This time, I am not involved with the search at all.”

Szofran voiced her concerns about the search and student’s involvement.

“Students need to attend these forums and fill out the evaluation forms,” Szofran said. “It’s essential.”

SFCC has been led by interim presidents before, like in July 2017 when former president Janet Gullickson resigned and took a job at a college in Virginia.

When the job listing for president was posted, specific traits, characteristics and competencies were listed in hope that the applicants could fill the role accordingly.

This was called the presidential profile and listed traits such as higher education leadership, integrity, communication, wisdom, and many more.

A news release from March 8 revealed that 35 candidates applied for the position of president, eight were brought to Spokane for basic interviews and three of the candidates were allowed open forums, all-day campus visits, and some were interviewed even more.

Starting with Kimberlee Messina on Feb. 20, Mark Smith the following day and ending with Peter Maphumulo on March 6, the open forums were held in the Palek Auditorium in building 24 with the purpose to showcase SFCC’s presidential candidates.

In these forums, the candidates were asked to talk about themselves, their personal and professional lives, along with a guided discussion of their backgrounds in education and leadership.

Toward the last hour of the forums, the audience was asked to pose questions and inquire about the candidates.

From the beginning, the conversation was geared toward the subject of morale.

Faculty members voiced their concerns about building up the college’s morale after Pitcher’s resignation but also about trust between the faculty and the new president.

After Pitcher’s resignation in February 2018, the first nationwide search for a new president occured. The search was deemed “failed” and SFCC postponed the presidential search for a year after having failed to find someone with the right fit for the college.

Chancellor Christine Johnson had turned down two possible candidates then, believing that postponing the search for a year would be beneficial to students and faculty.

The district did not hire a private recruiting firm to help with the process. In 2000, it cost the district $90,000 in order to recruit a new president. This time around, it is estimated that the two nationwide searches cost about $15,000 each, saving the college about $60,000.

On March 8, Messina was announced as the new president of SFCC via news release.

“Dr. Messina has the qualifications, experience, and proven reputation to lead SFCC,” Johnson said. “She is absolutely committed to the mission of community colleges and to our ability to open the doors to new opportunities for people seeking affordable high-quality education in our region.”

With a doctorate in Education Leadership and experience in leadership, administration and education, Messina’s heart is to be at the college and not in the district office.

“My passion is for changing people’s lives through education and providing students with what they need to be on the same playing field,” she said in the release.

Messina will begin at SFCC in June.

“I am honored to be selected as the president of SFCC and am looking forward to communicating the positive momentum and energy of acheiving SFCC’s mission and vision.”

Story by both Madison Pearson and Winnie Killingsworth