National Park College began its series of student, employee and community forums on Monday with the four presidential finalists approved by the board of trustees late last month.
Candidates Bryan Newton, vice president for enrollment management and student services at Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Maryland, and Wade Derden, executive vice president for advancement and government relations at NPC, participated in a host of forums Monday, culminating with a two-hour community session in the NPC Student Commons.
Candidates Kendricks Hooker, provost of Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in Concord, North Carolina, and Joel Michaelis, vice president of instruction at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska, are on campus today participating in the forums following the same format.
The college plans to announce a new president sometime in May.
NPC Vice President for Administration Kelli Embry said in a news release that more than 60 people applied for the position. After narrowing the pool down to 10, the search committee recommended five candidates, of which one withdrew their candidacy.
Derden, who grew up in central Arkansas, has spent over 20 years in higher education, first as a part-time instructor at ASU-Beebe on the Little Rock Air Force Base and at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock. He later became a full-time faculty member at PTC where he taught history, political science and the humanities.
At NPC, he chaired the Social Science Division and served as vice president for academic affairs before coming into his present role in April 2023.
He received his doctorate in public policy from the University of Arkansas. Appointed to the University of Arkansas's Criminal Justice Institute Board of Advisors by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, he is also a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.
Hooker has 25 years of experience in higher education and before joining Cabarrus College, served as vice president of academic affairs at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.
Other roles include dean of the School of Health Education at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, associate dean in the School of Arts and Sciences, chair of the Biomedical Sciences and Pre-Health Studies programs at Baptist Health Sciences University in Memphis, and instructor biology at Mid-South Community College in West Memphis. Hooker holds a doctorate of philosophy in urban higher education from Jackson State University.
Michaelis has worked in education for over 30 years, starting as a sixth grade math teacher. Before his current position, he was chief academic officer at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro, Kentucky, and also at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.
He received his doctor of education in higher education administration from Baylor University and master of education in higher education administration from The University of Texas.
Newton has served in administrative positions for over 22 years and has been in his current position since 2015. He previously was vice president for enrollment management and student experience at Aiken Technical College in South Carolina and vice chancellor for student affairs at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana.
He holds a Ph.D. in education and human resource studies from Colorado State University and a juris doctorate from The Ohio State University College of Law.
Newton is the immediate past chair of the board of directors for the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore and currently serves on the Rural and Small Colleges Commission for the American Association of Community Colleges. He is also an advisory board member for the Higher Education Resource Development Institute.