RichmondCC President Search Narrowed Down to 12 Candidates

HAMLET — The Richmond Community College presidential search committee will begin reviewing 12 candidates Monday, selected from more than 50 applications for the presidency. The committee will select five candidates to be interviewed by the full Board of Trustees.

Joe Barwick, President and Managing Partner of Executive Leadership Associates LLP, made this announcement at the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, August 6.

“The full board will select three finalists, who will be reviewed by the state board in September,” Barwick said.

Executive Leadership Associates was hired to conduct the search for a new CEO following Dr. Dale McInnis’ announcement of his retirement at the end of October.

The state board will announce the new RichmondCC president in mid-October.

In other news, two new members were appointed to the Board of Trustees. They are Dr. Scott Brewer and Iris McRae, who attended the first meeting last Tuesday.

Brewer was appointed by the North Carolina House of Representatives to a term expiring in June 2027; McRae was appointed by the North Carolina Senate to a term expiring in June 2028.

Dr. Qunna Morrow, dean of the College of Allied Health and Human Services, announced that 50 graduates of the Associate Degree Nursing class of 2024 have passed the NCLEX exam and earned their licensure as registered nurses.

“We had 53 people graduate from the ADN program this spring, which gave us a 94 percent pass rate. That was the largest group with the highest pass rate, so we’re very proud of that accomplishment,” Morrow said.

In the practical nursing program, of the nine students who graduated in July, seven took the NCLEX examination to obtain a practical nurse license; all seven passed the examination.

As students prepare to return to campus for the start of the fall semester on Wednesday, August 14, the Board of Trustees was presented with data on how much money students will save by switching to digital textbooks.

If all Fall 2023 students purchased a new textbook from the Follett Bookstore in Fall 2023, the total would be $774,897.97. If the digital textbook option had been available last Fall, traditional students would have paid a total of $207,952 for books. That’s a savings of $566,946 on books.

The board was presented with similar data regarding savings passed on to school systems that purchase textbooks for high school students who attend RichmondCC.

“We know that not all students are buying new books, as some are buying used, borrowing or lending books, and some are not buying any books at all. Switching to digital textbooks is a huge savings for our students, and we look forward to helping them make this transition this fall,” said Brent Barbee, executive vice president and chief financial officer.