August 19, 2019 – A diverse group of seven presidential candidates has been advanced as semi-finalists by Santa Fe College’s Presidential Search Committee. The semi-finalists will be given further consideration in the process. The committee hopes to submit a list of finalists to the District Board of Trustees in September. Current President, Dr. Jackson N. Sasser announced his retirement earlier this year and will be leaving the college by Feb. 1, 2020.
The semi-finalists are (listed in alphabetical order):
Dr. Edward T. Bonahue is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe College, a post he has held since 2009. Bonahue has been at Santa Fe College since 1997, when he started as an assistant professor of Humanities and Theatre. Over the years, he has advanced through the college, also serving as department chair in SF’s Humanities and Foreign Languages department.
Bonahue earned his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in English literature, both from the University of North Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English literature at Wake Forest University.
Dr. Andrew W. Bowne is the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, Indiana, a role he has held since 2016. During his tenure, he provided leadership to Ivy Tech’s 19 campuses that serve over 160,000 students. Before starting at Ivy Tech, Bowne was the Associate Vice President for College Advancement at Grand Rapids Community College from 2005 – 2012.
Bowne has a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University. His bachelor’s degree, also from Western Michigan University, is in Geography/Regional and Urban Planning.
Dr. Paul Broadie II is currently the President of Housatonic Community College (HCC) and Gateway Community College (GCC) in Connecticut. The dual-presidencies puts Broadie in charge of the largest, and fifth-largest community colleges in the state.
Before taking those positions, Broadie was Vice President for Student Services and Associate Vice President of Extension Centers at Orange County Community College in New York dating back to 2002.
Broadie holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State, an M.B.A. from Long Island University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Mercy College.
Dr. Beverly Moore-Garcia served as the President of both the Kendall and West Campuses of Miami Dade College. She has served in various leadership roles at Miami Dade College since 1998, except for a three-year period from 2010 until 2013 where she was Vice President of Education and Student Services at Northwest Community College in British Columbia, Canada.
Moore-Garcia earned her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from Florida International University. She also has a M.S. in Adult Education and International Development Education from Florida International, as well as a M.Ed. in School Psychology from Southwest Texas State University. Her bachelor’s degree in Psychology is from the University of Windsor.
Dr. Kevin Alexander Pollock most recently served as the president of Montgomery County Community College (Pennsylvania). He also served as President of St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Michigan, from 2009 – 2016. Prior to that, he has extensive experience in higher education administrative roles in Student Affairs starting in the late 1980s at both the college and university levels.
Pollock holds a Ph.D. in Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University and both his M.A. and B.S. in Education are from Central Michigan University.
Dr. Bryan Reece served as President of Norco College in California beginning in 2017, overseeing a student population of 15,000. He has also been the Vice President of Instruction at Crafton Hills College from 2013 – 2016, and has served various roles at Cerritos College dating back to 1991 including Dean of Academic Success and Instructional Effectiveness and Interim Dean of Humanities and Social Science
Reece has his Ph.D., M.A. and B.A. in Political Science, all from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Carmen M. Simone is the Vice President and Dean at the University of South Dakota Community College for Sioux Falls. Before taking that position, Simone spent much of her career in community colleges, including five years as the President of Trinidad State Junior College in Colorado, presiding over two campuses. Simone has also served as a vice president at both Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho and Casper College in Wyoming.
Simone has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Colorado State University and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of North Dakota.