Davidson Community College

THOMASVILLE — The Board of Trustees of Davidson County Community College has selected four finalists in the search for the college’s next president. The search began in March after Dr. Mary Rittling announced that she would retire at the end of 2018.

At that time Ken White, chair of the college board of trustees, appointed a search committee which consists of Beth Parrott, Dr. Barbara Leonard, Thom Hege and Dr. William Steed.

After holding a series of faculty, staff and community forums in April, the committee developed a position summary and launched a nationwide search on May 3. The committee received 94 applications and narrowed the field to 11 semifinalists in late June. Those candidates submitted additional information for review and participated in telephone interviews with the committee.

“The number of applicants who responded to the opportunity to become the fourth DCCC president speaks well of the reputation the college enjoys across the nation,” White said. “The search committee has diligently worked to narrow the field to a strong group of finalists.”

The four finalists selected are Dr. Darrin Hartness, Dr. Peter Konwerski, Dr. Lisa Rhine and Dr. Janet Spriggs.

Dr. Hartness has served the past seven years as superintendent of schools in Davie County. During his career he has worked in four other North Carolina public school systems as a superintendent, assistant superintendent or principal, among other roles. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Dr. Konwerski has served in a variety of administrative positions at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. For the last five years, his role there has been as vice provost and dean of student affairs. During his 27 years at George Washington, he has also held appointments as an adjunct professor.

Dr. Rhine has served the past five years as the provost of the Chesapeake Campus of Tidewater Community College. She has also worked at Northern Kentucky University, Wittenberg University, the University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College in the positions of vice president of student affairs and associate provost, among other roles. Rhine also taught as an adjunct instructor at these institutions.

Dr. Spriggs has served as chief operating officer at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College for the past two years. She began working at RCCC in 2012 as vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to that, she served as vice president of administrative services at Carteret Community College in Morehead City, where she also taught as an adjunct instructor.

The four finalists will visit the college in late August. They will tour Davidson and Davie counties and meet with the trustees as well as college faculty and staff. The search committee will also conduct a formal interview with each candidate.

“We certainly have an outstanding group of finalists with diverse experiences,” Parrott said. “Although we already know a great deal about the finalists from application materials and telephone interviews, the committee is looking forward to meeting each candidate face-to-face in a few weeks.”

After the campus visits, the search committee will present their recommended candidate to the full board of trustees for approval. Following the DCCC board’s decision, the State Board of Community Colleges must review and affirm the decision. A final announcement is planned for October.