Regents’ TMCC presidential search advances; consultants to revise leadership profile and ad plan

The ad hoc TMCC presidential search committee, meeting as a noticed session of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents, directed search consultants from the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) on Thursday to revise the draft leadership profile and the advertising plan after members and advisory participants offered edits and clarifying requests.

The committee voted unanimously to instruct ACCT to update the draft profile to reflect comments made during the meeting and to delegate final review and approval of the revised profile to the search committee chair. The committee also voted unanimously to direct consultants to update the advertising plan and to give final review authority to the chair.

The revisions follow a lengthy discussion of process, candidate qualities and timeline. ACCT consultants Julie Golder and Deborah (Debbie) de Thomas told the committee the search is intended to be national, that recruitment will combine posted advertisements with confidential one-on-one outreach, and that ACCT will manage confidential reference checks. "We received 43" survey responses that informed the draft profile, Golder said, noting also that public listening sessions attracted roughly 35 attendees at two earlier sessions and about 10 at a later session. De Thomas emphasized vetting: "ACCT does a very thorough job" in reference checking and asked the committee to allow ACCT to perform that work.

Committee members and advisory participants recommended edits to emphasize financial stewardship and economic-development partnerships, Nevada-specific knowledge, and evidence of academic leadership. Regent Brown, among others, urged clearer language on budget constraints, enrollment trends and infrastructure needs; Regent Brooks and others asked that business acumen and familiarity with legislative advocacy be called out. Several advisory participants recommended the profile and interview questions probe leadership style and examples of operational or financial innovation.

The committee discussed the recruitment timeline that ACCT presented: the consultants said the revised profile would be posted within about a week, active recruiting would follow, and the target date for priority consideration of applications is March 10. ACCT said semifinalists would be chosen by the search chair and ACCT, semifinal interviews would be conducted virtually in early April, and campus visits for finalists were projected for the week of May 5, with an anticipated early July start date for the selected candidate. Golder told the committee the process in Nevada makes finalist names public: "the process is confidential until the finalist stage, period," she said, and ACCT staff will inform candidates of that rule during screening.

On votes and procedure, the chair (the search committee chair) explained that, consistent with board policy and Nevada open meeting laws, the committee may delegate final approval of the profile and ad plan to the chair to avoid repeated public meetings while preserving public notice. General Counsel Chris Nielsen and Chief of Staff Carrie Nikolajewski confirmed the practice: the board policy requires approval of the leadership profile by the second committee meeting and allows a short follow-up review period for committee members before the chair gives final approval.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes (Agenda item 2): Motion to approve minutes was moved by Regent Arascon and seconded by Regent Brown; the motion passed unanimously. - Leadership profile (Agenda item 4): Motion to direct consultants to revise the draft based on comments received, with final review and approval delegated to the search chair; motion made by Regent Brown, seconded by Regent Eris Scott; motion carried unanimously. - Advertising plan (Agenda item 5): Motion to direct consultants to revise the advertising plan based on comments received, with final review and approval delegated to the search chair; motion made by Regent Brown and seconded by Regent Eris Scott; motion carried unanimously.

Committee members and ACCT staff said that if the applicant pool is not sufficiently strong or diverse under the timeline, ACCT will notify the chair and request additional time. ACCT also said it uses targeted outreach in addition to standard postings and confirmed it can amplify recruitment via LinkedIn and specialty lists (ACCT's proprietary mailing list of higher-education leaders, HACU for Hispanic-serving outreach and other trade outlets). The consultants noted that ad durations vary (30–90 days) and that language across ads will state the position is "open until filled" with a March 10 target date for priority consideration.

The committee heard from advisory participants representing faculty, staff, students and community stakeholders who generally praised ACCT’s draft as thorough while asking for stronger emphasis on financial leadership, partnerships with Nevada workforce entities (for example, Nevada Works and GOED), legislative advocacy and clarity about leadership style. ACCT said it will incorporate the meeting's edits into a revised draft and provide the committee chair a version for final approval; committee members will receive the chair-approved draft for situational awareness but were told new substantive changes should not be added outside a public meeting.

The meeting concluded with brief public-comment opportunities and acknowledgments to TMCC for hosting and to system staff. No formal actions beyond the three motions listed above were taken.