POCAHONTAS, AR Mar. 19 – The Black River Technical College Board of Trustees has named three finalists for the position of college president whose tenure will begin with the 2019-2020 academic year. They are Dr. Chris Boyett, associate vice president of academic affairs at Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio; Dr. Martin Eggensperger, vice chancellor for academics at ASU-Mountain Home in Mountain Home, Arkansas; and Dr. Justin Hoggard, dean of instruction at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Each finalist will visit the Pocahontas campus the first week of April for interviews. “In conjunction with the interviews,” said Doug Cox, chairman of the BRTC Board of Trustees, “there will be an opportunity for all BRTC faculty and staff as well as community members to attend an open forum and meet-and-greet for each candidate.”
Each public forum will be streamed live on BRTC’s Facebook page to allow individuals who cannot attend the event listen and submit questions for each candidate. “We welcome and encourage all who are interested in helping us make this leadership transition decision,” said Cox, “to attend as many of the opportunities as possible to meet the candidates.”
“The Board of Trustees is very grateful for the efforts and input of all of the members of the presidential search committee as well as the BRTC human resources and institutional advancement offices,” Cox said. The presidential search committee included a diverse group of community members from the 4-county service area and BRTC students, faculty, staff, administration, and Board of Trustees members.
The Board hopes to name the new president in mid-April and have him assume duties on July 1. The successful candidate will replace interim president Dr. Jan Ziegler who has served the college as both interim president after the departure of Dr. Eric Turner in August 2018 and as a BRTC faculty member and administrator for more than 20 years.
“We would like to thank our interim president Dr. Jan Ziegler,” said Cox. “Dr. Ziegler has not only been a great campus leader in this transition of leadership at BRTC, she has also been instrumental in guiding us in the presidential search process.”
For more information about the presidential selection process, the position, or the public forums, contact Julie Edington at (870) 248-4032 or email her at Julie.Edington@blackrivertech.edu.
Black River Technical College is a 2-year community college in Pocahontas and Paragould which offers associates degrees and certificates in general education and technical and career education. It serves a 4-county area in Northeast Arkansas and 5 border counties in Southeast Missouri. BRTC is also home to 1 of the 3 law enforcement training academies which serve the state of Arkansas.