BATTLE CREEK, MI (WTVB) – The Kellogg Community College Board of Trustees announced last night that it is suspending its search for a new KCC president for at least 12 months. In a prepared statement, Board Chairman Steve Claywell said he and the other trustees have noted that Interim President Mark O’Connell has done an excellent job in the position since March. O’Connell was a fixture for a number of years at KCC’s Grahl Center campus in Coldwater.
According to Claywell, this is not the time, given the College’s declining enrollment and tight budget, to devote the resources required for a national search. O’Connell has served as interim president at KCC since March, when former president Dr. Dennis Bona, announced his retirement and intention to accept a college presidency in Minnesota.
The Board published a request-for-proposal document in June and received three proposals from search firms over the summer. Trustees reviewed those proposals during a September Tenth meeting. With the search suspended, O’Connell, formerly the College’s vice president of administration and finance, will continue in the interim role.
