By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

SORRENTO – On Wednesday, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System held a public forum to narrow down a selection of candidates chosen to fill the vacant chancellor position at the River Parishes Community College.
Four finalists were announced last week after a nationwide search process. Each finalist was invited to participate in a series of interviews with the search committee and public forums with students, faculty, staff and community members at the college’s main campus. In addition to the public forums, each candidate will interview with College System President Joe D. May, who will make the final recommendation for the position to the LCTCS Board of Supervisors. The four finalists are Dr. Dale Doty, Dr. Olin Joynton, Dr. Neil Matkin and Dr. Jeffery A. Smith.
Doty is currently the vice president for academic affairs at Florence Darlington Technical College in Florence, S.C. Doty earned a doctorate in industrial education from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He received a master’s degree in student personnel services and bachelor’s degree in industrial education from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. At FDTC, Doty supervises the faculty, academic program development and improvement and accreditation processes. He also participates in numerous grant procurement and management activities.   
Joynton is currently in his 10th year as president of Alpena Community College in Alpena, Mich. During his administration, partnerships have multiplied, technical programs have been strengthened by more than $6 million in federal workforce development grants, and renovation and new construction projects have been completed. Also, ACC has maintained first place among Michigan community colleges in graduation rate for several years. Joynton received a doctorate in philosophy from Rice University and a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Illinois.   
Matkin was appointed as the LCTCS executive vice president in July 2012. In this role Matkin is responsible for providing leadership in the areas of academic and student affairs, career and technical education, adult basic education, institutional research and workforce development and training for the school system’s 13 colleges. Matkin has earned five degrees. Most recently, he holds a doctorate in higher education from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dallas, with a specialty in information systems.   
Smith is currently the vice president of administration and student affairs at Shaw University in North Carolina, where he is an educator, administrator and minister with a strong record of leadership and accomplishments in higher education. Most recently, Smith was selected as one of 22 higher educational professionals in the country to participate in the Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission Seminar in Napa, Calif. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina and a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Georgia. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.   A final selection will be made in October.   
Dr. Bill Martin, the executive vice chancellor of River Parishes Community College, said the public forums were “packed out” with attendees. Though he cannot comment on the process, Martin said he hopes the new chancellor will continue the good working environment at the college.   
“The comment I got from most of our
faculty and staff
was that they were pleasantly surprised that all four candidates seemed well-qualified. I’m not sure they were expecting that. They might’ve thought there’d be two really strong candidates and two not-so-good. So, it’s a wide-open thing. I wouldn’t have any way of predicting,” he said.