Sixteen more candidates — including a former Philander Smith College leader who abruptly resigned as president last year — have applied to become the first chancellor of an impending Arkansas State University campus, raising the total number of candidates to 39.
The applicants are vying to become Mid-South Community College’s chancellor, replacing President Glen Fenter. Fenter, 55, is leaving to head the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, a program that connects industry leaders in the Delta with programs at educational institutions to produce a skilled industrial workforce.
Fenter was at the helm of the 1,895-student college in West Memphis since its 1992 inception. The college’s new leader will come in as the institution plans to merge with the Arkansas State University System.
Under the merger — which is awaiting approval by the Higher Learning Commission, a national accrediting agency — the presidential position will transition to a chancellorship. The chancellor will report to ASU System President Chuck Welch.
The 16 additional candidates and their current positions, according to the ASU System, are:
m Sherry Aaker of Freeport, Fla., dean of students at Northwest Florida State College.
Usman Adamu of Pine Bluff, an associate professor in the agriculture department at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Abel Adekola of Menomonie, Wis., dean of the College of Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Marcus Babaoye of Lafayette, La., vice chancellor for institutional effectiveness, innovation and accreditation liaison officer at South Louisiana Community College.
Jeremy Bennett of Milton, Ga., dean of the North Fulton campus of Gwinnett Technical College in Alpharetta, Ga.
Wayne Ezelle of Marrero, La., professor of business at Trident University in Cypress, Calif., and at Touro University in Los Alamitos, Calif.
Joel Garrison of Dumfries, Va., chief of the military intelligence readiness branch at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va.
Stephani Johns-Hines of Derby, Ky., associate vice president of Mulvane and online operations at Cowley College in Mulvane, Kan.
Lewis Jones of North Mankato, Minn., board chairman of the International Group for Educational Transfer, an Ohio-based company that seeks to enhance educational standards globally.
James McGee of Aurora, Ill., dean of mathematics, science and engineering at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill.
Johnny Moore of Little Rock, interim vice president for student and outreach services at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and former president and chief executive of Philander Smith College. Moore resigned in February 2014, less than two years after he was appointed to lead the historically black college in downtown Little Rock.
Helen Oliver of Holly Springs, Miss., coordinator for off-campus learning and professor of education at Rust College, and founder and executive director of Mississippi Tutorial Association, a nonprofit that provides human and monetary resources for struggling public school students.
William Rule of Acworth, Ga., vice president of student affairs and technology advancement at Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta, Ga.
Dwayne Scott of Cordova, Tenn., vice president for student services and enrollment management at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.
James Selbe of Columbia, Tenn., owner and operator of Selbe Consulting, a higher-education consulting firm, and former system director for distance learning initiatives and special assistant to the chancellor at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System in Versailles, Ky.
Gregory Tillman of New Orleans, CEO and founder of Ebony Cultural Arts, where he provides educational consultations.