BENTONVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas Community College's national search for its next president is down to three finalists, including one internal candidate.
President Evelyn Jorgenson, 70, has announced she is retiring this summer.
The finalists to replace Jorgenson are Ricky Tompkins, vice president of learning/chief academic officer at Northwest Arkansas Community College; Dennis Rittle, president of Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kan.; and Wade Derden, vice president for academic affairs at National Park College in Hot Springs, according to Ron Branscum, a board of trustees member and president selection committee chairman.
Derden has served in his current position since 2015, according to his resume. He previously was chairman of the social sciences division for four years at National Park College, and before that was a history and political science instructor at Pulaski Technical College for eight years. Derden earned a doctorate in public policy from the University of Arkansas in 2011.
Rittle has been Cowley College's president since 2015, according to his resume. Cowley College, located in south-central Kansas, had 3,762 students as of the 2019-20 school year, according to the school's website. Rittle previously served three years as provost and executive vice president of learning at Ozarka College in Melbourne. He received his doctorate in organizational leadership from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., in 2009.
Tompkins has served in various administrative roles with the college since 2006, starting as director of its Institute for Corporate and Public Safety, according to his resume. He earned his doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2005.
From March 29-31, each of the finalists individually will spend a day on campus, Branscum said. They will participate in public forums, interview with the board and have dinner with the board. The board likely will choose a president in early April, he said.
Fifty-three people applied for the president's job, Branscum said.