AUBURN - Cayuga Community College's Board of Trustees has opted for an outsider as their choice to lead the college.
Dr. Daniel Larson, vice-president for instruction at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, was selected by a 8-2 vote as CCC's new president.
The board made their decision public Wednesday night after nearly two hours in executive session.
Larson must still undergo interviews and approvals by the State University of New York's Board of Trustees, Interim Chancellor John B. Clark and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Risa I. Palm. Larson's contract must also be negotiated.
Dr. Philip Gover, interim president, was the other finalist.
Gover, the school's former dean of faculty and vice president of academic and student affairs, was named to the temporary post last November after former president Dennis Golladay stepped down in November to become vice chancellor for community colleges in the SUNY system.
Jane Bowen, Jeffrey Edwards, John Karpinski, Pamela Kirkwood, Joseph Michaud, David Pappert, Gina Speno and G. Michael Szczepanski voted for Larson.
John Carmado and Robert Pine voted for Gover.
“I have the utmost respect for Phil,” said Michaud, chairman of the board of trustees. “He's been a prince to work with.”
Michaud and Pine wanted to be clear that the choice wasn't anything negative about Gover.
“We want to praise how Dr. Gover ... has done a wonderful job in the last seven months,” said Pine, chairman of the 12-member presidential search committee.
Michaud said an outsider with “fresh eyes and a track record of affecting difficult changes” would be helpful in addressing CCC's challenges: declining enrollment; reworking the college's curriculum; outstanding labor contracts; and the bursting-to-the-seams Fulton campus' need to lease or build new space.
“We have a significant challenge up in Fulton,” Michaud said. “We've pretty much outgrown the space we have.”
Gover has agreed to continue as the interim president and, if necessary, stay during a transitional overlap with Larson, Michaud said.
Since 2003, Larson has been vice-president for instruction at Mohawk Valley Community College, responsible for academic programs, curriculum development, oversight of faculty and staff and grant funding, among other responsibilities. Larson also served as vice-president for academic affairs at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Mo., and dean of arts and sciences at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Larson is a classical singer and conductor who earned his doctorate of musical arts in voice performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and his master's degree in music in voice performance and literature as well as his bachelor's degree in music in applied music-voice at the University of Rochester.
Gover has also interviewed for the presidency of Finger Lakes Community College. Dr. Daniel T. Hayes, FLCC's president, will retire Aug. 31.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
The board made their decision public Wednesday night after nearly two hours in executive session.
Larson must still undergo interviews and approvals by the State University of New York's Board of Trustees, Interim Chancellor John B. Clark and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Risa I. Palm. Larson's contract must also be negotiated.
Dr. Philip Gover, interim president, was the other finalist.
Gover, the school's former dean of faculty and vice president of academic and student affairs, was named to the temporary post last November after former president Dennis Golladay stepped down in November to become vice chancellor for community colleges in the SUNY system.
Jane Bowen, Jeffrey Edwards, John Karpinski, Pamela Kirkwood, Joseph Michaud, David Pappert, Gina Speno and G. Michael Szczepanski voted for Larson.
John Carmado and Robert Pine voted for Gover.
“I have the utmost respect for Phil,” said Michaud, chairman of the board of trustees. “He's been a prince to work with.”
Michaud and Pine wanted to be clear that the choice wasn't anything negative about Gover.
“We want to praise how Dr. Gover ... has done a wonderful job in the last seven months,” said Pine, chairman of the 12-member presidential search committee.
Michaud said an outsider with “fresh eyes and a track record of affecting difficult changes” would be helpful in addressing CCC's challenges: declining enrollment; reworking the college's curriculum; outstanding labor contracts; and the bursting-to-the-seams Fulton campus' need to lease or build new space.
“We have a significant challenge up in Fulton,” Michaud said. “We've pretty much outgrown the space we have.”
Gover has agreed to continue as the interim president and, if necessary, stay during a transitional overlap with Larson, Michaud said.
Since 2003, Larson has been vice-president for instruction at Mohawk Valley Community College, responsible for academic programs, curriculum development, oversight of faculty and staff and grant funding, among other responsibilities. Larson also served as vice-president for academic affairs at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Mo., and dean of arts and sciences at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Larson is a classical singer and conductor who earned his doctorate of musical arts in voice performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and his master's degree in music in voice performance and literature as well as his bachelor's degree in music in applied music-voice at the University of Rochester.
Gover has also interviewed for the presidency of Finger Lakes Community College. Dr. Daniel T. Hayes, FLCC's president, will retire Aug. 31.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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