ANKENY, Iowa — The Des Moines Area Community College Board of Directors will host a series of in-person and online public forums Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7 as it begins the search for the a new college president, the college has announced.
Rob Denson, the fourth DMACC president, will end his 22-year term of service at the end of 2025. He announced his retirement plan in January.
The public forums will produce input from community stakeholders as will an online survey that closes on May 27. With this information, DMACC said it will build a presidential search profile that outlines the characteristics the institution seeks in its new president.
Community members are welcome to attend any DMACC presidential search forum at the time or place most convenient.
“We are excited to get the search process underway,” said Kevin Halterman, vice chair of the DMACC Board of Directors “We look forward to engaging with the campus community and our many community partners and stakeholders.”
Halterman chairs the presidential search committee, which has hired Dr. Larry Ebbers, University Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, as its search consultant. Ebbers has deep expertise in community college leadership and has led numerous successful presidential searches.
Members of the committee include:
- Dr. Steve Schulz, President Emeritus of NIACC and former Provost at DMACC
- Dr. Kristie Fisher, President of Kirkwood Community College
- Dr. Liang Chee Wee, Interim Chancellor of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and President Emeritus of Northeast Iowa Community College
DMACC is also launching a dedicated website for the presidential search. The site includes full information about the search, including the online forum and survey.
Applications for the presidency will open in mid-July and close in early September. At that time, a screening committee of community college leadership in Iowa will narrow the field to a group of 10 or fewer candidates for online interviews.
Online interviews will be conducted in September, and the committee will recommend three to five finalists to be invited for on-campus interviews in late October.
