Karin Edwards
Joaquin Martinez
Lamata Mitchell
Sara Thompson Tweedy
Clark College’s search for a president to replace retired college leader Bob Knight is in the final stretches, with the school announcing four finalists late last month.
The college made the announcement Dec. 18, settling on candidates from all sides of the country. The finalists are Portland Community College Cascade Campus President Karin Edwards, Miami Dade College District Vice Provost Joaquin Martinez, Pima Community College Vice President of Instruction and Academic Operations Lamata Mitchell and State University of New York Westchester Community College Vice President of Student Access, Involvement and Success Sara Thompson Tweedy.
According to information provided by Clark College, Edwards has spent a 36-year career in community colleges, serving as president of PCC’s Cascade Campus since July 2014. Previously, she served as Norwich, Connecticut-based Three Rivers Community College Dean of Student Development and Services.
Martinez has spent the last decade in leadership roles with Miami Dade College, an institution with eight campuses and more than 150,000 students, Clark College’s information on the finalists stated. Prior to Miami Dade, Martinez was the founding director of the Albizu University School of Education, a college with campuses in Puerto Rico and Miami.
Mitchell has served in her current role at Pima College, a multi-campus institution based in Tucson, Arizona, since 2016, spending the past decade in leadership positions in Arizona and Illinois. Prior to Pima, Mitchell served as dean and assistant dean of communication-focused studies at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois.
Thompson Tweedy has been in leadership positions at the State University of New York system for nine years, previously serving as SUNY Sullivan Dean of Student Development Services. Outside of school leadership she is also pastor of the Federated Church of Kerhonkson and serves as a volunteer firefighter and chaplain with the Kerhonkson Volunteer Fire Department.
In total, 65 qualified applications were received by Clark College since it began its search in September, according to the college’s announcement. With support by national search firm Gold Hill Associates, an advisory committee comprising community leaders, college employees and students reviewed applications before narrowing the field to 10 semifinalists, interviewing all remaining candidates and making a recommendation to the Clark College Board of Trustees.
The finalists will be invited to Clark College’s campus for panel interviews and public forums this month. The board is expected to make a selection by the end of February with the new president beginning “onboarding” in the summer in preparation for the coming school year.
Following Knight’s retirement, interim president Sandra Fowler-Hill was hired in June to lead the transition. As part of her contract she was not a candidate for the position.
Full biographies of the candidates are available at clark.edu/presidential-search/search/finalists.php.
