The executive committee for Alamance Community College’s board of trustees took no action Friday afternoon to select an interim president to serve in place of ACC president Dr. Algie Gatewood, who has announced his intention to retire on June 30.
Instead, the three trustees who serve on their executive committee – trustee chairman Blake Williams, vice chairman Julie Scott Emmons, and former chairman Dr. Roslyn Crisp – decided to delay naming an interim in order to get more input from the full, 12-member trustee board.
Nor did the trustees’ executive committee decide Friday afternoon on what type of process will be used to locate a permanent successor to Gatewood.
Gatewood confirmed for The Alamance News last Wednesday evening that he will retire June 30, ending his 10-year tenure as ACC’s president and capping a nearly 40-year career in higher education.
During their brief discussion Friday afternoon, the trustees’ executive committee considered the possibility of appointing ACC executive vice president Dr. Connie Wolfe to serve as interim president once Gatewood’s retirement takes effect.
However, the committee’s members opted not to take action – by voting to recommend that the full trustee board appoint Wolfe as interim president of ACC – after Emmons noted that Wolfe hadn’t been consulted about her willingness to serve in that role.
Wolfe was originally hired as ACC’s Vice President of Instruction and Chief Academic Officer in 2018. Prior to her hiring at ACC, Wolfe had been employed as the dean of Arts & Sciences at Surry Community College in Dobson; and during her 19 years at that community college, had also served as a division chairman and director of the Academic Support Center.
Meanwhile, ACC officials confirmed for the newspaper Monday afternoon that the next step will be for the board of trustees to convene a special-called meeting to ratify the executive committee’s vote on Friday to accept Gatewood’s resignation and then notify the North Carolina Community Colleges System of his retirement.
The trustee board will likely also be asked at an upcoming special-called meeting – which hasn’t yet been scheduled – to appoint several additional trustees to serve either on their executive committee or a presidential search committee, similar to the one the trustees established prior to hiring Gatewood in 2013, ACC officials told the newspaper Monday.
Editorial on Dr. Gatewood’s 10-year tenure heading up ACC: https://alamancenews.com/gatewood-a-fine-run-at-acc/
Announcement of Dr. Algie Gatewood’s decision to retire: https://alamancenews.com/acc-president-dr-algie-gatewood-to-retire/
