FSCC trustees expect to name successor to Miesner soon

Although a selection has not yet been made, Fort Scott Community College officials are getting closer to naming a successor to retiring FSCC President Jim Miesner.

The FSCC Board of Trustees has been meeting since last fall in an attempt to find the college's next chief administrator, who will replace current FSCC President Jim Miesner after his announcement in October that he plans to retire this summer. Trustees recently narrowed a list of undisclosed candidates down to five names, and they have been interviewing those candidates behind closed doors since last week, officials said.

The trustees plan to conduct another closed session at 2 p.m. Thursday in the FSCC Board Room, 2108 Horton St., to continue the interview process and review the qualifications of the five remaining candidates, whose names could not be revealed because of confidentiality reasons. There is no open session nor further action scheduled for this special meeting, according to an FSCC statement.

While no official announcement is expected to be made on Thursday, trustees and other FSCC administrators are moving toward the end of the process, FSCC Human Resource Officer Cheryl Combs said Tuesday.

"We do expect an announcement in the very near future," Combs said.

Miesner, 64, said college officials have received a large number of applications and inquiries concerning the position since his announcement. Trustees then had an undisclosed number of candidates to work with as they began interviewing presidential hopefuls in early January, and they narrowed that list down to five candidates last week.

Miesner, who has served as president since 2003, said he plans to retire in July, and FSCC wants to have the position filled by March. Miesner began his career at FSCC in 1999, first serving the college as dean of instruction.

The Oklahoma native has said that he plans to retire on a positive note as the college continues to grow and its operations are running smoothly.