SCC Board of Trustees announces four finalists in presidential search

Published: 06/07/2016

The St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees has named four finalists in the search for the institution’s next president. 

Four candidates will visit the campus between June 10-13.  Groups meeting with the candidates include students, faculty, staff, the Board of Trustees and local community and business leaders.

“At a special closed session meeting of the Board of Trustees on June 1, the Board narrowed the list of candidates to four,” said Pamela Cilek, chair of the Presidential Search Committee and secretary of the SCC Board of Trustees.  “We are excited to learn more about the finalists and host them on the beautiful college campus.”

The candidates are: Darrell L. Cain, Ph.D., vice chancellor of student affairs at Ivy Tech Community College System (Ind.); Cliff Davis, president of Table Rock campus and system vice chancellor at Ozarks Technical Community College (Mo.); Barbara R. Kavalier, Ph.D., district president at Navarro College (Tex.); and, Ted Lewis, Ed.D, vice president of academic affairs at Pellissippi State College (Tenn.).

The public forum schedule is: 10-11 a.m. Friday, June 10 – Darrell L. Cain, Ph.D.; 2:30-3:30 p.m. Friday, June 10 – Ted Lewis, Ed.D; 10-11 a.m. Monday, June 13 – Barbara R. Kavalier, Ph.D.; and, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, June 13 – Cliff Davis.

The college began a presidential search when SCC President Ron Chesbrough, Ph.D., announced in January 2016 his acceptance of a presidency in New York state. In May, the Presidential Search Committee reviewed applications and made recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

St. Charles Community College is a public, comprehensive two-year community college with associate degrees and certificate programs in the arts, business, sciences and career-technical fields. SCC provides workforce training and community-based personal and professional development as well as cultural, recreational and entertainment opportunities. For more information, visit stchas.edu.

Editor’s Note:  Please see brief biographical information on each candidate below.

DARRELL L. CAIN, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Ivy Tech Community College System (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Darrell L. Cain, Ph.D., was raised in Gary, Ind., and is a first-generation college student.  Cain started his educational journey at Pasadena City College in California. A year later, he relocated back to the Midwest and enrolled at Indiana University-Bloomington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and management. He then earned a master’s degree from Ball State University in college student personnel administration.

After graduating from Ball State University, he continued to work for several universities including Youngstown State University and the University of Maryland.

He earned his doctorate at Virginia Tech University in education leadership and policy studies with a minor in instructional technology. During graduate school, he returned to his alma mater, Indiana University-Bloomington, to serve as a faculty fellow teaching in the Instructional System Technology Department.

While earning his doctorate at Virginia Tech, he started an online sports apparel business called Logo Sports. Cain later relocated to Atlanta and continued his business for three years until his family expanded.

While in Atlanta, he worked for Noel Levitz as a retention consultant and traveled developing retention plans and services for various colleges and universities. He then took a position as the dean for academic affairs at Atlanta Technical College. After serving as a dean, he became vice president for teaching and learning at Eastfield College in Dallas. He returned to Indiana to serve as the vice chancellor for student affairs at Ivy Tech Community College System. 

Cain has held several teaching positions and currently teaches in the graduate school at the University of Maryland University College. He has more than 15 years of teaching and research experience, and has presented and authored numerous articles. His research interest is centered on the pedagogical implications of teaching and learning with technology, student retention and success, and learning outcomes assessment.

CLIFF DAVIS
President, Table Rock Campus, and System Vice Chancellor
Ozarks Technical Community College (Missouri)

Cliff Davis has served as an administrator at the Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) System since 2004. He is currently the president of the OTC Table Rock Campus and also serves as system vice chancellor. Previously, Davis served as vice chancellor for advancement, student affairs and strategic planning, while also serving as executive director of the OTC Foundation.

Davis has a comprehensive background in community college and university administration with an emphasis in the areas of student affairs, enrollment management, research and strategic planning, advancement, fundraising, governmental relations, grants development, marketing, public relations and workforce development. 

Davis’ accomplishments include: spearheading the OTC Strategic Plan 2020 through a comprehensive strategic planning process; leading an enrollment management effort that significantly increased completion rates; leveraging strong relationships with leaders at Missouri State University to strengthen academic pathways, easing the transfer of OTC students; leading successful campaign efforts to annex the City of Hollister and the City of Branson into the OTC taxing district, resulting in an additional $1.3 million in annual revenue; and raising more than $25 million in pledges, contributions and grants through the OTC Foundation. 

In 2014-2015, Davis served as chair of the Presidents and Chancellors Council for the Missouri Community College Association. He was appointed by the commissioner of the Missouri Department of Higher Education to assist in developing the new coordinated plan for higher education in Missouri. Mr. Davis currently serves on the CoxHealth Hospital Advisory Board and the Branson Chamber of Commerce and Convention, and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.

Prior to joining OTC, Davis served as assistant to the president/director of governmental relations and assistant to the vice president for student affairs at Missouri State University. He has taught undergraduate classes in communication and marketing at both Missouri State and Drury University and master’s- and doctoral-level courses in higher education administration for Lindenwood University.

Davis graduated from Missouri State University with a Master of Arts degree in communication and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. He will complete a doctorate in Higher Education Administration (ABD) from Lindenwood University in the summer of 2016.

BARBARA R. KAVALIER, Ph.D.
District President
Navarro College (Corsicana, Tex.) 

With more than 35 years of experience in higher education, Barbara Kavalier, Ph.D., has served as a classified staff member, faculty member and administrator within the community college system. Since 2013, Kavalier has served as District President for Navarro College, an institution with four campuses and one career and technical center that serves five counties in Central Texas. Prior to her role at Navarro College, she served as the president of San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif. She has extensive experience working in large, multi-college districts, including serving as vice president for student services within the San Diego Community College District, one of the largest college districts in California, and 20 years as an administrator within the Dallas County Community College District.

As district president of Navarro College, Kavalier has provided leadership needed to strengthen and advance technology, develop a comprehensive strategic plan and ensure a successful reaffirmation process. She worked in the community, establishing the Partners in Progress program. Under her leadership, Navarro College has been recognized by the Brookings Institute as a value-added community college, was named one of the top 100 colleges in the nation for producing certificates in technical programs and associate degrees in education, and was recognized as one of the top 10 colleges in Texas. As president of San Jose City College, Kavalier led reaffirmation efforts needed to remove the college from probation. She established the African-American/Latino Male Summit, introduced new technical programs and outreach activities, and provided leadership to the development and implementation of a master facility plan and strategic plan. 

Kavalier is a nationally recognized researcher, author and presenter on higher education topics, including strategic planning, entrepreneurial leadership, innovative instruction, employee recruitment and development, shared governance and institutional effectiveness. She served as a faculty member for the Ed.D. Program in Higher Education Leadership at San Diego State University, was a Visiting Scholar at The University of Texas at Austin and served for many years as an adjunct faculty with the Dallas County Community College District.

Kavalier holds a doctorate in educational administration from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Science degree in business and human relations from Amberton University, a Bachelor of Science degree in education, majoring in English from Texas Christian University, and an Associate Degree from Mountain View College. She holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was a United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association instructor. She is married to Jim Kavalier, a retired community college faculty member.

TED LEWIS, Ed.D.
Vice President of Academic Affairs
Pellissippi State Community College (Knoxville, Tenn.)

Ted Lewis, Ed.D., is vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer at Pellissippi State Community College. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Texas Wesleyan University; a Master of Science degree in political science from the University of North Texas; and a Doctorate of Education in educational administration with a specialization in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.

Lewis has taught for more than 30 years at the college level and has been inducted into Who’s Who Among American Teachers. He was founding dean of instruction at Lone Star College-CyFair, and department chairperson at Collin College and the director of its Bellwether award-winning learning communities program.

He has conducted workshops and made presentations on curriculum development, community partnerships and active learning strategies for the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the American Association for Higher Education, the Community College of Qatar, the League for Innovation in the Community College, the National Council of Instructional Administrators, the National Council for Workforce Education and other international educational organizations. Lewis has also written about and published research in political science and student centered learning strategies in such publications as the Community College Daily, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, the Journal of the League for Innovation in the Community College and the National Social Science Journal.  

Lewis has served on several educational boards and foundations and is president-elect of the National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges. He is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow and former club president. Active in his community, Lewis is chairman of the Historic Ramsey House Board of Directors and serves on the board of the Knoxville Area Urban League, the Tennessee Technology Center Advisory Committee and the Great Schools Partnership Community Schools Taskforce. He is an alumnus of Leadership Knoxville and serves as mentor to 15 Tennessee Achieves/Tennessee Promise scholarship recipients.