A Search Advisory Committee has been appointed to assist in the search for a new president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Murfreesboro and will meet for the first time April 2 at the college's Smyrna campus.

The 13-member committee includes three members of the Tennessee Board of Regents and representatives of the college's faculty, staff, students, the community and local business.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Room 213 of TCAT Murfreesboro's Smyrna Campus, 663 Ken Pilkerton Drive, Smyrna. The meeting will include a period for public comment, to allow members of the public and college community to express views about the search and characteristics and skills the next president should have.

The president is the chief executive officer of the college, reporting to the Tennessee Board of Regents through TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings. Dr. Lynn Kreider retired as president of the college this month. Dr. Carol Puryear, TBR vice chancellor for economic and community development and a former director of TCAT Murfreesboro, is serving as interim president until the next president takes office. The Board of Regents approved criteria for the next president at its December meeting.

Regent Joey Hatch is chairing the Search Advisory Committee. Under TBR policy, the committee will function as a screening committee, narrowing the field of applicants to three to five finalists through background reviews and interviews. The committee will submit the finalists to TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings. The finalists will visit the college for interviews and meetings with the campus community, tentatively scheduled for June 5-6.

The chancellor will review input gathered from the campus visits and interview the finalists, and then recommend one candidate to the full Board of Regents, which will either approve or reject the nominee. If approved, the candidate becomes the college's next president. The goal is to for the next president to be in office by Aug. 1.

Tennessee law requires names of applicants remain confidential unless they are selected as one of the finalists by the committee, at which point they are publicly announced. As a result, meetings of the committee after the April 2 orientation meeting are closed.

Members of the Search Advisory Committee are:

Regent Joey Hatch, Chair
TBR BOARD MEMBER

Regent Fran Marcum
TBR BOARD MEMBER

Regent Yolanda Greene
TBR BOARD MEMBER

Dan Caldwell
BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE

Nissan North America
Shaena Crosslin
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Eli Genet
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Brian Hercules
BUSINESS COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

Brittany Jones
SUPPORT STAFF REPRESENTATIVE

Eric Love
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE

Linda McAteer
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF REPRESENTATIVE

Tyra Pilgrim
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Career & Technical Education Coordinator, Rutherford County Schools

Mary Esther Reed
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
Mayor of Smyrna

Hilda Tunstill
STUDENT AFFAIRS REPRESENTATIVE
Interim President, Motlow State Community College

The College System of Tennessee, governed by the Board of Regents, serves 116,000 students at 13 community colleges, 27 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus.