Presidential Candidates Conclude Interviews

The four finalists in contention to be the ninth president at Thomas Nelson just finished nearly two days of interviews, meetings and discussions. Now, it's up to the College Board to make a recommendation to Dr. Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia's Community Colleges.

In evaluating the candidates, the Board will consider input from students, faculty, staff and the community through the meetings, interviews and surveys. Many of the meetings were a combination of in-person and virtual, which was a much different setting.

"It was a little weird having virtual (interviews), it's just strange," said Mike Kuhns, College Board chair. "It seemed to work out well. The people on the campus did an outstanding job. They're in a whole new world, too."

Kuhns said his goal is for the Board to make its recommendation by Sept. 30. He hopes the next president will be named by the middle of October. The four finalists were Dr. Towuanna Porter Brannon, vice president of Student Services at Mitchell Community College in Statesville, N.C.; Dr. Dan Lufkin, president of Franklin's Paul D. Camp Community College and a former vice president of Student Affairs at Thomas Nelson (2013-16); Dr. Teresa Felder, the senior vice president for Student Success at Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio; and Dr. John Rainone, president of Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Clifton Forge.

Each candidate was on campus for almost two days, and underwent a number of interviews and meetings. The first day for each candidate began with a 55-minute lunch and informal discussion at the Hampton campus with the President's Cabinet, at which time they got to know each other a little bit. A 30-minute tour of the Peninsula Workforce Development Center, where all the first-day events were held, followed.

The afternoon session started with a combined in-person and virtual meeting, which lasted almost an hour, with representatives from four constituency groups: the Faculty Senate, the College Support Staff Association, Mid-Level Managers, and the Student Government Association. Each candidate was asked the same eight questions (two by each of the four groups).

After a short break, a town hall/campus forum was held, also in-person and virtual, which consisted of a 25-minute presentation by the candidate, followed by pre-determined questions. For the presentation, the candidates were asked to describe their vision for Thomas Nelson, how it should get there, and why they are the person to lead the way.

The candidate then went on a 30-minute tour of the Hampton campus before their final open meeting of the first day, which consisted of a session with students, again in-person and via Zoom. And again, each answered the same set of questions.

A 90-minute interview with the College Board, which was closed to the public, capped the first day for the candidate.

The second-day events, which started at 9 a.m. and ended around noon, were held at the Historic Triangle campus. The candidates had two meetings: one with local municipalities leaders, and the other with community leaders and the Educational Foundation. In between, the candidate went on a 30-minute tour of the Historic Triangle campus.

The late Dr. John T. Dever served as Thomas Nelson's president from 2011 to January 2020. Dr. Greg DeCinque has been the interim president since.