CCC president plans to retire in August

Clovis Community President John Neibling announced Tuesday that he plans to retire in August.

Neibling can explain his decision to retire in one word: Grandson.

Neibling and his wife, Karen, are expecting their first grandchild and he said they want to be near their family living in the Phoenix area.

“This will be my 38th year as either a teacher or administrator in higher education and there’s a point at which everybody takes a step back and takes a look and decides whether or not this is the right time (to retire),” he said.

Neibling, who has been at the helm of CCC since 2006, said news of his grandson was the factor that tipped the scales in the direction of retirement.

Neibling officially announced his retirement during CCC’s board of trustees meeting. His retirement will be effective Aug. 1.

Clovis Mayor Gayla Brumfield, a board of trustees member, said Neibling had visited with each member of the board about his retirement.

“When he came, we knew he was going to be here for just a few years. He’s ready for the next chapter in his life,” Brumfield said.

Brumfield said the board will be meeting in the next week to discuss how to go about finding Neibling’s replacement.

“He’s done a great job for the college. We’ve moved forward and we don’t want that to lax in any way so we’ll see what direction we want to go soon,” Brumfield said.

Neibling previously served in a variety of teaching and administrative positions prior to becoming president at CCC, including 10 years as Vice President for Learning at San Juan College in Farmington from 1991 to 2001.

He came to CCC from Scottsdale Community College, where he had served as Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2001 to 2006.

Past CCC presidents

• Jay Gurley — 1990-1997

• Beverlee McClure — 1998-2005

• John Neibling — 2006-2010