CCC board chooses president

CLOVIS — Charles Nwankwo made his way from a Circle K convenience store to college administration, a journey started in no small part by his associate’s degree in science at Houston Community College.

The self-described product of community college will soon be a president of one, as the Clovis Community College Board of Trustees on Wednesday selected him from a field of five finalists and more than five dozen applicants.

Nwankwo, currently vice president of technology and business partnerships for Chandler-Gilbert Community College and Maricopa Community College in Arizona, is expected to take over Jan. 1 for Robin Kuykendall, who has been interim president since Becky Rowley left CCC to become president at Santa Fe Community College this summer.

He will bring with him his wife Nene and their 15-month-old twin sons.

Officials said Nwankwo will receive a salary of $185,000 annually.

Following a half-hour executive session, trustees unanimously selected Nwankwo as CCC’s fifth president, with four voting yes and Lora Harlan voting “absolutely.”

Nwankwo said he didn’t always imagine this career path, but soon after he came to the U.S. from Nigeria, a sponsor told him to get an education. The lesson was reinforced when he could only find odd jobs, including Circle K and Sears, and he found community college faculty were always concerned with how he was doing inside and outside of the classroom.

In addition to his HCC associate’s degree, Nwankwo also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Houston-Clearlake and a PhD in education administration with emphasis in community college leadership from the University of Texas. He taught for 20 years at various community colleges before serving in administrative positions in Louisiana, Texas and Arizona.

Nwankwo believes experiencing community college as a student, teacher and administrator is essential to how he’ll perform in the president’s office.

“He has a proven record of success, and he has a proven record of student success, and (a record) as a visionary and true servant leader,” Trustee Raymond Mondragon said.

“Servant leader, he used that (phrase) several times in his interview. He is committed to expanding access, promoting student success, shared governance, utilizing data-informed decisions and making and promoting partnerships with community organizations and businesses.

“He believes in building a strong collaborative, cooperative, team-centered environment. Charles’ leadership style is rooted in core values of authenticity, courtesy, respect, trust and personal growth.”

Mondragon said the board kept the selection process as transparent as possible since it began in May through a partnership with the Association of Community College Trustees. The trustees did provide confidentiality for the 15 search committee members, and had a two-hour closed-door interview with each candidate prior to their public forums the week of Sept. 30.

Each public forum included a question-and-answer session, and a comment form was offered for everybody who attended. Mondragon said he read every form, and the information was taken into consideration during the selection process.

During his public interview Oct. 3, Nwankwo said no matter what college a student chose there was always a risk that life would intrude and things might not work out, but each student needed to know they’d always be welcome at their local community college the same way he was at HCC.

When asked what stood out about his CCC visit, Nwankwo said, “The allied health building in the back, that is a tremendous facility. I could see all of the students so engaged in what they were doing.”

Nwankwo also spoke of the dual credit work from high schoolers on campus, and the positive responses he got in conversations outside of his interview day. Nwanko arrived a day early, and asked numerous people about CCC without tipping his hat as to who he was.

Board President Terry Martin, who has been a trustee for each of Nwankwo’s predecessors, said the selection process was a team effort that went well beyond the five trustees.

“We appreciate the service of the search committee and the ACCT,” Martin said, “particularly Dr. Steve McCleery and Julie Golder, as well as the faculty — we couldn’t have done it without you — and the community that participated in a successful selection process.”

Nwankwo said there’s nothing in particular he wants to focus on when he arrives, and figures acclimation to the area and the job will take time.

“I believe I need to understand and learn from everybody,” Nwankwo said. “You can’t come in and start making changes. I’m learning about the college, I’m learning about the community, I’m learning about the county, I’m learning about the state. I’m in a learning mood.”