A new chancellor for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges will be named at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the community room of Scott Community College Urban Campus, 101 W. Third St., Davenport.
The event will include a brief meeting of the EICC Board of Trustees, during which the trustees are scheduled to appoint a new chancellor. The meeting will be followed by a news conference for the media. It will feature Michelle Garvin, the search committee’s chair; and the new chancellor.
The EICC chancellor’s position has been open since Sonya J. Williams resigned from the job on Aug. 1, 2023. Liang Chee Wee was named the interim chancellor later that year and still holds that position. Mr. Wee took the temporary position after retiring from North Iowa Area Community College (NICC) in 2022, where he had served as president.
EICC announced the three finalists candidates for the position in February.
Those finalists are:
- Bryan Renfro, president of John Wood Community College, Quincy, Illinois. His career spans multiple institutions and roles, including vice president of academic instruction at Paris Junior College in Texas, associate vice provost of academic and workforce affairs at Tyler Junior College in Texas, and dean of business and public services at Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo, Iowa. His experience also includes roles in academic and technical training, including in areas of public safety training, institutional effectiveness, and workforce development. Throughout his career, he has continued teaching anthropology and criminal justice courses.
- Naomi DeWinter, Muscatine Community College president and EICC vice chancellor of student development, Muscatine. Her higher education career has spanned a number of leadership roles, including vice president of student affairs at North Central Michigan College. She also serves as an adjunct instructor in the Doctorate of Community College Leadership program at Ferris State University in Michigan.
- Jennifer Berne, provost, Oakland Community College, Oakland County, Michigan. Her career has spanned multiple institutions and roles, including vice president of academic affairs at Berkshire Community College in Massachusetts, dean of liberal arts at Harper College in Illinois, and faculty positions at National Louis University and Oakland Community College, where she also served as English department chair.
More information on the candidates is posted on the EICC website.
