A familiar face will return to Mohave Community College and serve as Interim President, while the Governing Board searches for a new college President.
The MCC Governing Board voted Friday, November 9 to appoint former MCC Executive Vice President Diana Stithem as the Interim President.
Stithem will take the reins of the college in early 2019, after current college President Dr. Michael Kearns retires. She will serve as the college’s chief executive officer until the board selects a new president, at which time Stithem will assist with the transition. She will not be a candidate for the position of college president.
“I’m looking forward to being part of MCC again, working with colleagues and helping with the transition to a new college president,” said Stithem.
The Governing Board will open the application period in the search for the next MCC President on November 13. The nationwide search will remain open until February 1, 2019. Board members plan to make a final decision on the position by May 2019. A complete timeline for the search process can be found at the college website www.mohave.edu/MCC-President-Search.
Stithem retired from MCC in December 2016. She started with the college in September 2003 as the dean of the distance education program. Prior to 2003 she was an attorney in Wyoming, where she worked in private practice and as a staff attorney for the Wyoming Supreme Court. She has a long history working in higher and adult education, which includes serving as the director of the state of Wyoming Adult Education program, as a supervisor and director of the University of Wyoming College of Law Legal Services Program, and as a visiting professor at the law school.
While at MCC she was instrumental in developing and managing the college online education program, serving as the Dean of Extended (Online) Campus.
She was brought back in a part-time position in the spring of 2018 as Director of the Distance Education Project. She reviewed all aspects of the program and made recommendations for improvements. In May of 2018, she said she happily went back into retirement mode.
The governing board praised Stithem’s previous work for the college, along with her credentials, and thanked her for coming out of retirement again to help the college.