CSI Names Candidates for President

The following statement was released by the College of Southern Idaho on the selection of candidates for President:

To all CSI faculty and staff from CSI Board Chair, Dr. Thad Scholes:

The College of Southern Idaho Presidential Search Committee has forwarded the names of three finalists to the CSI Board of Trustees. I am very pleased by the effectiveness of the search process that has been overseen by the Association of Community College Trustees. I am also pleased by the response to our position announcement by many qualified candidates from around the nation. Here, in alphabetical order, are the finalists for the position of CSI President:

Daniel J. Bingham. Dr. Bingham has been serving as the Chief Executive Office of Helena College – University of Montana since 2005. (Montana does not use the title of president for the CEOs of its two-year colleges affiliated with the university system.) He received his Bachelor of Science in Community College Teaching from Northern Arizona University, Master of Education in Educational Leadership from NAU, and his Ph.D. in Community College Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. He has also held administration and faculty positions at Salt Lake Community College, University of Texas – Austin, Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, and Northland Pioneer College in Winslow and Hopi, Arizona.

D. Ryan Carstens. Dr. Carstens has been the Associate Provost for Education and Community Partnerships at Salt Lake Community College since January 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science in German from Oklahoma State University, his Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State, and his Ed. D. in Community College Leadership, Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He has also held administration and faculty positions at Lone Star College in Tomball, Texas; Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls; Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona; El Centro College in Dallas, Texas; Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona; Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona; University of Houston at Victoria; and Oklahoma State University.

Jeff Fox. Dr. Fox has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at the College of Southern Idaho since 2008. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University at Sacramento, his Master of Arts in English, also from CSUS, and his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Idaho. His teaching positions prior to his CSI career were at California State University at Sacramento; Nichibei Gakuin in Matsuyama, Japan; Kenmei Women’s Junior College in Hemiji, Japan; and Cosumnes River College at Sacramento. He became a professor in the CSI English Department  in 1987, Director of the CSI Academic Development Center in 2001, and Chair of the CSI English Department in 2003.

The community and CSI employees are invited to community forums the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 15 during which each candidate will have 50 minutes to address the audience in the CSI Fine Arts Theater. D. Ryan Carstens will have from 2 until 2:50 p.m. Jeff Fox will have from 3 until 3:50 p.m. Daniel J. Bingham will have from 4 until 4:50 p.m. Each candidate will make a brief opening and closing statement and will spend the rest of his time receiving and answering questions from the audience. Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to complete a comment card regarding the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. The candidates will then be interviewed individually and privately by the CSI Board of Trustees after which a vote will be scheduled during an open meeting.

The position for CSI president became available in June when Dr. Jerry Beck announced that he would retire in view of some health problems he was working through at that time. Dr. Beck’s retirement becomes official following a six-month sabbatical that ends Dec. 31. Curtis Eaton has acted as Interim President since Beck’s announcement. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank everyone – CSI faculty, staff, and the public for your interest and participation, the CSI Presidential Search Committee for its diligence in reviewing and interviewing the candidates, and our ACCT representative, Dr. Pam Fisher, for her guidance and expertise through the entire process.