Contact: Sharon Fisher
February 2nd, 2010

State Board Certifies Finalists for Mountain Empire Community College Presidency

RICHMOND – Four finalists for the position of president at Mountain Empire Community College were certified today by the Ad-Hoc Presidential Certification Committee of the State Board for Community Colleges. Finalists include Cynthia S. Bambara, Warrenton; Paul W. Conco, of Bristol; James Scott Hamilton, of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Danette E. Toone, of Belton, Texas.
 
Dr. Cynthia S. Bambara, of Warrenton, is currently vice president of student success and associate professor at Lord Fairfax Community College, and is the chief administrative officer of the Fauquier Campus and the Luray-Page County Center, positions she has held since 2004. Previously, she served as director of student services at Lord Fairfax from 2001-2003 and as counselor and student services specialist prior to that. She first joined the college in 1992, and also spent time as a counselor at Northern Virginia Community College.  She holds a doctorate in community college leadership from Colorado State University, a master’s in education from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, and a bachelor’s degree from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
 
Dr. Paul W. Conco, of Bristol, is currently vice president for financial and administrative services and professor at Virginia Highlands Community College, a position he has held since 2001. Previously he was executive vice president from 1995-2000 and professor of business from 1995-2001 at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky and was president of Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina from 1986-1993. He holds a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina, a master’s degree in business and public administration from Central Michigan University, a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and an associate’s degree from the Community College of Baltimore.
 
Dr. James Scott Hamilton, of Idaho Falls, is currently dean of instruction and chief academic officer at Eastern Idaho Technical College in Idaho Falls, Idaho, a position he has held since 2003. Previously, he was associate dean for business and applied technology at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois from 1997-2003, and was dean of instruction for technology at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg, Illinois from 1992-1997. Prior to that, he played a leadership role in directing several vocational centers in Illinois. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a master’s of science from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a bachelor’s of science from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.
 
Dr. Danette E. Toone, of Belton, Texas, is currently vice president of academic and community initiatives at Temple College in Temple, Texas, where she has served since 1998.  Previously at Temple College, she served as associate vice president of advancement, business and community service and as interim director of admissions and records. Prior to that, she was executive director for Moore Development for Big Spring Inc., an economic development corporation, from 1995-1997, and as director of the business development center at Howard County Junior College District in Big Spring, Texas, from 1991-1995. She earned a doctorate in education in the community college leadership program at the University of Texas at Austin as well as a master’s of business administration in finance from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas and a bachelor’s degree from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
 
Finalists will be invited to interviews with the Mountain Empire Community College local board and other college groups in late February and early March; the chancellor hopes to make an appointment this spring. The new president will replace Dr. Terry Suarez, who is retiring as of June 30, 2010. 

More Press Releases