LYNNWOOD — Three men vying to become the next Edmonds Community College president are expected on campus this week for meetings with trustees, staff, students and community members.
Dr. Ata Karim, vice president of student affairs at Bellevue College, Dr. Amit Singh, senior vice president of academic affairs at Clark State Community College in Ohio, and Dr. Chris Reber, president of Community College of Beaver County in Pennsylvania, are the finalists to replace Jean Hernandez, who retired in December.
A campus search committee reviewed 19 applicants and narrowed the pool to 10 candidates.
The committee recommended three finalists to the Board of Trustees last month.
The new president is expected to begin work by July 1.
Karim has been at Bellevue College since 2008 and served as its vice president of student affairs the past four years, according to information provided by EdCC. He’s also been the college’s interim vice president of student services and its director of multicultural services.
He earned a doctorate in counseling psychology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He holds a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from California State University, Long Beach, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in psychology from University of Karachi, Pakistan.
Dr. Amit Singh
Singh has served as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Clark State Community College in Springfield, Ohio, since 2014. Before that he was the dean of academic affairs and chief academic officer at Cuyahoga Community College’s western campus in Parma, Ohio.
He earned a doctorate in economics from Ranchi University in India. He holds a master’s in finance from Georgia State University, a master’s of business administration from Salisbury University in Maryland, and a master’s and a bachelor’s in economics from Patna University in India.
Reber has been president of Community College of Beaver County near Pittsburgh since 2014. Before that he served 12 years as executive dean of Clarion University-Venango in Pennsylvania after five years as associate provost for advancement and university relations at The Pennsylvania State University-Behrend in Erie.
Dr. Chris Reber
He earned a postdoctoral management development certificate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh.
He holds a master’s in college student personnel administration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and a bachelor’s in Latin from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.
Each finalist will participate in a one-hour public forum this week in the college’s Black Box Theatre, 20310 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood.
The events are 5 p.m. Tuesday for Karim, 5 p.m. Thursday for Singh and 2:15 pm. Friday for Reber.
To view the candidate’s full bios and resumes, visit edcc.edu/hr/presidential-search.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.
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