Southeast Community College’s Board of Governors has selected Dr. Paul Illich to be its next president, effective July 1, 2014.

Illich, the vice president for research, planning and information technology at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, was selected by a unanimous vote of the Board to become the school’s next president during a special meeting Friday afternoon in Lincoln.

Board member Kathy Boellstorff made the motion, saying that the Board’s decision was “tentative, pending a successful visit to the campus of Illich’s current college, an acceptable background check, successful negotiation of a contract, and final approval of the contract by this Board.”

Other finalists for the position were Ivan Gorne, J.D., vice president for student services, facilities and operations at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Wash.; Dr. Dennis Headrick, vice president for instruction at Southeast Community College; and Dr. Hank Dunn, president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, N.C.

Current SCC president, Dr. Jack Huck, is retiring in June 2014 after serving 20 years in that capacity.

Prior to his current position at McLennan, Illich served as the senior director of institutional effectiveness and planning at the school. He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Blinn College in Texas, a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Texas State University, and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Experimental Psychology from Texas A&M University.

An SCC team comprised of Board members and one faculty member plans to visit McLennan Community College next week.

The search for SCC’s next president began in July. A search committee comprised of members of the Board of Governors, employees and one SCC student narrowed the list of applicants to four finalists.

Each of the four finalists participated in a series of public forums held at SCC’s Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford campuses Monday through Thursday of this week. Each finalist also was interviewed by the Board of Governors.

SCC serves a 15-county area of southeast Nebraska and has full-service campus operations in Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford. More than 10,000 students attend the College.

The Association of Community College Trustees was hired by SCC’s Board of Governors to conduct the search.