Johnson County Community College Announces 6th New President

Category:

Member News

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – (March 19, 2020) – Dr. Andrew (Andy) W. Bowne (pronounced like “town”) will be JCCC’s new President starting July 1, 2020. Dr. Bowne will succeed Dr. Joe M. Sopcich, who has served in this position since June 2013 and has been employed by the College since 1992. Dr. Bowne was unanimously approved by the JCCC Board of Trustees in the board’s regular meeting on March 19.

Board Chair Greg Musil shared the Board’s anticipation of welcoming Dr. Bowne to the campus and the community.

“The Board was excited to hear Dr. Bowne express his commitment to the mission of a comprehensive community college. We respect his long experience in significant leadership positions, including as chancellor of Ivy Tech in Muncie, Indiana,” commented Musil.

Dr. Bowne brings notable experience to JCCC, including:

  • Fostering an institutional culture dedicated to the success of every student
  • An understanding of the importance of diversity, welcoming and engagement
  • A willingness to emphasize workforce training as well as partnerships with K-12 schools for lifelong learning
  • A proven ability to work with community stakeholders to ensure the college is meeting community needs and expectations
  • A background of successful fundraising and promoting public-private partnerships
  • A focus on the value of everyone in the campus community, including students, faculty and administration.

Dr. Bowne currently serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the entire Indiana community college system (with 18 colleges statewide). He earned his Doctor of Education from Western Michigan University, where he also earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees. He completed the Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence in 2018.

Trustee Dr. Jerry Cook led the JCCC Presidential Search Committee in the process to select a new president. “The 11-member Search Committee and the entire Board of Trustees were impressed with Dr. Bowne’s resume, interviews and leadership style. We believe he can take JCCC to an even higher level,” Cook said.

Other members of the Search Committee agreed.

“As a student, I was most impressed with Dr. Bowne’s focus on student success and making it our expectation that every student can and will succeed,” said Ankeet Prasai, Student Senate President and JCCC Student Support Technician.

“It was great to witness individuals from such diverse backgrounds come together for the same objective — despite different point of views — in the best interest of the College and community at heart. The process was well laid out. I was pleased to see so many qualified applicants (71) wanted to serve as the next President of JCCC. It was very satisfying to know the College has the stellar reputation nationally that it does,” stated Carol Sader, Foundation Member and former JCCC Trustee.

The Presidential Search Process

After Dr. Sopcich announced his retirement in July 2019, the College published and circulated a request for proposal seeking an Executive Search Consultant. Of the 13 RFP responses, the Board of Trustees interviewed two finalists in August and in September approved a proposal from AGB Search.

On the advice of AGB Search Consultants, JCCC established a Presidential Search Committee. This 11-person committee was comprised of two representatives each from the Board of Trustees, the JCCC Foundation and full-time Faculty; one member each from JCCC Cabinet, Staff, and Student Senate; a Johnson County K-12 Superintendent, and one JCCC alumnus.

Community-wide listening sessions were held in October 2019, which led to a consensus job description for the next president. The position was posted November 5, 2019, and applications were due January 15, 2020. Of the 71 applicants, the Search Committee interviewed 10 semifinalists in person. The committee forwarded four finalists who visited the JCCC campus and participated in forums for staff, faculty, students and the community in early March. Each forum offered those in attendance the opportunity to ask questions. Video from the forums, along with a public survey to collect thoughts about the candidates, were posted on the website. Each of the four candidates were also interviewed by the full Board of Trustees.

After reference checks, consideration of their respective experiences and abilities and reviewing feedback from College stakeholders, Dr. Bowne was selected as the next JCCC President.