Bucks County Community College Narrows Search For New President

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The Bucks County Community College has narrowed its search for a new college president down to three candidates.

“The search committee anticipates having finalists for a meeting with college constituencies to receive their input and feedback by the middle of February and, hopefully, a selection by the board of trustees soon thereafter,” according to an update from the college’s board of trustees.

The national search firm, RH Perry, which has been engaged by the college to find its next president, said it had received and reviewed 75 applications for the position as of January 12, the deadline for applications.

From those 75, eight applications, based on the profile prepared by the search committee in November 2023, were identified by the search firm as “well suited” for further consideration.

The search committee, which includes four members of the Board of Trustees; the Provost; the Vice President for Workforce and Strategic Partnerships; and the Faculty Federation President, completed an evaluation of the applications and narrowed the field down to three applications for follow-up interviews.

In its executive search profile, the Board of Trustees of Bucks County Community College and its Presidential Search Committee said they are seeking “an experienced college president with demonstrated leadership skills and accomplishments, and an advanced strategic understanding of today’s higher education challenges.”

Following the announced resignation of president Dr. Felicia L. Ganther in October at the end of the fall semester, the board of trustees engaged RH Perry to conduct a national search for the college’s sixth president.

Ganther was named the college's fifth president in 2021 replacing Dr. Stephanie Shanblatt who joined the college in 2012.

Ganther began her tenure at Bucks in July 2021 as the college's first African-American president overseeing the college’s three campuses - Newtown, Lower Bucks (Bristol Township) and Upper Bucks (Perkasie) - and a student enrollment of 8,000 students

Ganther came to Bucks following an impressive 25-year career in college education. Throughout her career, Ganther had spearheaded initiatives in student affairs, college auxiliary services, college retention services, crisis management, strategic planning, academic quality improvement, and first-year student programs.