Lamar State College Orange Presidential Search Committee Selects Four Finalists

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(AUSTIN) – A search committee appointed earlier this year to help recruit the next president of Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) has narrowed the field of candidates to four. The Advisory Search Committee, appointed by Rossanna Salazar, chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System (TSUS), selected the finalists from a field of more than 40 candidates identified in a national search.

The committee, chaired by Regent David Montagne, conducted interviews last month and is recommending four finalists to TSUS Chancellor Brian McCall, who will select a sole finalist. The finalists are:

•      Michael Calvert, Ed.D., currently president of Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas. Previously, he served as president of Central Community College Grand Island Campus, Grand Island, Nebraska, and worked for nearly 20 years in various academic and administrative positions at Butler Community College, El Dorado, Kansas.
•      Thomas Johnson, Ed.D., currently assistant vice president at Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Texas. Previously, he served as a program coordinator and faculty member at Houston Community College, and also spent 20 years working as a police officer and administrator with the Houston Police Department.
•      Robert Riza, Ed.D., currently President/CEO of Clarendon College, Clarendon, Texas. Previously, he served as vice president for student services and athletic director at Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas, and assistant vice chancellor of student affairs and executive director of athletics at Pima County Community College District, Tucson, Arizona.
•      Deana Sheppard, Ed.D., currently vice president of student learning (instruction) at Lone Star College-CyFair, Cypress, Texas. Previously, she served as interim president at Lone Star College-CyFair, and in various academic and administrative positions at Lone Star College-Fairbanks, Houston, Texas and at Brazosport College, Lake Jackson, Texas.

The sole finalist in this search will succeed current LSCO President Mike Shahan, who is retiring after 24 years of service to the college.

Lamar State College Orange is a member of the Texas State University System, which comprises seven institutions from the Big Bend Region to the Gulf Coast. The Texas State University System is the oldest university system in Texas, enrolling more than 84,000 students and employing 16,000 faculty and staff.