TORRINGTON – Dr. Walt Nolte of Gold Hill Associates met with Eastern Wyoming College faculty, community members and the EWC board of trustees to help build the profile for EWC’s 10th president.

Dr. Nolte arrived Oct. 26 and met with individual faculty members to learn what qualifications an ideal EWC president would have. He asked them each four questions: What is going well at EWC and what are you proud of? What are the challenges facing EWC? What are the skill sets and characteristics desired of a college president? Answers ranged from a desire for communication skills to a commitment to seeing each student succeed.

Dr. Nolte met later with community members in a public forum to hear their input. Holly Lara, EWC Director of Human Relations and Presidential Search Committee Liaison, led the meeting. Before she and Dr. Nolte asked the same questions of those present at the forum, Dr. Nolte gave a brief introduction of himself and the process of selecting a new college president.

Dr. Nolte worked as the president of Casper College from 2004 to 2015. Since his retirement as a college president, he has worked with Gold Hill Associates to help other community colleges find and hire executives.

“College profiles are pretty consistent from college to college,” Dr. Nolte told those present at the forum. “What isn’t consistent is the emphasis.”

In response to Dr. Nolte’s questions, community members expressed their pride in the development of the agriculture and welding programs. All those present agreed they were proud of the school’s nationally ranked rodeo team and winning golf team. EWC alumna Chelsea Baars from Lusk expressed her gratitude that EWC is finally starting to reopen to the public since the onslaught of COVID-19.

Community members mentioned their concerns about a lack of funding from the state and the lingering effects of a cyberattack that ravaged the school’s IT systems. Other local community colleges expanding their programs have also proved challenging for the school to compete with. Along with those concerns was the worry about the school’s public image.

Community members expressed their desire for a president with a dynamic personality that can lead a meeting and still be able to connect one-on-one with individual staff and students. Someone with a focus on the community, organizational skills and transparency would also be ideal, said those present.

On Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. the EWC board of trustees held a special meeting with Dr. Nolte to review the profile that he had compiled and to approve both the profile and a timeline for the hiring process. The board approved the timeline with no objection. Applications for the position will open Jan. 3, 2022.

Board member Jim Willox attended the meeting via Zoom and expressed his concern that such a prominent focus on experience in agriculture would come to neglect the Douglas Campus of EWC. Dr. Nolte amended the profile to expound more on the Douglas Campus and mentioned that Douglas Campus Vice President Margaret Farley had been present at an earlier meeting with the Presidential Search Committee to review the profile. The board approved the amended profile.

Dr. Nolte told the board of his experience with colleges that narrowed their searches too much and became frustrated when they did not have enough applicants to choose someone they deemed appropriate for their school.

“I believe it’s important to cast a large net,” he said.

The next EWC board of trustees meeting will be Tuesday Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Dolores Kaufman Boardroom of the Tebbet Building at EWC. The board will further discuss potential salaries for the next president at that meeting.