BEND, OR -- Central Oregon Community College President Dr. Laurie Chesley retires at the end of the 2025 Spring term. COCC is launching a formal search process for its next president now. An advisory committee gathered input on candidate criteria at a public forum Tuesday.

College president hiring consultant Preston Pulliams is guiding COCC's team through the process. "We're getting smaller pools primarily because there are a lot of baby boomers retiring from the presidency right now and there's a lot of competition out there from other jobs. My expectation in this particular search, because of your reputation, and Bend tends to be a destination is that you should attract 40 applicants or more," Pulliams says, adding they will have to reach out to candidates, "You have to do personal recruiting, you have to pick up the phone, say 'hey look, we've got a great opportunity here'."

COCC's Chair of the Board of Directors, Laura Craska Cooper stated they want the hiring process to be inclusive, "The board is pretty committed to casting a wide net in getting input and feedback."

Sara Henson, COCC's Faculty leader was the only person who spoke as a member of the public at the forum. She told the committee she wants all college staff to have input in decision-making and policy-making with the next president, "That's a huge issue not just for faculty but also all employee groups at the college, that we really want to see a true, genuine commitment to shared governance."

The college hopes to have finalists narrowed down by late Fall, and have them in for on-campus interviews early next year.

Dr. Chesley announced her retirement this past June.