Larry McDougle named president of Owens Community College
The Toledo Blade
June 9, 2010
The Owens Community College Board of Trustees unexpectedly voted yesterday to remove "interim" from President Larry McDougle's title, further stabilizing an institution that seemed adrift last year after losing a key academic accreditation and the core of its leadership to retirement.
The vote ends, for now, a nationwide search for a new president, which yielded a handful of finalists - all but one of whom withdrew to take other offers.
The school's ad hoc search committee decided to reopen the process, but the board instead decided to hire Mr. McDougle in an executive session yesterday.
But Mr. McDougle, 69, who previously was president of Northwest State Community College near Archbold, would accept only a one-year contract. "After six or eight months from now, if we're still excited about being partners and working together, then that can be extended," he said. "I'm not going to wait until the end of the year. I would not leave them hanging like that."
His pay is $240,000 a year, plus a $2,800 monthly housing allowance and use of a used Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by the school.
Owens is working to reinvigorate its image after losing its accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. That development spawned a still-pending lawsuit from more than 100 nursing students.
After losing the accreditation, President Christa Adams and Provost Paul Unger chose to retire, effective Jan. 1 this year.
John Moore, chairman of the search committee, said board members realized that Mr. McDougle has the experience needed to guide the school through the process of winning back its nursing program accreditation and cited his leadership since becoming interim chief in January.
