SCC to begin president search

By Cindy Landrum  

JANUARY 5, 2012 2:06 p.m. (6)

Dr. Para M. Jones, Spartanburg Community College’s president for the past two years, is taking the helm of Stark State College in Ohio, her “home” college.

She will become the fourth president in Stark State’s 51-year history on Feb. 6.

Jones had spent 22 years at Stark State, including four as vice president for advancement, planning, college and community relations, before becoming the first woman president at Spartanburg Community College in 2009.

Spartanburg Community College is expected to start its search for a new president soon.

“Dr. Jones is a perfect fit for our board, our college and our community, and we welcome her back,” said Stark State Board Chair Michael L. Thomas in a statement posted on the college’s website.

Jones replaced Dan Terhune, who retired after 13 years as president of Spartanburg Community College.

During Jones’ tenure, SCC had a record enrollment, implemented strategies to attract and retain students, developed several new programs in high-growth and high-demand fields and boosted online enrollment.

While Jones was at Stark State, she developed and led the college’s first strategic plan involving input from more than 700 faculty, staff, students, alumni, business and community leaders.

She was also executive director of the Stark State College Foundation where she led grant and private fundraising efforts that attracted more than $50 million in federal, state, local and private funding. She also secured money to build a health sciences building, a center for information technology, a new wellness center, an automotive technology center, a dental hygiene clinic and an auditorium.

She was unanimously chosen from three finalists.

Jones succeeds Dr. John O’Donnell who left Stark for the presidency of MassBay Community College in Massachusetts.

Jones, 56, was chosen after a nationwide search.

“I am so pleased to have this opportunity to return to Stark State and Northeast Ohio, where I spent so much of my professional career and have been deeply rooted in the community,” Jones said in a statement. “I appreciate the board’s confidence, and I look forward to continuing the college’s steadfast commitment to student access, student success and economic development.”

Jones is a Stark County native.

She is a member of the Ashland University Academic Hall of Fame. She earned her masters from the school. She earned her doctorate in higher education leadership from the University of Nebraska.

Stark State is a two-year college offering more than 230 degree or certificate programs. It has 15,551 credit students and another 2,500 non-credit students. Spartanburg Community College’s enrollment this fall was just more than 6,000 students.