RICHMOND - The State Board for Community Colleges Committee on Presidential Certification today certified three finalists for the position of president at Tidewater Community College.

Finalists include Dr. Edna Victoria Baehre-Kolovani, of Napa, California; Dr. William F. Messner, of West Springfield, Massachusetts; and Dr. Monty Sullivan, of Geismar, Louisiana.

Dr. Edna Victoria Baehre-Kolovani, of Napa, California, is currently president and superintendent of Napa Valley College, a position she has held since 2010. Previously, she was president at the multi-campus Harrisburg Area Community College in central Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2010. She also served as vice president for instruction and educational services at Elgin Community College in Illinois from 1995-1997 and as dean of instructional development at Highland Community College in Illinois from 1992-1994, and was dean of community services and acting dean of students at Genesee Community College in New York. She has a master's degree and a doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo, as well as a bachelor's degree from Paedagogische Hochschule in Heidelberg, West Germany.

Dr. William F. Messner, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, is currently president of Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a position he has held since 2004. Previously he was chancellor of the 13-campus University of Wisconsin Colleges in Madison, Wisconsin from 1997-2004, and was vice provost of the State University of New York in Albany in 1996-97. He was president of SUNY Orange (formerly Orange County Community College) in Middletown, New York from 1986-1996, and held positions of instructor and vice president at Keystone College in La Plume, Pennsylvania. He holds a master's degree and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a bachelor's degree from Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois, and an associate degree from Concordia College in Bronxville, New York.

Dr. Monty E. Sullivan, of Geismar, Louisiana, is currently executive vice president of the 16-college Louisiana Community and Technical College System, a position he has held since 2009. Previously, he was vice chancellor of academics and research at the Virginia Community College System in Richmond, from 2005 to 2009, and also served as interim president at Eastern Shore Community College in 2009. Prior to the Virginia post he was vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at Louisiana Delta Community College from 2001 to 2005, and was director for the Center for Rural Development (1999-2001) and Director of Continuing Education (1997-1999) at Louisiana Tech University. He holds a doctorate, a master's degree and a bachelor's degree from Louisiana Tech University.

The three finalists will each spend a day in interviews at Tidewater Community College; Virginia Community College Chancellor Glenn DuBois hopes to make an appointment later in April.

Source: Virginia's Community Colleges