The Centralia College Board of Trustees identified three finalists for college president at a special meeting Monday.
Each finalist will be on campus for one day the week of April 11 to tour the college, participate in three open forums and meet with student leaders, according to a press release from the college.
The successful applicant will replace Robert Frost, who was fired late last year after replacing James Walton in 2014. Walton is currently the interim president.
The upcoming dates will be announced. The candidates include:
Derek Brandes has been vice president of instruction at Green River College in Auburn since 2012. He previously served five years as the dean of career and technical education and health sciences, and five years as the assistant dean of student success and retention. Both of the positions were at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. He has a doctorate in educational leadership, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in communications from Washington State University.
Bob Mohrbacher is the vice president of instruction and student services at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake. He’s been in the position since 2010. He served one year as interim vice president for learning and student success at Pierce College Puyallup. For nine years, he was a faculty member at Pierce College Puyallup, and served as the English department coordinator for four years, and division chair for business, arts and humanities for four years. He has a doctorate in education and communality college leadership from Oregon State University, a master’s degree in creative writing from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington.
Virginia Tomlinson is the vice president of instruction at Columbia Basic College in Pasco. She’s been in the position since 2014. She served as the dean of arts and sciences for one year before becoming the vice president. Previously, she served as the dean of instruction at Spokane Community College from 2008 to 2013, and was the director of the Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in New Wilmington, Penn.
She has a doctorate in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s degree in community counseling from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama.
