Amarillo College sets dates for open forums featuring presidential finalists
The two individuals who have been selected as finalists to become the next Amarillo College president are scheduled to attend separate 75-minute open forums Dec. 9-10 in Ordway Hall on AC’s Washington Street Campus.
The open forum featuring Dr. Frank Sobey will be from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9.
The open forum featuring Dr. Jamelle J. Conner will be from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The purpose of these forums is to give internal and external stakeholders the opportunity to become acquainted with each of the candidates’ vision, and everyone within the AC community and the general public is invited to attend.
For those unable to attend, recordings of both forums will be accessible for viewing – once both presentations have concluded – at https://www.actx.edu/president/.
Each candidate forum will begin with the featured speaker making brief opening remarks. Next, the speaker will respond to questions that will have been curated from AC employees, students, and community members.
Time will be reserved at the end of each forum for candidate’s closing remarks.
It was on Oct. 22 when Regents unanimously approved selection of the two finalists for AC’s vacant presidency, a decision that was based on the recommendations received from AC’s presidential search advisory committee. Each of the candidates has since attended in-person interviews with the Board, which on Nov. 19 unanimously voted to invite both candidates to take part in the forthcoming open forums.
Amarillo College in April of 2023 was co-recipient the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement among America’s Community Colleges. AC began its presidential search later that summer after then-President Russell Lowery-Hart was tabbed for the chancellorship of Austin Community College.
The exact date when Regents expect to announce their selection of a sole finalist for president of AC has not yet been determined, but discussions are expected to take place following the public forums, and any vote by Regents will be taken in a duly called public meeting of the Board, all of which are livestreamed.
Until the sole finalist is officially installed in the office of AC president, Denese Skinner, vice president of student affairs, will continue to serve as interim president.
Presidential Finalist bios
Dr. Frank Sobey, Ed.D., vice president for academic affairs (VPAA) at Amarillo College, joined the AC faculty as an instructor of English in 2005 and steadily ascended since – to assistant professor (2009), chair of English, Humanities, and Languages (2014), dean of Arts and Sciences (2016), and associate VPAA (also in 2016). He was named VPAA earlier this year.
The San Antonio native has three degrees from Texas Tech University, including a doctoral degree in higher education administration. He has chaired or helped lead a number of high-priority initiatives at AC, from coordination of the school’s participation in Texas Pathways to supporting the development of the award-winning Rural Nursing Education Consortium.
Dr. Jamelle J. Conner, Ph.D., has since 2018 served as vice president of student affairs at St. Petersburg College, a four-year public college in St. Petersburg, Fla., which serves almost 40,000 students a year. She began her work at the college in 2008 as associate vice president of strategic execution and administrative systems support. Seven years later she was named provost of the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus and served there for three years.
Conner earned a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Tampa (Fla.) in 2001, and she completed her Ph.D. in leadership and education, with a specialization in higher education administration, at Barry University (Fla.), in 2018.