CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The newly-appointed interim president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College since the state’s take over of the institution earlier this month says it has been a busy time for him there as he looks into what the next steps are regarding its uncertain future.
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Corley Dennison was appointed as interim president of Southern WV CTC on April 7 after the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education took control of the school’s Board of Governors and placed its President Pamela Alderman on administrative leave.
Dr. Corley Dennison
In a meeting with the council on Thursday, Dennison said there was some questions from faculty, staff, and students surrounding exactly what his mission at the school was when he first arrived, but he continued to try and take the necessary steps in filling everyone in.
“Students, staff, and faculty have been through tense and anxious times, and there were questions about the future of the institution,” Dennison said during his update to council. “During that first week, I met multiple times with the President’s cabinet, held productive meetings and conversations with the board, and as part of a previously scheduled Governance Day, spoke to the faculty senate and addressed the full faculty and staff.”
The Council for CTC Education had previously cited “repeated instances of noncooperation” from former Southern WV CTC President Alderman, conflict between her and the board of governors, along with the “failure to follow institutional procedures,” and a pattern of behavior from her and certain members of her leadership team that was disruptive and placed college accreditation at risk.
Thus, this prompted the council’s take over of the institution, a move they had to implement at a community college for the first time in state history.
Dennison was appointed to serve as interim president there until June 30.
He said, despite the uncertainty of the institution at this present moment, they keep moving forward.
“There are still concerns about the future path for Southern, however, I can report that the campus is in the business of educating students, plans are being made for final exams and for graduation ceremonies,” Dennison said.
But the question must be asked, Dennison said addressing council– Where does it go from here? What path is the institution to take in the coming months ahead?
He said he sees this unfolding in three phases, with phase one currently underway already, which includes preparing for the registration of summer and fall classes, planning for graduation ceremonies, and planning year-end events. All of these things Dennison said the community college is currently doing to move forward.
Dennison said they must also make a decision on campus leadership past June 30th, and begin preparations for the Higher Learning Commission’s Focus visit in the fall.
He said the HLC will be focusing on a certain set of criteria dealing with the governance of the institution, specifically looking at how the president’s office and the board of governors is being run following the take over.
Dennison said one specific matter in regards to campus leadership which the HLC had specifically cited was that the Chief Academic Officer’s Chair at Southern WV CTC had gone long unfilled, and because of this, he took matters into his own hands and temporarily appointed Dr. Kristina Johnson from BridgeValley Community and Technical College to fill the position.
He said Johnson will be of great use to them there.
“She’s very well-versed in assessment and higher learning commission protocol, so she will be very vital in planning the HLC response,” he said.
Her contract goes until December of this year with the possibility of an extension.
Dennison said phase two of Southern CTC’s plan of moving forward will begin in July and will go through June 30th of 2026. During this phase, he said they will need to resolve the HLC issues.
He said the Institutional Advisory Council (IAC) of the HLC will be meeting in Chicago on May 12th and 13th, and during that time, they will find out the exact date of the commission’s upcoming visit to Southern.
However, Dennison said he’s estimating that it could take an entire academic year to resolve the HLC issue.
“It is possible, if the IAC would give us a very early focus visit, like very early September, they might be able to generate a site report, get that to the IAC in time for review and we could get on their November meeting, but my guess is the site visit will come a little later in the semester, maybe late September or early October,” he said.
If that’s the case, Dennison said that any decision made by the IAC would flip over into the second semester in the spring.
Dennison said while they are working with the HLC, they need to also simultaneously be looking at other areas to keep moving forward.
“While we’re looking at policies coming from the board and the president’s office, then we might as well go ahead and look at issues such as enrollment, retention, and campus priorities, and begin looking at developing a strategic plan for the path forward,” said Dennison.
Finally, Dennison said phase three will pick up in July of 2026 and go until sometime around April 2027.
During this phase, he said any changes mandated by the HLC would need to be implemented, and a long-term campus leader would need to be secured.
The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education has reported that there have been no legal challenges since they took over Southern CTC earlier this month.