Hot Springs, Arkansas – The National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees announced four finalists for the position of president. The vote was made Wednesday following an executive session.   

“From a pool of more than 60 applicants, the search committee narrowed down to 10, and eventually recommended 5 highly qualified candidates to the Board,” said committee co-chair and vice president for administration Kelli Embry. 

The Board voted to accept the committee’s recommendations. One finalist withdrew their candidacy.

The finalists include:

Dr. Wade Derden, Executive Vice President for Advancement and Government Relations at National Park College in Hot Springs, AR.  

Dr. Kendricks D. Hooker, Provost of Cabarrus College of Health Sciences (Cabarrus College) in Concord, NC. 

Dr. Joel Michaelis, Vice President of Instruction at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, NE.  

Dr. Bryan Newton, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services at Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, MD. 

“We have been pleased with the caliber of candidates in this pool for president. It made our work as a committee extremely challenging. I believe this speaks to the reputation of our campus and the strong foundation of leadership our Board of Trustees has established,” said Embry. 

The finalists will each be invited to campus to participate in a series of campus and community forums April 15-16. The complete schedule of events, along with bios and photos of each candidate will be available on the presidential search website.