The Genesee Community College Board of Trustees this week named Robert E. Parilla, Ed.D, of Academic Search, Inc., as consultant for the college's upcoming presidential search.
Academic Search, Inc., is based in Washington, D.C., and is a nonprofit organization that provides search services to colleges and universities nationwide. Parilla and ASI will assist the board of trustees and the college's Presidential Search Committee in identifying and screening outstanding candidates for Genesee's fourth president.
President Stuart Steiner announced on July 30 that he plans to retire effective Aug. 31, 2011. He has been associated with the college since its founding, serving first as Dean of Students and then as Executive Dean/Dean of Instruction. He was named Genesee Community College president in 1975, and is believed to be the second longest-serving community college president in the U.S. He is 73.
Board of Trustees Chair Charles R. Ruffino said that most community college boards use search consultants to assist in recruiting presidential candidates. The consultants maintain records of exceptional higher education leaders across the country, and actively seek out candidates they believe would be a good fit for the colleges they serve.
Search consultants also assist trustees in researching the backgrounds and capabilities of candidates. Ruffino said that Genesee's board of trustees wanted a search consultant familiar with the SUNY system, particularly with SUNY community colleges.
ASI has provided search and recruitment services in the higher education field for more than three decades. Since 2004, ASI has been involved with the recruitment of 177 college presidents and 256 other senior college leaders.
Parilla joined ASI in 1999. He is a former president of Montgomery College in Maryland, and prior to his service at Montgomery, held faculty and administrative positions at Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio. He has served as a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Maryland. He holds academic degrees from Kent State University, the University of New Hampshire, and Florida State University.
In addition to his professional service in higher education, Parilla has served on numerous education-related boards, including: the Maryland High Technology Council; the Education and Human Resources Directorate of the National Science Foundation; Montgomery County Economic Advisory Council; National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission; Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; Commission on Higher Education of Middle States Association; Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation; and Associate Degree division of the National League of Nursing.
He is also the author of many articles and papers on college leadership, and was recognized by the University of Texas as one of the nation's 50 transformational leaders in American community colleges.
