Skyline College’s hiring committee is now in search for the school’s next president.

The hiring committee is made up of 15 members who represent different facets of skyline life including the students, staff, faculty and administration. Social Sciences and Creative Arts dean, Donna Bestock, who doubles as the chair of the hiring committee, said the committee is so large because they wanted to make sure everyone had a hand in deciding the future leader of the school.

“We wanted to make sure every voice is heard” she said.

Victoria Morrow, Skyline’s current sitting President, sent out an email on May 5th to Skyline staff and faculty announcing her retirement. She remains Skyline’s president while the hiring committee begins the search for her replacement.

However, the president will have no shortage of issues to face. According to Morrow, “The new president will still face rough budget challenges.”

The committee’s process is a long and thorough one, beginning with finding applicants through various website advertisements targeting at the executive level. From the pool of applicants, those who fit the criteria are chosen to be interviewed by various committee members. From there, the committee decides on the finalists.

The students and the rest of the campus are then given a chance to question the finalists in a forum that will be held in mid-October.

The board and chancellor will make the final decision on who the president will be. The procedure in choosing the president is the same every time, according to Bestock.

During Morrow’s presidency there were always challenges which arose. Most prominent of which was working out the kinks of the budget constraints the state set for the school. This particular issue was peppered with smaller, but no less important, issues (adding classes to the curriculum, more student services) which all created a difficult hill for Skyline faculty to get over.

For Morrow, the budget was not only the highest hurdle she and her colleagues had to jump, but also the area she is most proud to have worked on. Not only was she proud of herself for tackling the issue, but also of the respectful and collaborative atmosphere that remained throughout- it didn’t get ugly while they worked, and she hopes that her predecessor appreciates the professional partnership that Skyline offers.

Morrow sees Skyline as the happiest part of her career and Bestock agrees that Morrow was a huge asset to Skyline’s faculty. She believes that Morrow’s work for Skyline has helped the committee decide on the kind of candidate they are looking to fill Morrow’s shoes.

“[Victoria has helped us] to look and say, ‘We’ve got something great—what’s great about it?'” explained Bestock. “And when you’ve got a good example of what to do it’s an aweful lot easier than when you have an example of what not to do.”

“Part of [Morrow’s] legacy,” said Bestock, “is that she is leaving the college in wonderful shape.”