Mid-way through the 2006 Fall semester, Skyline College is still without a new chief of security officer, but that could soon change.

A candidate has been chosen. Skyline made an offer and is waiting to hear a response from their choice for the new chief of security. To keep the hiring process confidential, the candidate’s name won’t be released until he/she gets the job.

“The final interviews were completed recently,” said Loretta Adrian, vice president of student services. “We are hoping the person will be able to start in November.”

The former Chief of Security, Jim Herndon, retired last year. Skyline had an interim chief, Tommie Phillips Sr., prepared to work this semester until the position was filled permanently. However, last July, Phillips removed himself from the position claiming personal reasons. The chief of security position has been open since then.

“It happens quite often,” said Cody Pelletier, the district employment manager. “More people leave unexpectedly then give long-term notice.”

Over the past few months, interviews have been held in front of a hiring committee to decide who would be best for the job. After screening applications and going through interviews, the hiring committee selected candidates they believed to be fit for the job based on education, experience, and training in the field, and then send them to the next stage: the “final interviews.”

In front of Skyline’s President Victoria Morrow, Vice President Loretta Adrian, and others familiar with the job field, candidates were asked to perform job related skills for the committees to see how competent with the job they were.

Those applying for the job come from varied areas, including faculty already working for Skyline. Those already working within the Skyline system aren’t guaranteed the job over someone who has never been associated with the school. Herndon and Phillips were not hired internally from the school system.

“We had a pretty good pool of applicants pretty quickly,” said Pelletier.

There are plenty of people interested in the job, even if this current prospect chooses not to take the position, there are plenty of others waiting to be the new chief of security at Skyline College.