College hosts candidates with open forums
Adrien Bennings (from left), Naydeen Gonzalez-de Jesus, Shouan Pan and Craig Herndon are under consideration to become the next president of Portland Community College.
Portland Community College’s presidential search effort has produced a pool of four finalists.
The candidates under consideration are Adrien Bennings, Naydeen Gonzalez-De Jesus, Craig Herndon and Shouan Pan, college officials announced Monday. Each were scheduled to participate this week in open forums as part of their visits to the college district.
The next president will be PCC’s eighth since the college was founded in 1961, and will be replace Mark Mitsui, who is retiring from PCC at the end of this academic year, in June.
Gonzalez-De Jesus is the executive vice president of student success at Milwaukee Area
Technical College in Wisconsin where she is credited with initiatives to improve student support and the college’s commitment to a guided pathways framework, which brings together academics and student services.
Herndon has more than 20 years of professional experience in higher education, with roles in student support, academic affairs, and extensive community college leadership for workforce development, advocacy and administration. Since 2018, he has served as the senior vice chancellor for administration, finance and technology for the Virginia Community College system.
Bennings is the president of Kellogg Community College, one of 28 community colleges in the state of Michigan. In this capacity, she oversees a multi-campus institution within a three-county service area. Before joining KCC, Bennings was the vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer at Clovis Community College in New Mexico.
Pan as served as chancellor of Seattle Colleges since 2016 and has 30 years of experience promoting student, institutional and community success. Born and raised in mainland China, Pan immigrated to the United States in 1985. He has a doctorate in philosophy in higher education; a master’s degree in education in college student personnel; and a bachelor’s degree in English.