Dr. Craig McDaniel has announced the administration team that will lead Georgia Northwestern Technical College, the merged college of Coosa Valley Technical College and Northwestern Technical College.
Dr. McDaniel, current president of Coosa Valley Technical College, was named president by the Technical College System of Georgia in October. TCSG also named Jeff King, current interim president of Northwestern Technical College, as Provost of the Walker County Campus.
Effective July 1, 2009, the new administration team for Georgia Northwestern Technical College will be Kelly Barnes, vice president of Administrative Services; Dr.
Melinda McCannon, vice president of Academic Affairs; Pete McDonald, vice president of Economic Development; and Stuart Phillips, vice president of Student Affairs. Effective Jan. 1, 2009, Heidi Popham will assume duties as vice president of Institutional Effectiveness.
"The vice presidents will be housed on the Floyd County Campus of Georgia Northwestern Technical College and this campus will serve as the location for the main administrative functions of the college," said Dr. McDaniel.
Additional personnel announcements are expected to be made the second week in January.
According to Dr. McDaniel, the administration will immediately begin the function of leading a transition team to facilitate the merger. The transition team will consist of approximately 30 faculty and staff from the combined colleges.
As vice president of Administrative Services, Ms. Barnes will be responsible for the college's departments of accounting, budgeting, human resources, payroll, purchasing, accounts payable, revenue, asset management, building and ground maintenance, security, and bookstore. She joined Coosa Valley Technical College in 1997 as an accounting technician and was promoted to accountant. Ms. Barnes then became the accounting coordinator in 2005 and soon after was promoted to director of administrative services. She has also served CVTC as an adjunct math instructor. Ms. Barnes received her bachelor of science in accounting from Berry College and master of business administration from Kennesaw State University. While with CVTC, Ms. Barnes completed the Governmental Accounting series with Carl Vinson Institute of Government, supervisory training with the Georgia Leadership Institute, and is currently attending mid-manager training with the Georgia Leadership Institute. She is a member of the Exchange Club of Rome, and is on the board of directors and the supervisory committee for Northwest Georgia Credit Union.
Dr. McCannon's responsibilities as vice president of Academic Affairs will include supervising and leading in instructional areas. She will be responsible for instructional personnel, including library services and information technology; make approval decisions regarding the college's programs of study; preside over student appeals; develop and maintain staff in-service activities; and promote the college through speaking engagements and presentations. Dr. McCannon has served as the vice president of Academic Affairs at Northwestern Technical College since 2003. Prior to that, she held the position of division chair of business and social science and was an associate professor of business at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia. She has also held various positions with Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Dr. McCannon earned a doctorate of education from the University of Georgia, a master of arts in corporate communications and a bachelor of science in administrative support management from Western Kentucky University. She received an associate of applied science in computer technology and an associate of arts in business from Mississippi County Community College. While at NTC, Dr. McCannon served on many committees and teams both at the college level and throughout the state with the Technical College System of Georgia. Currently, she is the chair for the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs Council and is on the Performance Accountability System Revision Committee. Dr. McCannon presently sits on the Walker County Chamber Board of Directors and the Catoosa County Chamber Executive Board of Directors. She is involved with the Walker County Partners for Educational Progress, the LaFayette Economic Restructuring Committee, the Battlefield Pilot Club, and is a member of Friends of the Walker County Library. She is also a graduate of the Walker County Chamber Leadership Class. Dr. McCannon has had works printed in a variety of professional publications. She is currently a member of Delta Pi Epsilon National Honor Society, Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education, and Organizational Systems National Research Association.
As vice president of Economic Development, Mr. McDonald will be in charge of the college's customized training, continuing education, adult education, and the Business Expansion Center. He will work closely with Georgia Quick Start to identify training needs and develop specialized training programs for new and expanding industries. Mr. McDonald joined Coosa Valley Technical College in 1995 as the vice president of Economic Development. Before becoming employed at CVTC, Mr. McDonald was the director of production planning and customer service and director of information systems with the Mead Corporation's Coated Board Division. He received a master of business administration from Berry College and a bachelor of business administration from the University of Georgia. Mr. McDonald attended the Economic Development Institute through the University of Oklahoma and is a Certified Economic Development Trainer. Mr. McDonald is an active member of the community. He is the chairman of the Floyd County Board of Elections and Voter Registration; a member of the City of Rome Historic Preservation Commission; member, director, and committee chair with Rome Rotary Club; member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, where he has served as chairman of the Education/Workforce Committee; a member of the Georgia Auto Alley Workforce Development Project management team, and is an eight year past president of Habitat for Humanity of Rome-Floyd County, past chairman of Hands On Rome, and past board member and chairman for the United Way of Rome and Floyd County. Active in the local chambers of commerce, he has served on the Economic Development Committee, and has been on the board of directors for several years at the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Leadership Rome and is a member of the Existing Industry Committees of the Gordon and Polk County Chambers of Commerce.
Mr. Phillips' function as vice president of Student Affairs will be to oversee enrollment procedures, admissions, registration, assessment, high school initiatives, college Success Centers, financial aid, career services, student activities, student records, and special services. Mr. Phillips has been Northwestern Technical College's director of admissions and career planning since 2007. Prior to that, he was employed with Coosa Valley Technical College for nine years and held the positions of director of student services, career planner and evaluator, and financial aid specialist. Currently pursuing a doctorate of education from the University of Georgia, Mr. Phillips earned a master of science in information technology from Southern Polytechnic State University and a bachelor of business administration from Shorter College. Mr. Phillips is a member of the Admissions Directors/Registrars Peer Group Leadership Team through the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). He is a graduate of the TCSG Executive Leadership Academy and a graduate of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Calhoun. Mr. Phillips is a past board member for the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce, where he served as the public relations committee chair. Mr. Phillips was also a volunteer for the Gordon County March of Dimes and served as a past committee co-chair.
Ms. Popham's responsibilities as vice president of Institutional Effectiveness include executing a plan for maintaining accredited status of the college and preparing the accreditation files for audit; coordinating and supervising the strategic planning process; the development of the college's program goals, objectives, policies, and standards for quality assurance for the missions and purposes of the instructional department; and ensuring implementation through department staff planning. Ms. Popham will also analyze and assess the effectiveness of existing programs. Currently employed as the director of institutional effectiveness at Coosa Valley Technical College (CVTC), Ms. Popham began her career at the college in 1995 as the assistant to the college president and soon was promoted to executive assistant to the president. Ms. Popham has also taught several credit classes for CVTC and continuing education classes for college's Economic Development Division. These classes included Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Introduction to Computers, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Internet Concepts. Ms. Popham is currently pursuing a master of education through the University of Georgia. She received a bachelor of science in organizational management from Covenant College and an associate of applied science in data processing/computer programming from Phillips Junior College. Ms. Popham is a graduate of Leadership Rome through the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.