State Board Committee certifies three finalists for TCC presidency

The State Board for Community Colleges certified three finalists for the position of president at Tidewater Community College. The finalists were selected from among 80 applicants from across the nation.

The three finalists are Andrew W. Bowne of Yorktown, Indiana; Marcia Conston of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Ty A. Stone of Watertown, New York.

“Among the qualities we seek for this presidency are an innovative and flexible leadership style; a skilled and experienced strategist; and a vision to boost the college’s enrollment trends – and these candidates each offer a strong, yet distinct blend of those traits,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges. “TCC’s size and reputation attracted an impressive pool of applicants and we are excited about these finalists.”

The TCC College Board invites community members to join TCC students, faculty and staff by participating in three presidential search open forum gatherings, each held at the Big Otter Room on the Chesapeake Campus from 11 a.m. until noon on the following dates:

• Andrew W. Bowne, Oct. 2
• Marcia Conston, Oct. 3
• Ty A. Stone, Oct. 8

“The selection of the next president at Tidewater Community College is a collaborative process,” said Terri Thompson, chair of the TCC College Board. “We encourage everyone to attend the candidate forums and to provide feedback on the finalists.”

Candidate biographies are below.

Andrew W. Bowne has worked in higher education for nearly 20 years. Following a corporate career, Bowne began his higher education career as an adjunct instructor in 2000 at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a position he held for two years. That same year, he began as an adjunct instructor at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, which he held for 12 years. He moved to Grand Rapids Community College where he became the executive director of Workforce Training & Economic Development in 2003, and the associate vice president for College Advancement in 2005. Bowne moved to Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie, Indiana, to become the chancellor of the East Central Region in 2012. Two years later, his responsibilities grew as he was named chancellor, East Central and Richmond Regions. In 2016, he moved to Ivy Tech’s system office in Indianapolis and became senior vice president/COO – the position he holds today. Bowne holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate from Western Michigan University.

Marcia Conston has worked in higher education for more than 30 years. She began her career as the director of Institutional Research at Jackson State University in Mississippi in 1987. She went to Benedict College, in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1994 to become the vice president for Institutional Effectiveness. In 2001, she became the vice president for Enrollment and Student Success Services at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina – the position that she currently holds. Conston has also taught throughout her career, serving as a part-time associate professor at Benedict College in 1995-1996 and as an adjunct instructor at Wingate University for two years beginning in 2012. As an evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Conston has evaluated 14 institutions for reaccreditation, including two Virginia community colleges. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Jackson State University in Mississippi; a master’s degree from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina; and a doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Ty A. Stone has more than 12 years of higher education experience, following careers in the corporate and nonprofit sector, as well as being an air traffic controller. Stone’s higher education career began at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where she began as an assistant professor in 2004 and served as a project director of the Ohio Minority Health Institute in 2006. Following two years of service as the CFO of the YWCA in Dayton, Ohio, Stone moved to Sinclair Community College in Dayton in 2010. She spent two years as the director of Business Services before becoming the vice president of Business Operations in 2012 and the vice president for Strategic Initiatives in 2016. She became the president of Jefferson Community College in Watertown, New York, in 2017 – the position she currently holds. Stone earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia Union College in Tacoma Park, Maryland; an MBA from Trinity University in Washington, D.C.; and a doctorate from Capella University in Minneapolis.

The three finalists seek to become the college’s sixth permanent president, and will succeed Gregory T. DeCinque, who has served as the college’s interim president since July 2018.