HCC names president

March 20, 2002|BY ANDREW SCHOTZ

Guy Altieri, an administrator at a community college in Michigan, was named the new president of Hagerstown Community College on Tuesday.

Altieri, 51, is the chief operating officer and executive vice president at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich.

He is scheduled to take over at HCC on June 17, giving him two weeks to work alongside President Norman Shea before Shea retires.

Shea is the college's second president. He became president in 1986, succeeding Atlee Kepler.

William Reuter, chairman of HCC's board of trustees, called Altieri a seasoned and "extremely well-rounded" person with a strong background in technology.

Altieri did not attend Tuesday's board of directors meeting.

"I would like nothing more than to finish my career at Hagerstown," he said in a telephone interview afterward.

Altieri worked at Salem Community College in Carneys Point, N.J., from 1974 to 1987, moving from teacher to coordinator to department chair to director to dean to acting president.

His rsum says he has a doctorate in higher education from Columbia University in New York and master's degrees in community college teaching-sociology, psychology and adult education administration.

Reuter said Altieri's annual base salary at HCC will be $122,500. He will work under a three-year contract that is renewable each year.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the contract had not been signed, Reuter said.

Shea's salary is $116,000.

Altieri, who is married with two children, will be required to live in Washington County. He plans to search for a house in the middle of April.

A committee began looking for Shea's replacement in September.

HCC Dean of Students Carl Galligan said the committee had 48 candidates to consider by the end of 2001.

Each of the seven members of the search committee reviewed the rsums. A group of finalists was chosen and invited to the campus for interviews.

Four finalists were invited back.

When the committee selected Altieri, five of the seven committee members visited Ann Arbor and spoke with about 40 Washtenaw Community College students, deans and faculty members to verify his credentials, Galligan said.

The other three finalists were from Maryland, West Virginia and New York. Reuter said the finalists included two men and two women.

Many of the candidates were qualified to be president, Reuter said, but Altieri stood out for his work managing enrollment, developing curriculum, enhancing technology and involving the community in education.

Reuter mentioned a technical high school that is part of the Washtenaw campus as an innovative idea.

Washtenaw Community College's budget is more than three times the size of HCC's, and its enrollment is at least six times HCC's, according to Reuter.

Altieri said he likes the idea of being president at a smaller college, so he can get to know as many faculty members and students as possible.

After about a year at HCC, Altieri hopes to teach a class in the behavioral sciences field.

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