Finalists for JSCC president continue campus visits
JACKSON, Tenn. — Students and faculty on Wednesday welcomed the second of four finalists for president of Jackson State Community College.
Dr. Jeffery Lane Sisk spoke to the campus and talked about why he would be a good fit for the role.
He currently serves as a director for Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Jackson.
He says because he is a local and a JSCC graduate, he would be a good fit for president of the community college.
“Knowing our service delivery area, the needs of business and industry and knowing the high school students in the area is an advantage,” he said. “I would have a lot shorter of a learning curve than an outsider would.”
An interview session with students and faculty allowed Sisk to meet directly with them.
He discussed his impressions of the campus and possibilities for further growth.
“Like any other higher education institution, it has its challenges with facilities and maintaining those facilities, but they have an excellent staff,” he said.
If selected as the college’s new president, Sisk said he wants to learn what the community wants.
“It’s not just what I want — it’s what the campus community wants and the entire service delivery wants,” he said. “But our priorities are always on student success.”
Sisk says Jackson and JSCC are home to him, and that is why he wants the position.
“The staff, the faculty and the administration here have been wonderful to work with,” he said. “It’s been an exciting experience, and it’s an honor to have made it this far.”
Students who attended the interview say it was nice to get to know Sisk and that they look forward to meeting the remaining candidates later this week.
“It’s important because we get to know them more and to see what their purposes are for coming to the school,” Celeste Hernandez, a sophomore, said.
The campus interviews with the candidates are only the first step in the selection process. The chancellor will later make a recommendation to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
If the board approves, the chosen candidate will be the college’s next president.
Although there is not a set start date for the future president, administrators say they expect he or she to start in January.
