Interim President, Dr. Russ Deaton
The Tennessee Board of Regents held a special meeting on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, to approve the search criteria for the next president of Volunteer State Community College. Vol State President Dr. Orinthia Montague unexpectedly passed away Sept. 22, and TBR Executive Vice Chancellor Russ Deaton is serving as interim president while the search for the college’s next president is underway. Dr. Russ Deaton is the Tennessee Board of Regents Executive Vice Chancellor for Policy and Strategy, directly leading the Office of Policy and Strategy and providing leadership support for the Offices of Academic Affairs, Organizational Effectiveness, Student Success, and Research & Data. He joined the TBR system in July 2017 following a 17-year career at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, culminating his service there as Interim Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director and the leader of the Policy and Data Division.
Volunteer State is one of Tennessee’s 13 community colleges in the Community College System of Tennessee, governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The President is the chief executive officer of the College and reports to the Tennessee Board of Regents through the Chancellor. The board governs Tennessee’s public community colleges and colleges of applied technology. The meeting was held by teleconference at 9:30 a.m. CT/10:30 ET, Oct. 20, and is archived on the TBR website at: https://www.tbr.edu/board/october-20-2023-%E2%80%93-special-called-board-meeting. Board materials, including the proposed presidential search criteria, are posted at the same link. The criteria for the next president of Volunteer State Community College may be found in the materials in item 3.
It is anticipated that the initial screening of applicants will begin in the first quarter of 2024 and that the president will be selected prior to July 1, 2024.
About Volunteer State Community College: Volunteer State Community College is a comprehensive, two-year postsecondary institution located in Gallatin, Tennessee. As an Achieving the Dream college committed to student success, Volunteer State meets the educational needs of the people it serves in 11 counties in middle Tennessee and enrolls approximately 7,000 credit-seeking students each fall. The college employs over 450 full-time employees, including roughly 190 full-time faculty members, and operates on a budget of approximately $60 million.
