Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Carilion-owned college names interim leader
Nathaniel Bishop, a Carilion Clinic vice president, could be in the job for three years.
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Nathaniel Bishop becomes interim president in April of the Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke and takes the helm during a time of intense transition -- both under way and looming.
Bishop, 55, is a Carilion Clinic vice president who has a master's degree in education and a doctorate in ministry. The Christiansburg native has no administrative experience in higher education. But he has served on Jefferson College's board, Ferrum College's board of trustees and the board of visitors of Duke University's divinity school.
Outgoing college President Carol Seavor, who retires in April, said she believes Bishop brings unique qualifications to the school's top job, including his 13 years with Carilion and familiarity with its system, experiences on the boards of Jefferson College and other schools, and skills as a facilitator.
Both she and Carilion spokesman Eric Earnhart said Bishop's theological background and personality nurture relationship building.
"He is well-respected, a kind and compassionate man, a leader," Earnhart said Tuesday afternoon.
Still, it is not yet clear how much time Bishop will have to devote to leading the 1,000-student, Carilion-owned college. Seavor has been a full-time president. And the college-in-transition continues to gradually move into renovated quarters at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital and is beginning to explore its future identity in relationship to the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, slated to open next fall.
In addition to his duties as a vice president, Bishop is an assistant professor for the medical school under construction on South Jefferson Street, and a member of several boards. He said Tuesday that he will likely devote about half of his time to Jefferson College until Seavor's departure and will likely reduce his service on boards. At the medical school, his teaching will focus on ethics and diversity.
"We will be making adjustments here as far as my responsibilities [as a Carilion Clinic vice president]," Bishop said.
Seavor said the college has a "very strong administrative team" ready to ally with the interim president.
Jefferson College is leaving the 10-story, red brick Reid Center at 920 S. Jefferson St. for the community hospital building nearby. Bishop and Seavor said they anticipate the move being completed by fall.
In the interim, it appears Jefferson College will not have dorm rooms to offer students.
"Right now, we're not promising any dorm space for next year," Seavor said.
She acknowledged that many parents of first-year students who do not commute to the college prefer that their children be housed on campus. The lack of dorm rooms could discourage some students from attending until housing is available, she said.
Seavor said about 90 percent of Jefferson College students commute.
Bishop said Carilion and the college "are actively pursuing our options" to house students for the beginning of the next school year.
His service as interim president could last up to three years.
As the opening of the medical school approaches, Seavor said, administrators, faculty and college officials must discuss how Jefferson College and the medical school will work together to provide clinical experiences for the college's health sciences students.
She said the recruitment of a full-time college president will not begin until progress has been made on that front.
Meanwhile, the aging Reid Center's facade shows evidence of brickwork problems that could pose a hazard to people below. Carilion has erected scaffolding to protect pedestrians and is stabilizing the facade, Earnhart said.
What are Carilion's plans for the building once the college has moved out? Will it be demolished?
"We're evaluating that," Seavor said.
The college typically has a waiting list for its nursing programs and strong demand for the physician assistant and other health sciences careers, Seavor said. Many people who have lost their jobs in other fields are now pursuing health careers.
Jefferson College does not plan, for now, to increase enrollment.
"We're more in the mode of stabilizing enrollment," Seavor said.
