Open forum interviews conclude for final 2 candidates for Mat-Su College Director

This week, the two remaining candidates to become the Mat-Su College’s next Director completed their open forum interview process, marking the end of this portion of the search. Recently, the current Director, Dr. Talis Colberg announced his intent to retire in October.

As with the first two candidates, there were two very different and qualified candidates presented by the search committee for the open forum interviews. Once again, staff, faculty, students, and others from the public were invited to attend, ask questions, and provide input.

The interviews were postponed a few weeks ago, when inclement weather in the lower 48 lead to thousands of flights being cancelled recently.

The field has been narrowed down to four candidates, and once again, candidates were allotted time to give an overview introduction of themselves and their experiences before turning things over to a question-and-answer forum, which included in-person and Zoom questions, fielding questions about their vision for the future of the college, their individual take on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), how they plan to interact with the public, and the current climate on technical education. Questions were not screened ahead of time, giving those in attendance, as well as the candidates themselves, a more candid view of the people hoping to take over the helm.

The first candidate, Kevin Kovalycsik, who comes from a very strong, comprehensive background working in large universities in the lower 48.

Kovalycsik earned his Bachelor’s Degree at Rutger’s University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Media, the an MBA, with a concentration in Economics from Seton Hall University, and finally a Master’s in Public Administration at Columbia University.

Along with his education, Kovalycsik has an extensive background in management, first working for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), managing events including the staff of the 1999 Women’s FIFA World Cup Games, the 1995 Papal Mass of the late Pope John Paul II, and 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Finals, all at Giants Stadium.

From there, he moved into Strategic Planning and Development and later becoming the Director of Policy and Management. During his employment with NJSEA, he was a visiting professor and guest lecturer for Seton Hall University, traveling to universities and other venues.

He continued his work in sports, working for the United States Tennis Association and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympic Games, before moving into key senior management and leadership positions in prestigious universities, most recently working as Chief of Staff to the President of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.

Kovalycsik also has a long history of giving back to the community, volunteering for community food banks and churches, the American Red Cross, and traveling international, volunteering at the Wild Rhino Sanctuary in South Africa, providing education, healthcare, and community development in Cambodia, and volunteering in Uganda.

The final candidate to participate in the open forum was Marie L. Gardner, who quickly earned the nickname “Dr. G.” during the forum.

Her educational path has revolved around education, starting with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Teaching License for math, grades 5-12. She then earned a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Doctorate of Education, Educational Leadership in Higher Education.

Gardner had worked for Neosho County Community College (NCCC) in Ottawa, Kansas for nearly 30 years, first as an Adjunct Instructor, while simultaneously a tenured teacher at a local junior/senior high school.

While working at NCCC, Gardner worked her way from a tenured instructor in math and computer science, to Online Campus Coordinator, then Associate Dean/Dean for the Online Campus, and is currently the Dean for the NCCC Ottawa and Online Campuses.

Among her noted accomplishments has been in the online work, where she led the reorganization, renaming, and rebranding of the NCCC college portal, created and launched online tutoring services, and developed and launched the Online and Hybrid Instructor Certification Course.

When asked, Gardner said that her college is similar to Mat-Su College in that both provide educational training programs as well as opportunities for students to earn general education credits as they plan their collegiate futures.

Gardner also has a lengthy background in volunteering in her ocal community in Kansas, notably as co-founder and leader of the 4-H in her community, serving on her local church committee, and the Franklin County Development Council.

She also serves on several boards including the Franklin County Local Emergency Planning Committee, the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce, a local area Workforce Development Board, and has been a long-time member of her community Rotary, serving as President last year.

Now that the 4 candidates have completed the open forum interviews, the search committee will review input from those who watched and participated in the interviews and forward the information to the Chancellor, who will ultimately select the next director for the college.

Dr. Colberg is set to retire later this year in October after serving more than 13 years as the Director.