New Mexico Junior College

New Mexico Junior College Presidential Profile

The Board of Trustees of New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) invites nominations and applications for the position of President of New Mexico Junior College. New Mexico Junior College, located in Lea County of Southeastern New Mexico, provides students a first-rate education that prepares them for both transfer and workforce opportunities. 

NMJC is a comprehensive community college with a dedicated and talented faculty and staff. The College is seeking an exceptional and experienced leader capable of taking the College to its next level of development. NMJC’s next President should be prepared to provide leadership which reflects the College’s Vision.

Vision: New Mexico Junior College’s mission will be achieved by building a culture that values and promotes excellence, effectiveness, responsiveness, access, and community involvement.

New Mexico Junior College first opened its doors to students in the fall of 1966. Since that time it has grown to be one of the finest community colleges in the "Land of Enchantment", and serves as a jewel of Lea County. The College’s service region consists of all towns within Lea County, including Jal, Eunice, Hobbs, Lovington, and Tatum, New Mexico. Each of the five school districts make up the Taxing District. The College is also located in the middle of the Permian Basin, and the rich natural resources of the oil and gas industry have placed New Mexico Junior College in a superb strategic and financial position.

NMJC’s student population is exceedingly diverse, with 66% female, 34% male, 55% Hispanic/Latino, 29% White, and 8% Black or African American.  The diversity of the NMJC student population provides great opportunities for varied educational and cultural experiences. 

NMJC provides an array  of AA, AS, AAS, and certificate opportunities, is highly proactive in online education, and maintains an extremely robust  dual credit initiative with its five surrounding school districts. The campus is situated on 219 acres, with over 637,000 gross square feet of buildings. New Mexico Junior College serves as the host to the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the museum hosts multiple cultural community events and world class exhibits.

New Mexico Junior College has established and maintains a vibrant relationship with the public-school districts and municipalities located in Lea County. The College provides an expansive offering of transfer classes, a wide selection of community education classes, and a significant number of career and technical career educational opportunities.

New Mexico Junior College supports and maintains an exceedingly vibrant on-campus population with 400 plus beds, as well as significant commuter and online student populations.

New Mexico Junior College is home to the NMJC Thunderbird Athletic program and boasts a full complement of, often nationally ranked, NJCAA Division I athletic teams. Additionally, NMJC has some of the best athletic facilities in the country.

 

Opportunities and Challenges

The next President of New Mexico Junior College will provide visionary, long-term, and trusted leadership throughout a predominantly rural service area, continuously respond to the region’s academic and workforce needs, and will: 

• Increase student recruiting by developing and maintaining a strategic recruiting and marketing plan.
• Initiate a discussion with faculty/staff regarding opportunities to increase enrollment.
• Work with faculty and staff in retention and student engagement efforts.
• Engage the local communities, faculty and staff to develop a robust fine arts, performing arts and visual arts program.
• Attract and retain experienced and exceptional employees.
• Develop a succession plan to prepare for impending retirements.
• Work with business and industry leaders to develop training and certificate programs.
• Foster an environment that embraces conversations regarding teaching and learning.
• Continue to cultivate the College’s welcoming campus environment which serves to inspire students, respect employees, and encourage community involvement.

 

Ideal Characteristics

The next President will be an individual of integrity, trustworthiness, and exceeding transparency. Additionally, the next President will possess the following ideal characteristics:

• A student-focused educator who is dedicated to student success.
• Approachability and genuine interest in students, faculty, staff, community, and the well-being of the College.
• Communicates frequently and transparently with constituents. 
• Willingness to connect and embrace opportunities to cooperate with the school districts, the municipalities, and the ever-evolving Lea County community-at-large. 
• Being visible and engaged on and off campus to develop meaningful relationships that are creative and productive for students, staff, and community residents.
• Promotes an open-door policy by being accessible and approachable to students, faculty, and staff, and intentionally participates in the life of the campus and greater community.
• Establishes rapport with business/community leaders and proactively pursues the training and workforce needs of business, industry, and the community. 
• Demonstrates success in developing and implementing strategic and master facility plans. 
• An academic leader who values teaching and learning across all disciplines with a strong focus on graduation rates and retention.
• Fosters an environment of shared governance.
• Demonstrated track record and support for a well-rounded and broad academic and extracurricular educational opportunity.
• A financially responsible leader with in-depth knowledge about budgetary processes and fiscal expectations and restraints. 
•  A culturally astute leader who values and supports diversity, inclusion, and equity. 
• Proven experience with early college, dual credit programs, and online course opportunities. 
• An ambassador and advocate who has experience working with governmental agencies at the local, national, and state level. 
• A collaborative leader who understands working with and for a governing board and encourages and supports board training opportunities.
• Fair, humble, and willing to listen to the employees.
• Excellent speaking, communication, and interpersonal skills, a good listener, and welcoming of opportunities to appear before students, employees, civic and cultural groups, and organizations.
• Demonstrates a passion for the College, and exudes enthusiasm and warmth toward students, community, and employees.
• A proven track record of fostering and maintaining a welcoming and family environment among staff, students, and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• An earned Doctorate from a regionally accredited college or university is preferred, but the minimum qualification is a Master’s Degree.
• Five or more years of demonstrated administrative leadership experience in higher education that demonstrates a commitment to collaboration with faculty, staff, and students.
• In the absence of higher education experience, ten years of demonstrated executive leadership experience with an organization similar in size, scope, and complexity of New Mexico Junior College.