Who are the four finalists to become College of Western Idaho’s next president?

The College of Western Idaho has narrowed the search for its next president to four finalists, the school announced in a news release Thursday.

The finalists are:

  • Denise Aberle-Cannata — CWI interim president

  • Gordon Jones — dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Boise State University and a member of Boise’s urban renewal agency, Capital City Development Corporation, board of commissioners

  • Abby Lee — associate vice president of College and Public Relations at Treasure Valley Community College and a state senator

  • Todd Schwarz — provost at College of Southern Idaho

Previous president Bert Glandon retired in May after 12 years at the community college. He helped enrollment grow from about 1,200 students to more than 30,000 students annually.

The finalists “will be invited to meet with the CWI community both on campus and via virtual platforms as appropriate,” search committee chair Molly Lenty said in the news release.

“The search committee, representing various stakeholder groups both internal and external to the College, put in very thoughtful work and hearty dialogue in identifying these finalists who each bring their own diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and vision for the future of CWI,” Lenty said. “We hope you will be able to participate in the upcoming candidate forums, as stakeholder feedback will be greatly appreciated.”

Candidate interviews will take place during the week of Nov. 15. Additional information about the candidates and candidate forums is at https://cwi.edu/cwi-presidential-search. The executive search firm Summit Search Solutions has helped with the hiring process.