Montgomery College names new president

Bryan K. Johnson was named as Montgomery College’s seventh president on Tuesday, ending an exhaustive six-month search for Charlene Nunley’s successor.

Johnson said his main goals are to work on the affordability of tuition, to increase partnerships with Montgomery County public schools and to close the achievement gap so that all students at the college succeed academically. In explaining its final choice, trustees chairwoman Sylvia Crowder said that Johnson stood out from the other two finalists because he is someone who will take the 60,000-student community college to even greater heights.

“We had three excellent finalists, but he is the person we think is the best fit,” she said.

The other two finalists were Ana M. Guzman, the president of Palo Alto College in San Antonio, and Karen A. Stout, president of Montgomery Community College in Philadelphia. A selection committee had previously whittled down 70 total applicants to 10 semifinalists. In accepting what he called an honor, Johnson hugged all the trustees in attendance and praised the institution he was selected to oversee as an outstanding community college.

“I know the best days are before us,” he told the students and staff during a ceremony at the school’s Rockville campus. “Just remember that change is inevitable, but growth is optional. My hope, my will and my desire is for us to continue to grow.”

Closing the achievement gap is a mission on which Johnson focused at the Community College of Allegheny (Pa.), where he was vice president of student and community services and launched an initiative in which the college networked with 57 other national institutions to raise the bar of student achievement.

Crowder said that Montgomery College’s board soon will decide when Johnson will begin work at the college, but that it could be as early as February. Meanwhile, Nunley will finish out the school year as president, then retire.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com