CVCC will have a new president, starting next month

A new president will lead Chattahoochee Valley Community College, starting next month.

At the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, Chancellor Jimmy Baker announced as CVCC’s next president the selection of Jacqueline Screws, the dean of student affairs and the Sparks Campus for Wallace Community College-Dothan. She will begin her tenure at CVCC Feb. 1, according to the news release.

Screws will become the sixth permanent president in the 44-year history of the college, which opened in January 1974. Ralph Savage was the first CVCC president, followed by James Owen (1980-93), Richard Federinko (1993-2002), Laurel Blackwell (2003-10) and Glen Cannon (2011-14).

Cannon left CVCC to become president of Gwinnett Technical College. Valerie Richardson served as CVCC’s interim president until Mark Ellard became interim president in September 2015.

Ellard was executive vice president at Bevill State Community College in Sumiton, where he also was interim president, before he took responsibility for CVCC. Asked what Ellard’s job will be when Screws becomes CVCC’s president, ACCS communications and marketing administrator Rachel Adams told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Thursday that Ellard “will be responsible for a number of special projects across the Alabama Community College System.”

Screws has more than three decades of experience in education administration and student affairs, including 17 years in her current role.

“Ms. Screws’ career has been dedicated to the success of her students, and Chattahoochee Valley will be well-served by her experience,” Baker said in the ACCS news release. “Her proven track record of overseeing a community college campus and her familiarity with the unique needs of two-year colleges and their students make her a tremendous asset to CVCC.”

Screws said in the news release, “I’ve seen first-hand what an incredible impact Alabama’s community colleges can have on students and communities, and I’m excited to continue that mission at Chattahoochee Valley. It is an honor to be selected to serve in this capacity, and I look forward to joining the Pirate Family.”

Screws was dean of student services for Sparks Technical College before it merged with Wallace Community College-Dothan in 1999. Her community involvement includes serving on boards for the United Way of Barbour County, the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Eufaula and the Career/Technical Advisory Council for the Eufaula City School System.

The news release doesn’t list the degrees she has earned or the institutions she attended.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 6:29 PM with the headline "CVCC will have a new president, starting next month."