Academic VP Haney one of two finalists for president of Prairie State

By Deana Elhit, editor-in-chief, and Mariah Trujillo, news editor

Pamela Haney, vice president of Academic Affairs, will officially be staying at Moraine Valley after nearly being named the new president of Prairie State College.

On Thursday evening in a special session, the Board of Trustees at PSC appointed Michael D. Anthony as the college’s 17th president. Haney and Anthony were the two finalists for the position. Anthony was an internal candidate, having served as vice president of Student Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness as well as a member of the PSC Foundation.

Haney, who is highly regarded by Moraine faculty, has worked for Moraine Valley for the past 17 years. She has served as the dean of Science, Business, and Computer Technology, dean of Liberal Arts, and dean of Academic Services. As vice president of Academic Affairs, she oversees eight academic divisions and reports directly to President Sylvia Jenkins. 

The presidential search committee at PSC held extensive interviews with both candidates as well as open forums to allow candidates to speak their opinions. In total, there were two open forums, a lunch with the PSC Cabinet as well as a final dinner meeting with the PSC Board of Trustees. 

While some at Moraine were aware of this ongoing decision, many were not, and the idea of losing someone in such a key position came as a shock.

“I had no idea. Maybe I’ll apply to be VP,” joked Michael Loughney, a sophomore transfer student at Moraine Valley.

Alissa Judd, a student at Moraine Valley as well as a member of the Army National Guard, shared this same astonishment. “I had no idea that happened,” Judd said. “I hadn’t heard of it anywhere.”

However, it appears as though keeping the news quiet was intentional.

Before the decision was made, Haney said she did not wish to comment. “Because it is a confidential process and still ongoing, I must refrain from any interview at this time,” she said in an email Wednesday.

On Thursday afternoon, Charmaine Sevier, executive director of Human Resources at PSC, declined to comment about the finalists. She said the Board of Trustees would be making the final decision, but she didn’t know when.  

Meanwhile, the information on PSC’s website showed the meeting would take place that day, hours later. 

After the meeting, Crystal Alston-Nobles, public relations and marketing specialist at PSC, confirmed that Anthony had been appointed as president at the board meeting.

Anthony is the first African American to be named president at PSC, and will become the first person of color to serve in that position.

“To be the first black male to hold this role presents a unique opportunity to help reconnect the people of this community — not only because of my race but because of my upbringing and cultural norms and through my experiences and my values,” Anthony said in a news release on the PSC website. “What excites me most is knowing that together we can create new changes, new opportunities, new lives for people who live here and really transform our community.”