FVCC Selects Search Firm to Lead the Hunt for Next President
ACCT Searches, a group affiliated with the Association of Community College Trustees, will head the nationwide search for Jane Karas’ replacement. The board has yet to finalize a timeline.
By Mariah Thomas
Flathead Valley Community College’s board of trustees selected ACCT Searches, part of the Association of Community College Trustees, to lead the search for its next president at a special board meeting Monday.
The board selected ACCT Searches from a field of five organizations who gave quotes for the job. Julie Brempelis, the assistant director of communications and marketing at FVCC, said ACCT Searches gave the lowest bid.
According to its website, the nonprofit has completed 750 CEO searches “ranging from campus presidents to state system presidents.” It focuses on two-year public community and technical colleges.
ACCT Searches is currently leading the charge for administrative searches at a handful of community colleges around the country.
“The Board will work with the consultants on a process and timeline that will be shared once it is finalized,” Brempelis wrote in an email.
The search for a new administrator comes as longtime FVCC President Jane Karas announced in February she would be leaving her position, effective Dec. 31, 2026.
Karas has led the school for 25 years. She previously told the Beacon she anticipates her successor will play a role in advocating for changes to the community college’s funding formula, among other projects.