After a two-month search, Anne Kress was named provost and vice president of academic affairs at SFCC on Tuesday.
Kress has held positions at SFCC, including English department chair and interim vice president of academic affairs, since January 2005.
Although SFCC President Jackson Sasser made the application process public, Sasser said he didn't see how anyone in the country could compete with Kress.
"Dr. Kress is a national leader because of her academic representation, her love of learning, her practice of teaching and her … expectation of students doing their best," Sasser said.
Sasser said Kress not only has an intellectual commitment to the college but a love for what is done at SFCC.
"She is the best of the best at Santa Fe," Sasser said.
SFCC put together a screening committee composed of academic chairs, academic directors, administrators and staff from the offices of student and administrative affairs to find the right person for the job, said Lela Elmore, SFCC human resource coordinator.
The screening committee reviewed all of the candidates' credentials, read recommendations and held forums, where committee members asked the finalists questions.
The committee deliberated and made its recommendation to Sasser.
"This process with the ultimate selection of Dr. Kress had the most integrity of any of the screening and selection processes I have observed since I've been president," Sasser said.
Elmore said the term provost is defined differently by colleges.
At SFCC, it means second in command in the academic department, she said.
Elmore said this position has been filled on an interim basis for the past few years, and the college decided it was time to fill it permanently. The academic department is the largest part of the college, Elmore said.
Since the first day of fall semester, when the position was posted, the committee narrowed the search from 11 applicants down to Kress and Barbara Burrows, who is provost of Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown, Iowa.
Burrows also has a history at SFCC.
During her eight years at SFCC, Burrows taught math, coached the women's softball team and was the Faculty Senate president for three years.
Burrows and Kress were screened Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 at public forums on SFCC's Northwest campus.
