CORRECTION: The original version of this brief contained misspellings of some of the candidates’ names. The relevant lines have been corrected–LINK nky editorial, June 25, 2024
After over a year of being short members, the Nominating Commission for Gateway Community and Technical College met on Tuesday to nominate candidates for open positions on Gateway’s Board of Directors.
The candidates will now be sent to the governor’s office, which will make appointments to the open seats.
The following people were selected for nomination:
- Brandon Hamilton
- Michelle Higgins
- Olivia Keller
- Michael Kraus
- John Mueller
- Aaron Linville
- Col Owens
- Edward Plumber
- Janeen Smith
- Deborah Ramirez
- Jason Steffen
Gateway has campuses in Florence, Covington and Edgewood. It’s part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which is governed by a board of regents.
Each college then has its own board of directors, who act less as unilateral decision-makers and more like localized advisors to the state board of regents, who have the final say in policy decisions. There are 10 seats on Gateway’s Board of Directors. Seven members are appointed by the governor, and then there are three elected members: a faculty member, an administrative staff member and a student.
Gateway’s Board of Directors has lacked three appointed seats for over a year, a fact that has perturbed several current members. Board of Directors Chair John Baines told LINK nky in May that seven members is enough to conduct business, but the shortage inevitably constrains the points of view the board can draw upon when making decisions.
