Face the State: TMCC Search for New President |

Truckee Meadows Community College President Dr. Maria Sheehan has announced that she is retiring this year - and now the college is about to start the search for her replacement.

For Face the State this week, I spoke with Dr. Sheehan and the chairman of the Nevada Board of Regents about where TMCC stands in Nevada's changing economy - and what kind of leader it needs.

They say now more than ever, TMCC has a responsibility to train Nevada's new workforce - and whoever takes over for Dr. Sheehan will have to have skills in that department.

"It has to be somebody that has passion for community colleges, and that has an understanding of community colleges, and I think the person also has to have experience in the workforce development programs of a community college,” says Rick Trachok, Nevada Board of Regents Chairman.

Trachok says they plan to appoint an interim president within the next month or so and then conduct a national search for a permanent replacement. They hope to have the new person in place by the end of the academic year.

And that person will take over during a busy time for the college. TMCC's enrollment is way up with waiting lists for some of the programs that train for jobs at Tesla, Switch, drone companies - and in construction.

"The day after the Tesla announcement was made, we had a waiting list of 400 for a program that was struggling two weeks before."

To see the full interview, just tune in or set your DVR for Face the State this weekend. It's airing tomorrow at 4:30 am and 4:30 pm and on Sunday at 3:00 pm.