OTC's next president relishes community involvement

Higdon spent nine months helping lead Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he currently is vice president of administration, through recovery from a direct hit by Hurricane Katrina last August.

The school sustained about $15 million in damage, and 3,000 students withdrew.

“We actually took the full force of the hurricane, and one of the primary parts of my job was getting us back up and going,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have applied if our school wasn’t recovered.”

Higdon was named OTC president May 25 at a special meeting of the school’s board of trustees.

He will take over July 1, with a salary of $145,000. Founding President Norman Myers retires June 30.

The board selected Higdon from five finalists named by the OTC presidential search committee, which spent about eight months narrowing an initial group of 53 candidates.

Search committee co-chair and board member Dolores Brooks said Higdon stood out among other candidates for a number of reasons, but his impression upon faculty and staff was what made him top the list.

“(The faculty and staff) told us that after they met him on his first sashay through that they liked him – he could just walk in and take over,” she said.

Myers professed his support for Higdon, too, saying he has complete confidence that his successor has what it takes.

“He appears to have the experience, the know-how and a very pleasing personality,” he said.

Though Gulf Coast Community College has higher enrollment – about 15,000 credit and 17,000 noncredit students, compared to OTC’s 9,400 credit and 5,000 noncredit students – Higdon won’t be too unfamiliar with OTC.

The Perkinston, Miss., school has several campuses, is governed by a board of trustees and focuses on technical curriculum. OTC is on track to open an Ozark campus this fall.

Higdon has served in his current role since 2000; he previously was associate vice president for human resources at Gulf Coast for seven years.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Alabama and a master’s of education and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from University of Southern Mississippi.

Higdon said he plans to be active in the OTC and Springfield communities, not just as a contributor but as a listener, too.

“The goal of every community college is to be responsive to the community and make sure what we do is in the best interest of the community,” he said.

“The president, in particular, needs to be very visible and needs to spend a lot of time listening,” he added.

Higdon said he’s looking forward to planting roots in the Ozarks, which he says reminds him of his childhood in northern Alabama.

“I just fell in love with the area – we love the town and the climate,” he said.

But Higdon doesn’t doubt there will be a transition phase, and that includes the task of taking over for the only president OTC has ever known.

“You always worry about following someone like Dr. Myers because he’s the founding father of the college, and following that is always going to be a daunting task,” he said. “I have very large shoes to fill.”[[In-content Ad]]