The search for the fifth president of Lehigh Carbon Community College entered its final stages with the announcement from the college's Board of Trustees that four finalists have been selected.

The candidates are Dr. Ann Bieber, interim president, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, Pa.; Dr. Joyce Ester, former president of Kennedy-King College, City Colleges of Chicago; Dr. Doreen Larson, president, Pierpont Community and Technical College, Fairmont, W.Va.; and Dr. James Moran III, former vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education, Harrisburg.In a process that began with the December 2013 retirement of former Lehigh Carbon President Dr. Donald W. Snyder, the college's board of trustees appointed the Florida-based executive search firm Greenwood/Asher and Associates to conduct a comprehensive, national search. Greenwood/Asher worked closely with the 16-member, board-appointed search committee comprising eight trustees and Lehigh Carbon faculty, administrators, staff and community representatives to assemble a pool of qualified applicants."Following an exhaustive and careful review of the credentials of all the candidates and then preliminary interviews with a narrowed pool, the search committee has recommended these four exceptional individuals to the full board of trustees," said search chair and Lehigh Carbon trustee Audrey Larvey. "We are fully confident all of these candidates can effectively lead our institution," she said."Each candidate will come to campus next week to meet with the Lehigh Carbon Community College Board of Trustees and also with the campus community," Larvey said. "Our goal is to have the new president on board for the fall 2014 semester."Bieber currently serves as interim president and senior vice president for administrative services at Lehigh Carbon Community College. She has served in multiple positions at Lehigh Carbon, including vice president of administrative services and workforce/community development; dean of Continuing Education; and director of Continuing Education. Bieber earned her doctorate of education in educational leadership and management from Capella University, her master of public administration from Kutztown University, and her bachelor's degree in business administration from Cedar Crest College.Ester is the former president of Kennedy-King College, City Colleges of Chicago. Before that role, she served as associate vice president for student services as chief student affairs officer at Bakersfield College; assistant vice president for judicial affairs and division planning at California State University, Fresno; and as assistant dean of students/ judicial affairs at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ester earned her doctorate of philosophy in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara; her master of arts in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara; and her bachelor's degree in sociology from Northern Illinois University.Larson currently serves as president at Pierpont Community and Technical College in West Virginia. Before that, Larson served as vice president for student affairs at Holyoke Community College as well as multiple positions at Lakeland Community College, including as assistant vice president for student access and success, dean of counseling and academic support services, and as associate professor in education, counseling and developmental education. Larson earned her doctorate of philosophy in special education-adult transitional services from Kent State University; her master of arts in education (law) from John Carroll University; and her bachelor's degree in education (special education) from Cleveland State University.Moran formerly served as the vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education. Moran also served as interim president for Edinboro University. Before his tenure as interim president, Moran served in multiple positions for the PASSHE, including senior associate vice chancellor/ chief academic officer and associate vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. Moran also served as assistant vice president for academic affairs and associate vice provost, accreditation and staterelations for the University of Tennessee System Office. Moran also served in multiple positions at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including as dean, College of Human Ecology; associate dean for Research and Business Administration, Human Ecology; andacting head, Department of Nutrition and FoodSciences. Moran earned his doctorate of philosophyin family relations and childhood development from Oklahoma StateUniversity; his master of science in psychologyfrom the University ofOklahoma; and hisbachelor's degree inpsychology and history from Duke University.