BATON ROUGE, LA. – Today, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System announced the appointment of Dr. Jim Carlson as Acting Chancellor of River Parishes Community College. Dr. Carlson's appointment is effective Thursday, October 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, with the ability to extend the appointment for six months if necessary. Carolson's appointment comes as a result of current chancellor Dale Doty announced his intentions to retire.

Carlson is the Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives & External Affairs at Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC), where he oversees Advancement, Workforce, Adult Education, YouthBuild, Public Relations, STEM Outreach, Testing Services, Grants, and Professional Development. His previous positions at NTCC were Dean of Academics, Associate Provost of Academics, and Dean of Campus Administration (Lacombe Campus). Jim began his higher education career in 1998, first as an Instructor of Speech Communication at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi, and then as Assistant Professor of Speech and Department Chair at Baton Rouge Community College. Prior to coming to NTCC, he served six years as the Director of Chapter Relations at the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. He recruited and trained faculty, staff, and student officers from over 330 colleges and universities.

"I am extremely humbled to be selected as the Acting Chancellor of River Parishes Community College," said Carlson. "RPCC is a special place, and I look forward to working alongside the faculty, staff, and administration to best serve our students."

Carlson has a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Speech Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and an Educational Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Administration from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. His research emphasis focused on volunteer motivation in higher education. Dr. Carlson is also a graduate of the Louisiana Leadership Academy.  

"After consulting with the leadership of the Board of Supervisors, I am confident in Jim's ability to lead the college as acting chancellor," said Monty Sullivan, president, LCTCS. "Jim's experience will be invaluable during this transition as we work to identify the next chancellor of RPCC". 

The LCTCS Board of Supervisors has preliminarily set a schedule for conducting a search for the next permanent chancellor for RPCC that is likely to begin in late fall 2020 to early spring 2021. More information will be made available once a formal search schedule is finalized.  

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