DOWAGIAC — Southwestern Michigan College announced Wednesday that four internal candidates have formally applied to succeed Dr. David Mathews to become the college’s eighth president.

On Aug. 6, Mathews, SMC’s longest-serving president at 18 years, announced his retirement at the end of 2019 after 22 years with the college. During its Aug. 19 meeting, the board of trustees voted to begin with an internal search process. The window for interested candidates to apply was open for several weeks and closed on Sept. 10.

In alphabetical order, the four candidates include:

• Dr. David Fleming has served as SMC’s vice president of instruction since 2011. Previously, he held various positions at Davenport University, including executive director of faculty development and assessment, vice president for academic services and executive vice president for academics and provost. Fleming earned his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from West Virginia University and his doctor of philosophy from Indiana University.

• Dr. Lucian Leone currently serves as SMC’s director of admissions. He joined the college in 2018 after working as the director of operations at the Institute for Professional Excellence at Davenport University. Previously, he held several director-level positions at Lansing Community College and served as the associate dean for the College of Business at Ferris State University.  Leone earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan, a master of arts and a master of business administration from Eastern Michigan University and his doctor of philosophy from Michigan State University.

• Dr. Joseph Odenwald has served as SMC’s vice president of student services since 2017, coming to Dowagiac after working as assistant dean for academic affairs and student services at Louisiana State University College of Engineering. Previously, he held several positions at Mississippi College, including associate dean of students and director of student life while teaching graduate courses as a member of the adjunct faculty. Odenwald earned his bachelor of arts from Louisiana College, a master of science from Mississippi College and his doctor of education from The University of Southern Mississippi.

• Dr. Stacy Young has served as SMC’s dean of the School of Business and Advanced Technology since 2013, having held several positions at the college including dean of the Niles campus. Prior to joining SMC in 2005, she was adjunct faculty at Ferris State University and Davenport University, and she worked in management and auditing at several companies. Young earned her bachelor of science from Manchester University, a master of business administration from Bethel University and her doctor of philosophy from Andrews University.

The board is welcoming community input on what characteristics and qualities are desired in SMC’s next president. Those with comments are invited to the next regular board meeting, scheduled at 7 p.m. on Sept. 16 in the David C. Briegel Building on the Dowagiac campus. The board likely will also discuss next steps in the process, including timing of the in-person
interviews.