News
SMC Narrows Presidential Search to Four Finalists
Published on September 30, 2025 - 1 p.m.
In the search for its ninth president, Southwestern Michigan College has narrowed the field to four finalists.
The Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee received 128 applications over a six-week period that ended Aug. 17. At a special public meeting of the board on Sept. 5, the Committee recommended a slate of twelve candidates for interviews, which have been conducted over the last few weeks.
At the special public meeting on Sept. 29, the board unanimously agreed to host in-person interviews with four finalists: Billy Franklin, Dr. Kevin McCaskey, Dr. Klint Pleasant and Dr. Jonathan Swarts.
“The Board is grateful for the unprecedented number of applications received, which is a testament to SMC’s unique success and national appeal,” said Tom Jerdon, SMC Board Chair. “It has been an enormous time commitment to review the CVs and conduct the interviews, but we have a great internal team assisting us, which saves substantial costs we didn’t have to pay to an outside search firm. The finalists offer a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and leadership qualities that we seek as an institution. We’ll look forward to meeting the candidates in person to review their vision for SMC.”
Finalists will visit campus and be interviewed in a public setting during the week of October 20. Biographical information for each finalist, plus dates, times and locations for the interviews, will be forthcoming.
SMC’s eighth president, Dr. Joe Odenwald, resigned in February and Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Brent Brewer was named Interim President effective May 11.
The College has set a goal of having a contract with the next president in place by the end of 2025.
Updates on the search process can be found at https://swmich.edu/presidential-search/.
