CFCC Board of Trustees responds to criticisms over hiring president

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees Chair says the college fully complied with the law when they selected Jim Morton as president.

Chairman Mat White says the board followed all bylaws and procedures.

The board did not conduct a nationwide search and instead named Morton, who was serving as interim president.

WWAY reported Monday that Representative Deb Butler raised concerns and now Southern Association of Colleges and the Schools Commission on Colleges is looking into it.

White says CFCC is gladly responding to the organizations request for information and says it’s disappointing elected officials are trying to use CFCC for political advantage.

“Transparency is the buzz word that people use for criticizing this process,” Chairman White said. “However, these individuals refuse to acknowledge the steps taken to be more open.  An employee, like President Morton, has a statutory right to have personnel discussions in closed session.  We respect his rights, as well as the rights of other employees of the College, in this manner.  The State Community College Board confirmed that the CFCC Board’s selection of President Morton in closed session was in accordance with the law.  Nonetheless, we publically released our selection of President Morton, pending State Board approval, to the public through a media release and through an announcement at the conclusion of our closed session.  We did not have the obligation to make this announcement.  However, we wanted to be open and transparent about our selection as soon as it occurred.”