The NC State Board of Community Colleges, meeting on Friday morning, affirmed the decision of the McDowell Technical Community College Board of Trustees to name Mr. Ryan Garrison as Interim President of McDowell Tech effective July 1, 2020.
The decision comes after Dr. John Gossett announced in late March that he would be leaving his role as McDowell Tech’s current president at the end of June to assume the role of president at AB-Tech in Asheville.
Garrison is currently Vice-President of Finance and Administration at McDowell Tech. He will assume the position of president on an interim basis as the MTCC Board of Trustees conducts a search process to find a permanent replacement for Gossett. That process can vary, but is often several months long at other colleges.
Garrison has indicated that he will not be a candidate for the permanent position as president. Once a new president takes helm at the college, Garrison will return to his full-time role as Vice-President for Finance and Administration.
Garrison is a 1996 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. In 1999, Garrison also received a B.S.B.A in Accounting from Appalachian State University. In 2008, he also earned a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education from Appalachian.
Garrison has been in his current role at McDowell Tech since June of 2008.
