VINELAND — The Cumberland County College board of trustees has announced three candidates for the position of CCC president.

They include Dr. Jose Adames, provost of the Plainfield campus and associate vice president of academic affairs at Union County College in northern New Jersey; Dr. Doreen Larson, vice president of student affairs at Holyoke (Mass.) Com­munity College; and Dr. Ronald Natale, former president of Central Georgia Technical College in Macon, Ga.

The finalists were selected from a larger group of candidates reviewed by a 19-member presidential search committee, which includes college and community representatives. The committee is chaired by CCC board of trustees chairman Charles Thomas.

Open public forums with each candidate have been scheduled, taking place in the banquet room in the Luciano Conference Center at CCC. The first, for Dr. Larson was yesterday afternoon; the second, for Dr. Natale, is 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18; the final public forum, for Dr. Adames, is 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.

• Dr. Adames has held his present position with UCC since 2002. He has also served as dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and other positions at Kean University.

Adames received the 2009 International Exemplary Leader award from the Leadership Conference of the Chair Academy and the 2009 William U. Harris Award from the Middle States Regional Forum, the College Board. He has presented at national conferences on innovative approaches to achieving student success. He has experience in grant development and management and has helped obtain more than $11 million in grants for UCC.

Active in various community organizations and boards, Adames has a doctorate in applied linguistics and a masters degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a bachelor and master degrees from Seton Hall University.

• During her tenure at HCC, Dr. Larson has led the campus in increasing the diversity of students and staff through developing college teams and partnering with local K-12 school systems. In several assessment reports, HCC students note the diversity on campus as a significant strength in their educational experience at the college.

Larson was key in forming the Strategic Enrollment Management Team at HCC. The team has implemented several programs supporting increased new student enrollment as well as academic and social support. HCC has one of the highest retention and graduation rates in the Mass­achusetts community college system.

Prior to her position at HCC, Larson was the assistant vice president for Student Access and Success at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio. Larson was recently appointed as the vice chair of the Community Development Advisory Committee for the town of South Hadley in Massachusetts.

Larson holds a doctorate in special education from Kent State University, a masters degree in education from John Carroll University, and she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Cleve­land State Univer­sity with a bachelors degree in special education.

• Dr. Natale, a graduate of St. Petersburg (Fla.) Junior College, has a doctorate in higher education administration from the Univer­sity of Florida. He has served in faculty roles as well as administrative roles including instructional officer, dean and college president. As a president, his accomplishments include increasing enrollment, retention and graduation rates as well as keeping the institution on firm financial ground during difficult economic times. Natale has written and made numerous presentations on education, leadership, entrepreneurialism, race and culture.

Natale has been described as a “servant leader” who works with communities to bring them into shared activities. In addition to being a member of multiple chambers of commerce and economic development organizations, he has served on the International Cherry Blossom Festival board of trustees, Macon Arts Alliance, YMCA and Ro­tary.

For additional, online information, visit cccnj.edu or acct.org