COLLEGE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS : 3 IN RUNNING FOR POST AS AVC'S PRESIDENT.

Byline: Daily News Staff Writer

Community college vice presidents from Los Angeles; Spokane, Wash.; and Utica, N.Y., have been named the three finalists in the national search for a new Antelope Valley College president, college officials said Tuesday.

Daniel R. Chacon, vice president of student services at Spokane Community College; Mary S. Spangler, vice president of academic affairs at Los Angeles City College; and Linda M. Spink, vice president for instruction at Mohawk Valley Community College are the candidates.

``The board will be working ahead of interviewing the candidates to try to tie itself together,'' board President Don Ross said. ``Each of the trustees sees the need slightly different, but we'll blend it together in a lengthy session and come up with a consensus as to what our needs are.''

With the naming of the finalists, the college district moves into the last and most visible part of the search process when the candidates appear at public forums on campus.

Students, faculty, staff and members of the public can attend the 90-minute forums to hear statements from the candidates and engage them in question-and-answer sessions.

A single candidate will be featured at each forum, all scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the college Chorale Room, room 334. Spink is scheduled for April 18, Chacon for April 23 and Spangler for April 30.

This is the first time that Antelope Valley College has used the public forums. Before Al Kurki was chosen president in 1986, a screening committee of 18 or so people plus trustees interviewed each of the five finalists in daylong sessions, Ross said.

Trustees will interview each candidate for five hours before the forums, Ross said, but they will not sit in on the public sessions. People who attend the forums will be asked to provide anonymous comments in writing on the candidates, he said.

``It's a practice that is fairly common now across the nation,'' Ross said. A college search consultant who recommended the public sessions advised officials that ``the community tends to be happier when they're invited into the open forum,'' Ross said.

Kurki announced a year ago that he will retire Aug. 29 after 10 years as president. A final announcement is expected to be made by trustees before the end of the spring semester next month.

The three finalists were chosen from 53 applicants. An unranked list of finalists was forwarded to the trustees by a search committee, which conducted a round of interviews with eight semifinalists in March and April. Trustees have not yet interviewed the candidates, Ross said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Daniel R. Chacon

Spokane Community College

(2 ) Mary S. Spangler

L.A. City Community College

(3) Linda M. Spink

Mohawk Valley College