SITKA, ALASKA
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Sheldon Jackson board chairwoman Shirley Holloway says Dobler’s departure is somewhat related to the breakdown of the Dubuque negotiations.
“When the Dubuque proposal was not acceptable, we realized that we needed to truly move on,” Holloway said. “We no longer needed a college president, but we needed somebody to manage the myriad of issues that are facing us.”
John Holst will serve as “interim manager.” He’s a former superintendent of the Sitka School District, and a former Sitka Assembly member. Holloway says his duties will include handling details in terms of the college’s properties, and to be able to work with community groups who might be interested in developing programs on the campus.
“We are at the point now where we really need to have somebody who’s going to get in there and make sure that something happens with regards to working with local folks, and hopefully moving us toward a future that can be beneficial to Sitka and to the state,” she said.
Dobler, meanwhile, says he and the board have been “talking about a transition of some sort for a while.”
When Dobler became president of Sheldon Jackson in 2006, the college was in debt. It still is, and Dobler says addressing that debt has been the primary goal for the last four years.
“And I think that John Holst and the trustees are determined to see that through,” Dobler said. “I’m confident that that will happen. That has to happen before good educational use, or other use, can be made of what remains of the campus and the legacy of S.J.”
Dobler says he’s helping Holst transition into the job, and that he will continue in his role as pastor to the presbytery within the Presbyterian Church. He’ll work with churches between Yakutat and Metlakatla.
In the meantime Holloway says the S.J. board plans to field proposals from groups interested in using the campus, including the Sitka Sound Science Center and members of Sitka’s arts community.
© Copyright 1970, Raven Radio Foundation Inc.
