Southeast Arkansas College Provost Stacy Pfluger will take over as interim president after Steven Bloomberg steps down from the full-time role Feb. 16.
The board of trustees for the Pine Bluff college voted unanimously to elevate Pfluger during Wednesday’s board meeting. Pfluger has been at the college since May 2022, when she was hired as vice president of academic affairs. She was promoted to provost last January.
Pfluger was previously a biology instructor for almost 14 years at Angelina College in east Texas, according to her LinkedIn page. She holds a doctorate from Texas Tech University, a master of science degree from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor of science degree from Angelo State University in west Texas.
Bloomberg announced in December that he would leave SEARK to take over as chancellor of the Kern Community College District in California. He has been the Pine Bluff college’s president since January 2018.
After a nearly 90-minute executive session, the SEARK trustees agreed to hire the Association of Community College Trustees to conduct the presidential search. Board chairwoman Rebecca Pittillo said a competitive bid process was used to identify the now-approved firm.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Pittillo last month said the college plans to hire a full-time president by June.
In other business, SEARK is searching for a coordinator for its new local 100 Families office. The 100 Families program is an initiative of the nonprofit Restore Hope Arkansas that is aimed at helping families move from crisis to career, according to Restore Hope’s website. The nonprofit say the goal is to create an alliance of community partners, train agencies on a collaborative case management system and recruit case managers to respond when a family is in crisis.
SEARK will be reimbursed by Restore Hope through a federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant to operate the local 100 Families office, Bloomberg said.
Trustees also heard that the college had total operating funds and reserves balance of $4,516,402 as of Dec. 31, a decrease of $4,039,023 from that date in 2022. SEARK officials say the college has received 45% of its budgeted $11,764,769 in revenue for the year to date and has spent 54% of that same amount in budgeted expenditures, leaving an excess of $1,001,120 in excess year-to-date revenues collected over current year-to-date expenses.