By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE speaker and vice speaker of the House of Representatives have asked the board of regents to expedite the hiring of a new president for Northern Marianas College, saying the absence of a permanent occupant for the position is affecting the overall performance of the institution.
In an interview yesterday, Speaker Oscar M. Babauta, Covenant-Saipan, said almost eight months have passed since the retirement of NMC’s former president.
“We want to see the board expedite the hiring of a president for NMC so we can have stability in the college. With all the problems surrounding NMC, it’s important that a president is in place there,” he told Variety.
Babauta expressed disappointment with the delay in the hiring of a new college president.
During a special meeting on Tuesday, the board announced it will start reviewing the applications of nine other contenders for the post after the regents terminated the review of the two finalists recommended by the presidential search committee.
Vice Speaker Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, said the board should name — “as soon as it can” — a new president.
“NMC needs a president to work on the development plans, the implementation and enforcement of these plans, and address the accreditation recommendations because we’ve been given only two years by the accrediting team and we’re running out of time,” he told Variety.
Early this year, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges placed NMC on probation citing “numerous concerns” with its programs and operations.
“Now that the administration is committed to restoring the budget cuts at the college, NMC has to do its part by istituting stability in its management and leadership,” Quitugua said.
An acting president, he added, “can only do so much…because he has other jobs to perform.”
NMC, he said, “needs the best person, one who can uplift the college from its problems as pointed out by WASC and also improve its image in the community and among students who are attending or who are considering attending NMC.”