RAYMOND – The presidential search committee of the Hinds Community College Board of Trustees announced on Thursday that Dr. Stephen Vacik has been selected as the next college president, effective July 1, 2020.

Dr. Vacik is currently president of Maysville Community and Technical College in Maysville, Ky. However, he is no stranger to Mississippi. He was chief instructional officer at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba for seven years.

Dr. Clyde Muse has been president of Hinds Community College since July 1, 1978, and is retiring on June 30 after 42 years of service to the college.

“The search committee has worked diligently through a rigorous process to select our next president,” said Paul Breazeale, president of the Hinds Board of Trustees. “We are extremely pleased that Dr. Vacik has chosen to return to Mississippi and assume leadership of Hinds Community College. 

“Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the ability to develop and nurture relationships between the community, business and industry, and the college. We are confident that he will be a tremendous asset to our organization and will be respectful of our long history of success as we move into the future,” Breazeale said.

The college will schedule events in the future for the community to meet Vacik.

“I am humbled and excited to have been selected as the next president of Hinds Community College and thank the Board of Trustees for placing their confidence in me,” Vacik said. “Returning to Mississippi feels like nothing short of a homecoming for Candace and me and we look forward to becoming deeply involved in our communities. 

“Professionally, I cannot wait to work alongside our faculty, staff, administration and board members in adding future chapters to the already voluminous success story of Hinds. Rest assured, I am committed to ensuring that our college will continue to be a leader among all post-secondary institutions in the state and serve as a point of pride for the entire region.”

Prior to his current position, Vacik served as president of Colby Community College in Colby, Kan., from 2011-2015. Before that, he was chief instructional officer at East Mississippi Community College for seven years and spent eight years at Bevill State Community College in Alabama.

At Bevill, he served in a variety of roles, including faculty member, Student Support Services (TRIO) Director, college-wide career-technical administrator and as Fayette Campus CEO, and at the University of Alabama as a full-time staff member in the Gorgas Undergraduate Library. He has served on numerous local, state and national boards and committees.

Vacik earned a doctorate of education in higher education administration, a master of arts in history, and a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.