Five names have been placed on the finalist list of candidates hoping for a chance at the top spot for Jefferson Davis Community College.

A field of more than 50 candidates has been narrowed down this week to the five finalists who will be guests of honor at a reception planned for Oct. 5 on the Brewton campus of JDCC.

Finalists include Dr. Robert Anderson of Herber, Ariz.; Dr. Daniel Bane of Independence, Ark.; Dr. Barbara Bebee of Frostburg, Md.; Dr. Angeline Godwin of Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Dr. Richard Underbakke of East Moline, Ill. Two alternates have also been selected including Dr. Stuart Savin of Lancaster, Penn., and Dr. Marlene Tignor of Cheyenne, Wyo.

A round of interviews by the search committee will follow the Oct. 5 reception planned for the finalists.

Sherry Martin, director of personnel at Jefferson Davis Community College, said the Oct. 6 interviews will narrow the field of hopefuls even further.

“The committee will interview the five finalists and narrow the field to three,” Martin said. “Those three candidates will then be interviewed by the chancellor of the Department of Postsecondary Education.”

Martin said the chancellor will conclude the interviews and make a recommendation for the position during the October board meeting.

“The October meeting of the board is typically the last Thursday of the month,” Martin said. “We are anxious for the announcement of the college’s new president.”

The 11-member search committee that has conducted interviews and background checks for the president’s position has been involved in the hiring process for several months.

Those serving on the committee include Frieda Lowery, an accountant on the Brewton campus; David Quarker, masonry instructor and technical division chair on the Atmore campus; Robert Welling, drafting and design instructor on the Brewton campus; Gary Branch, president of Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette; Dean Argo, director of government relations and communications as appointed by the Department of Postsecondary Education; Dale Ash, vice president of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Atmore; Mike Godwin, an attorney with Otts, Moore, Coale, Godwin and Sterns in Brewton; Rosemary Jernigan, retired of Brewton; Carol Crook, retired of Atmore; and Tim Martin, president of Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority of Atmore.

A search for a new president began last year after then-president Dr. Susan McBride announced her retirement in December 2010. Following her retirement, Kathleen Hall, who serves as the college’s dean of instruction, was named interim president by officials with the Department of Post-secondary Education.