PABLO — Following statewide and national trends of boosted enrollment numbers, Salish Kootenai College welcomed a record-high number of new students this fall. The school also announced this week that four finalists have been selected to succeed founder and current president Joe McDonald beginning in 2010.

More than 200 new student applications were filed, raising the average of 150 by around 75 students, all who filled the Johnny Arlee Theatre to standing room only during the college’s new student registration events last week.

The spike in enrollment will put the total student count above 700, SKC admission and transfer evaluator Jackie Moran said.

“With all the layoffs and everything, we did predict this,” she said. Numerous applications did come from laid-off Plum Creek employees, along with an increased number of transfer students, she said.

The search for a new president has been narrowed down to four local candidates, all of whom are tribal members, SKC board chair Bob Fouty said. Carmen Taylor, Luanna Ross, Kevin Howlett and Vernon Finley, two women and two men, have been notified of their candidacy, Fouty said. All but one currently work on the reservation.

In the coming weeks, the board will further review the applications and begin to set up campus visits. 

“It’s quite a time of change and transition, we’ve got strong candidates. We’re excited about the process, but it’s bittersweet,” Fouty said.  “We’re not replacing Joe, it’s just on of those things. You don’t replace somebody like Joe, but what we are going to do is hire the next president that will continue to move us forward.”

McDonald, who helped found the school and is credited for much of its success, has been school’s president for 32 years. He announced his retirement last spring, allowing for a nearly 15-month long period to search for a successor.

A concrete timeline has not been set for finalizing the appointment, Fouty said, but the board is hoping to have a new president in place by March 2010. So far, they are ahead of schedule, he said.

SKC has also seen some changing trends on degree offerings and choices. 

While the nursing program typically draws the largest number of students, this year chosen fields are “ spread out everywhere,” Moran said.

The college recently added a 2-year business/technology associates degree combining office, business and computer application skills meant to get students jobs immediately upon completion, Office Professional Department head and instructor Nancy Nelson said.

“Our department is up considerable, but I can’t speak for other departments,” Nelson said.

Also new this year is the University of Montana/SKC Endorsement Partnership Project, intended to address shortages of Native American special education teachers and principals in Montana.

SKC Bison basketball teams have been doing conditioning drills during the summer and began tryouts on Monday, women’s head coach Juan Perez said.

The first home games will be held on Oct. 30.