The Bakersfield College presidential search committee held closed-door interviews with candidates for the position of campus president Thursday and Friday in what administration officials called a “highly confidential process.”

The next step, committee members say, is to make recommendations to district officials, who will ultimately make the decision.

“After those two days of interviews, recommendations will go to the chancellor and board of directors,” said Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, a committee member and dean of student learning.

Heitzeberg declined to give the names of the candidates or even the number of applicants, citing confidentiality issues.

Another committee member, Greg Chamberlain, said the committee has been working hard to make sure the process is smooth and a decision is reached in a timely manner.

“We have a very good screening committee… we have faculty, community members and even students,” he said. “I think we will identify some truly strong candidates.”

Students seemed largely unaware of the process, and many said they felt it didn’t matter who the president of the campus would be.

“When it was time to vote for a student president, I didn’t care and I think students would care even less about it at the administration level,” said Misty Bownds, 22, a business student.

Kyle Gallemore, 19, and architecture student also said he believed most students either didn’t care or lacked information.

“I don’t think most of us really care, but I guess it depends on how involved students are,” he said. “I mean, it does affect us, but teachers don’t really tell us much about what’s going on behind the scenes on this campus.”

Students, faculty and community members who are interested in participating in the process will be able to attend open forums “some time in March, when the [district] board of directors interviews the candidates,” according to Gomez-Heitzeberg.

“I would encourage students to attend those sessions,” she said.

Chamberlain also said he hoped students would participate. “The president of any institution can set the tone, and he will affect the campus climate.”

Chamberlain said the number of candidates should be narrowed down to “two to four” by the time the forums take place, and he anticipated a new president would be selected by the beginning of next school year.

“The committee’s intention is to have the new president start on July 1,” he said.