CENTRE — Local attorney Dean Buttram, Jr. was among 11 prominent citizens from across northern Alabama who were named last week to the Gadsden State Community College (GSCC) Presidential Search Committee.

Dr. Renee Culverhouse resigned as president of the two-year college on April 28, citing health reasons.

Buttram, who had not been officially informed of his appointment Thursday afternoon, told The Post he is anxious to meet with his fellow search committee members and begin the search for a new president.

“We want to get someone in place as soon as possible,” Buttram said. “But we want to make sure we spent the appropriate amount of time to find the right person for the job.”

Buttram said he will be looking for someone with excellent management skills and a strong academic foundation who will also be able to work well within the community.

“Gadsden State has been an important part of Cherokee County for decades, especially now with the new campus,” he said. “It is my hope that the new president will have a passion and commitment not just to the main campus, but also to the campus in Centre.”

Buttram was among five members of the selection committee appointed by members of the State Board of Education at a meeting in Montgomery Thursday morning. Other “community leaders” on the committee are Etowah County Probate Judge Bobby Junkins, Gadsden-Etowan County Chamber of Commerce President Tom Quinn, Alabama Power Company Vice President Julia Segars of Anniston, and CITY Skills Training Consortium Director Edward Roscoe Lane.

The committee will be chaired by Dr. Humphrey Lee, President of Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals. Other members of the board were from cities around the state, including Rainbow City, Montgomery, and Ashville.

Huron Valley Steel Vice President Dick Anderson and Postsecondary Education Director of Governmental Relations Anita Richie were also appointed by Chancellor Bradley Byrne. Other members of the search committee are elected representatives Cory Carter, George Terrill, Jr., and Gary Udaka, a welding instructor at Gadsden State.