Tony Miksa, a community college president from Tennessee, will serve as the next president of Johnson County Community College, beginning in July.
He joins the Overland Park-based college at a time of relative upheaval for higher education in the U.S. as the Trump administration looks to reshape academia and education more broadly.
Earlier this month, the community college announced that Miksa would become its seventh president. His hiring follows a national search that lasted just over a year and culminated in a unanimous decision from the JCCC Board of Trustees on March 13.
He will replace Interim President Judy Korb, who has been filling in as the college’s top administrator since Andy Bowne resigned in early 2024.
In a press release from JCCC, Board Chair Melody Rayl, who led the search committee, described Miksa as “a proven leader,” and underscored the board’s confidence in his “integrity and expertise.”
Miksa has served in community college leadership
- Miksa is currently president of Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee, northeast of Knoxville.
- Before that, he was the vice president of academic and student affairs at McHenry County College in Illinois.
- He has also served in leadership roles at Elgin Community College and Kishwaukee College, both in Illinois.
- Miksa has a doctorate in Education and Community College Leadership from National Louis University in Chicago, as well as a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics.
Trump White House directives affecting JCCC
In early March, JCCC quietly disbanded its diversity and inclusion office, citing the Trump administration’s order to end such efforts or else risk the loss of federal funding.
Korb sent a letter informing staff that JCCC’s Office of Inclusion and Belonging was closed effective March 1.
“Failure to comply could risk federal financial aid funding for our students and this is not an option,” she wrote.
Not long after, the Trump administration signaled a desire to close the U.S. Department of Education altogether.
The president signed an executive action detailing a plan to close the department just last week. The department’s primary function is to ensure educational equality while distributing funds to local and higher education institutions for various programs and initiatives.
Dissolving the agency legally would take an act of Congress, but the focus on the Department of Education creates uncertainty around a number of education programs in the U.S., including federal student loans and special education services.
Bowne led JCCC amid COVID-era enrollment challenges
Bowne took over as the president of JCCC at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting on July 1, 2020. He replaced Joe Sopcich, who retired that year after serving as president for seven years.
Bowne oversaw JCCC during a turbulent time, leading it through the worst portions of the pandemic.
In 2020, JCCC saw its enrollment plummet as the pandemic ramped up. The college’s enrollment has since started to rebound.
For fall 2024, the college approached its 2019 numbers, boasting a 6% growth in returning students, with 5,426 full-time students (down roughly 2% from five years ago) and 13,317 part-time students.
Last spring, Bowne was named the president of Tarrant County College Southeast Campus in Texas, one of the largest colleges in the country with six campuses.
Keep reading: JCCC disbands inclusion office, citing Trump administration’s anti-DEI order
