The recent administration shifts at Fort Scott Community College have not been easy.
FSCC President Dr. Jason Kegler was put on paid administrative leave on May 20 and Sara Sutton was promoted to interim president. No reason was given by the college trustees for putting Kegler on leave.
To view a prior story:
FSCC Will Name Interim President: Dr. Kegler Placed on Administrative Leave
Sutton was selected by the FSCC Board of Trustees to be the interim president, on May 23.
At that same meeting, the trustees resolved to suspend men’s golf and women’s golf, e-sports, and flag football and will honor those student scholarships for the 2024-25 school year, they announced.
Sutton began duties as the new interim president on May 24.
Sutton has been an instructor at the college since 2018, then promoted to vice president in February 2024.
Sutton earned an Associate of Science degree from Fort Scott Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Kansas State University, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Pittsburg State University, and was appointed as the FSCC Vice President of Career and Technical Education and Workforce Development in February 2024. Sutton was to begin her official duties in the role on July 1, 2024, according to the college website.
Her duties have now shifted to leadership of the community college.
“This transition has had its challenges to navigate,” she said. “The change in leadership on Friday, May 24th not only brought about my Interim role but also a new athletic director.”
Liza Erwin is the newly appointed FSCC Athletic Director.
“With the board’s decision to suspend the three sports programs, the new athletic director had to properly inform the National Junior College Athletic Association of the changes and then gain access to the Letter of Intent (LOI) system,” she said. “That did not take place until early in the following week. Then, it was a series of approvals with all LOI’s released by Saturday, June 1st from FSCC.”
“The Athletic Director was in contact with coaches and personally contacted each student,” Sutton said. “While we wish this process was faster on our end, we were at the mercy of the challenges of the transition of a new Athletic Director and Interim President all in the same time frame. We tried our best to complete the release in a timely manner so students could move forward.”
“All students who were impacted by these changes have been given the opportunity to be on scholarship next school year,” she said. “Those who have paid any fees for the 2024-2025 school year and wish to not attend FSCC will be refunded.
“This decision was not taken lightly and the educational future of those impacted is important to Fort Scott Community College,” Sutton said.