Officials have yet to form a search committee for a new Cape Fear Community College president, and there's still no indication of when exactly they will do so.

CFCC Board of Trustees Chairman Mat White said Thursday, "We are going to form a committee in the future, and we'll go from there."

He said he did not have a specific timeline for the formation of that committee, but that it will be "sometime in the near future."

The board addressed the topic of a presidential search at its meeting Jan. 25, nearly three months after the resignation of CFCC's former president, Amanda Lee, was announced.

On Jan. 26, CFCC spokeswoman Rachel Nadeau wrote in an email, "It was announced in the Board of Trustees meeting last evening that a committee is being formed to start evaluating the steps forward with presidential selection." 

Lee started as president of CFCC on June 26, 2015, and her resignation was effective Dec. 31.  

Jim Morton, who was appointed acting president as of Oct. 27, became interim president Jan. 1, with a salary of $210,000. In his previous position as executive vice president, his salary was $176,016, and Morton was initially employed by the school in 2015. As president, Lee's salary was $226,992, and she received three months' severance, $56,748, upon her resignation, according to the school.

The advertisement that was used in the 2015 presidential search said required qualifications included an earned doctorate degree from an accredited institution and a minimum of four years of senior level community college administrative experience.

Asked whether the committee that will be set up sometime in the future will address presidential qualifications, White said, "As far as qualifications are concerned, the qualifications will be whatever the state guidelines are regarding qualifications. That's what the school will do."

Brian Long, spokesman for the N.C. Community College System, said in an email Thursday, according to the system, currently three community colleges in the state are conducting searches for presidents: CFCC, Cleveland and Martin. 

"The board of trustees for each community college has discretion to set the required qualifications for presidential candidates and interim presidents. Once the local board makes its selection (whether for a permanent or interim president), that candidate must be submitted to the State Board of Community Colleges for approval," Long said.

On Jan. 19, the State Board of Community Colleges made its most recent college head approval, OK'ing the selection of William "Bill" Starling as president of Sampson Community College, according to a news release.

Starling will succeed Paul Hutchins, the college's president since 2012, who is scheduled to retire in June, the release stated.

Starling has worked at Sampson for 38 years and currently is the college's vice president of academic affairs and administration. He holds a master's degree from East Carolina University and a doctorate in education from N.C. State University.