Following a report published by The Arab American News in its previous issue detailing administrative violations in the search process for a new president of Henry Ford College, the Dearborn Board of Education sought during a special meeting held Monday to correct some procedural irregularities and address three violations of the Michigan Open Meetings Act (OMA).

However, the board largely sidestepped broader concerns about potential violations of the state’s Open Meetings Act, ignoring significant legal risks that could expose the entire process to court challenges from any member of the public. Such challenges could potentially force the search process back to square one, even if a new president has already been appointed for the Dearborn-based community college.

In what appeared to be a corrective step, the board voted during the meeting to appoint Leslie Herrick, a pick of Trustee Mary Petlichkoff, as a member of the community on the search committee, a seven-member group appointed by the seven members of the Board of Education, one representative chosen by each trustee. The community members are part of the larger 24-member Presidential Advisory Search Committee.

The move to appoint Herrick was widely viewed as an attempt to retroactively legitimize her participation in the advisory search committee after she had joined it in violation of both the Open Meetings Act and the board’s internal rules. Petlichkoff had previously appointed three different community representatives before selecting Herrick.

On November 17, the board adopted a rule governing representation on the advisory committee, requiring each trustee to appoint only one representative, with the expectation that the representative attend all the search committee meetings and be subject to removal if they failed to do so.

The board reinforced that policy on December 15, adopting a second resolution prohibiting the replacement of representatives who withdraw or are unable to attend meetings. The measure was intended to preserve continuity and ensure equal participation among all trustees.

Because of that rule, two trustees were unable to replace their representatives when those individuals were forced to miss advisory committee meetings due to unavoidable circumstances.

In contrast, Petlichkoff replaced her representative several times outside the framework of open meetings, ultimately selecting Herrick.

Herrick herself was absent from the advisory committee meetings held on February 20 and 21, when the committee narrowed the candidate pool for the Henry Ford College presidency from 10 candidates to five finalists.

Ultimately, the expanded advisory committee voted to advance five candidates to the final stage despite a significant representation gap. Four of the seven community members on the search committee were absent, including Hussein Hashim, Laila Dakroub, Anthony Guerriero and Herrick.

The absence effectively undermined the committee’s intended community representation, weakening its role in shaping the final recommendations for the presidential search.

The final list of candidates includes:

• Henry Ford College Interim President Dr. Lori M. Gonko

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Operating Officer David Knezek

• Henry Ford College Vice President for Advancement Dr. A. Reginald Best

• Johnson County Community College (Kansas) Chief Academic Officer and Provost Dr. L. Michael (Mickey) McCloud

• Normandale Community College (Minnesota) Interim President Dr. Pakou Yang

It should be noted that The Arab American News mistakenly listed Dr. Anthony Perry, a faculty member at the college, among the recommended finalists in its previous report. The newspaper is issuing this correction.

On Monday, the Board of Education approved the five candidates by a 6–1 vote, paving the way for interviews to be conducted later this month, where each of the finalists will participate in public, on-campus interviews the weeks of March 23 and 30, with a final vote to select the new president expected during the first week of April.

Trustee Amer Zahr cast the lone dissenting vote, citing concerns about a lack of transparency in the selection process.

In addition, the board voted again on the process allowing members to review recorded interviews with the 10 initial candidates, as well as the timeline for completing that review, a step that effectively corrected two more violations related to the Open Meetings Act.

During an earlier meeting, the board had approved recording the interviews so that all members could review them, particularly because the board’s direct representation on the advisory committee was limited to a three-member subcommittee consisting of:

• Board President Jamal Aljahmi

• Trustee Pat D’Ambrosio

• Trustee Mary Petlichkoff

Under the newly adopted measure, all board members will be able to watch the interviews in the presence of representatives from Henry Ford College’s Human Resources Department, within a timeframe extending until the end of the selection process.

Meanwhile, legal concerns regarding possible violations of the Open Meetings Act remain unresolved.

Legal experts told The Arab American News that the advisory committee’s actions could still be challenged under a precedent established by the Michigan Supreme Court in the 2024 case Pinebrook Warren LLC v. City of Warren.

That ruling clarified the legal definition of a “public body” and reinforced its obligations to comply with transparency and public oversight requirements under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.