By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
CHADRON – Chadron State College has announced four finalists for the Vice President for Academic Affairs position. Dr. Jim Powell, who has been the college’s top academic officer since 2020, announced his retirement in November 2023.
The four VPAA finalists to replace Powell are Dr. Theresa Billiot, Dr. Kent Buchanan, Dr. Matthew Redinger, and Dr. Kimberly Paddock-O’Reilly. Each finalist will conduct on-campus interviews with the search committee, meet with President Patterson and the President’s Cabinet, and have discussions with faculty, staff, and student representatives during separate forums this month.
Billiott will interview Tuesday, while Buchanan will interview Thursday. Redinger and Paddock-O’Reilly will interview later in April.
Billiott is currently the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma. Billiott has been in that position since 2022. Prior to joining Panhandle State, Billiott taught marketing and served as chair and assistant dean at Woodbury University in Burbank, California, for three years. She was also a tenured associate professor of marketing at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, for seven years and an assistant professor of marketing at Fort Hays State for two years.
Outside of higher education, Billiott was a solution manager for Clear Channel Radio and iHeart Media, as well as a new business development executive for the Florida Panthers. Billiott’s bachelor’s degree is in mass communications from Nicholls State University. She has a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Arts degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Florida Atlantic University. She received her Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a Cognate in Marketing from Texas Tech University.
Buchanan most recently served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Adams State University from 2020 to 2023. Before working at Adams State, Buhchanan was at Oklahoma City University for 13 years and had a variety of positions. He was the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for four years, an Assistant Provost and Professor of Biology, and Department Chair while still teaching and advising students. He also worked at Tulane University’s Health Science Center where he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and the Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Buchanan also taught and conducted research at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
All three of his degrees were earned in the state of Oklahoma. He has a bachelor’s and a master’s in microbiology from the University of Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Redinger is currently the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana. Before joining the administrative ranks at Providence, Redinger was at Montana State University-Billings for 22 years. He left Billings as the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, a position he had for six years. Also at Billings, Redinger taught in the Department of History for nearly 20 years, serving as Chair and becoming a tenured professor. Redinger also taught history at North Carolina A&T and Bennett College.
Redinger, who is scheduled to interview at CSC April 23, earned both his bachelor’s and master’s in history from the University of Montana. His Ph.D. in history is from the University of Washington.
Paddock-O’Reilly is currently an executive coach at KPL Coaching, a firm she co-founded. Prior to her personal business, Paddock-O’Reilly worked at Logan University in Chesterfield, Missouri, for eight years. She was the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor, and finally Provost and Professor. Prior to Logan University, Paddock-O’Reilly was the Dean of Online Education and the Associate Vice President for New Programs at Salem University from 2012-14. Paddock-O’Reilly also worked at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri, for seven years. She was the Dean and Associate Professor for the College of Health Sciences, a Vice Dean and Associate Professor, and an Associate Dean. Paddock-O’Reilly was responsible for training and hiring new faculty as the Associate Dean at ITT Technical Institute in Carmel, Indiana, and she was also the Academic Success Coordinator.
Paddock-O’Reilly, who will interview at CSC April 25, has five degrees. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University, a Master of Social Work from Indiana University School of Social Work, an MBA from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, and a Master of Science degree in marriage and family studies from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Her Doctor of Health Education is from A.T. Still University.