After serving as the Northern Marianas College’s interim president for the past three years, Frankie Eliptico will resume his role as vice president of Advancement and Administration, as NMC’s new president, Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero, begins his term today, July 1.
Eliptico, who ended his tenure as interim president yesterday, June 30, is excited for the future of the college and looks forward to working closely with Deleon Guerrero and the rest of NMC’s staff.
“There are many wonderful things coming down the pipeline for the college, and I’m excited to be supporting Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero in his new role here at NMC [and] also working with everyone else at the college, said Eliptico in an interview yesterday.
As vice president for Administration and Advancement, Eliptico will oversee current facilities, the building of new facilities, and current and future workforce programs. Additionally, he will be in charge of advancement, marketing, and fundraising for the college.
The NMC Board of Regents earlier offered the position of NMC president to Eliptico, but he chose not to pursue the position at this time. When asked why, Eliptico said he currently wants to prioritize expanding NMC’s campus and seeing the construction of new facilities. Eliptico, however, is not totally closing the door to the possibility of applying for the role of NMC president in the future.
“I believe [being NMC president] will probably be part of my life in the future…but at this point, I’d like to focus my efforts and energy on really expanding the college’s facilities and building the many wonderful buildings we have secured grants for. …It has been a privilege of a lifetime to work with an amazing team here at NMC. I thank the Board of Regents, the Legislature, the governor, and everybody else who has supported my interim presidency for the last three years,” he said.
Eliptico was appointed interim president in August 2018, and has been the college’s leader through the devastation to the campus caused by Super Typhoon Yutu and the unforeseen challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Eliptico’s leadership, the college was able to secure $80 million in grants for new infrastructure and was able to maintain strong enrollment numbers despite the pandemic.
The NMC president before Eliptico was Dr. Carmen Fernandez, who had resigned from her post. Before Fernandez, NMC had Dr. Sharon Hart.