The president of a 3,000-student community college in Kansas will be Black Hawk College's next leader.

Members of the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees unanimously voted during their regular meeting Thursday night to hire Richard Underbakke as the school's president. The 52-year-old currently holds the top position at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan., although he spent a majority of his 19-year career at community colleges in Iowa.

Underbakke's background in business and agriculture, as well as other administrative experience, made him the most attractive candidate, said Steven Ballard, board chair. Also, he has a history in growing enrollment, securing federal and state grant funds and raising money.

Underbakke starts his new job Jan. 4 and will replace Gene Gardner, who has served as the college's interim president since August 2008.

"We were looking for someone who could take Black Hawk College to the next level - someone who could recognize the needs of our community, put forth the board's values and continue on to service our

community," Ballard said. "Dr. Underbakke's background takes care of our needs. He has a good understanding (of them)."

The decision puts to end a 10-month search that netted 19 applicants from across the country. Underbakke was one of three finalists - one of which was an internal candidate - for the position. The board interviewed the three last April, before deciding to suspend the search because of an anticipated turnover in board members during this year's election, Ballard said.

Once the new board members took their seats, the board chose to bring Underbakke back for a third interview, which took place earlier this week, he said.

The board hopes to reach a contract settlement with Underbakke within the next two weeks, Ballard said.

"Black Hawk has a reputation of being a good college," Underbakke said. "When I saw the position come up it was a nice way to expand on what I'm doing and, hopefully, move Black Hawk forward."

Prior to his position in Kansas, Underbakke was the chief academic officer at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville. He also worked at Des Moines Area Community College and Northeast Community College in Calmer, Iowa.

He holds a doctorate in organization and management.

"It was not an easy process; believe me," Ballard said. "It's a very intense process, but we had a good search committee that did a good job narrowing down the applicants."

Black Hawk College has 6,200 students between its two campuses in Moline and Kewanee, Ill.