Pima Community College has chosen a longtime communications administrator with Southwest Gas as the school’s new spokesperson.
Elizabeth “Libby” Howell is due to start work May 4 as PCC’s executive director of media, community and government relations.
The post comes with a $100,000 annual salary.
Howell spent 26 years at the gas company before her position was eliminated in August last year, her job application says.
“Libby’s vast experience as a high-level communications administrator makes her an ideal candidate for the position,” PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert said in an email to college employees announcing the new hire.
Howell takes over at a crucial time in the college's history.
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PCC has been under sanction by its accreditor for mismanagement and lax governance since 2013 and has until next year to demonstrate that remaining problems have been fixed.
Howell has no work experience in the higher education field, according to her PCC job application. She was selected for the post over two other finalists who said they do have experience.
One finalist, Greg Taylor, communications chief at Community Partnership of Southern Arizona, formerly worked for Arizona State University, his PCC application said.
The other, Kenya Johnson, communications director for the Pima County Public Library, spent nine years at public relations firm whose clients included higher education institutions, her application said.
Howell holds a bachelor's degree in English and music from Adams State University in Colorado, and graduated in 1992 from the University of Arizona executive program.
She is accredited in public relations by the Public Relations Society of America and won the organization’s “professional of the year” award last year, her job application said.
Howell is married to Gary Mechler, who has taught astronomy full-time at PCC since 1984.
Howell replaces C.J. Karamargin, who resigned from PCC in January to work as district director for U.S. Rep. Martha McSally.
Elizabeth "Libby" Howell
