Our Team

Jean Floten

Ms. Jean Floten’s five-decade higher education career and her impact at every institution employing her molded her into the innovative, forward-thinking senior consultant she is today.

Ms. Floten worked primarily in the community college sector in Washington State, where she served as the President of Bellevue College for 22 years. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Portland State University in Oregon. Before accepting her first administrative position, Ms. Floten taught speech and communication skills and coached forensics at Mt. Hood Community College and her alma mater, Portland State. Ms. Floten held several administrative posts, including Executive Dean for Educational Services and Dean of Students, for 15 years at Edmonds Community College. In addition, she was the founding Chancellor of Western Governors University (Washington) for five years before joining Academic Search as a senior consultant in August 2018.

Ms. Floten has the unique ability to help an institution’s executive staff identify, reach for, and attain aspirational goals. While President of Bellevue College, Ms. Floten enhanced the college’s academic portfolio with programs that provided students with high-wage careers after graduation and the community with a skilled and highly educated workforce, especially in advanced technology and medical-related occupations. Ms. Floten led the state charge to offer community college bachelor’s degrees in fields serving Washington’s thriving industries. Under Ms. Floten’s guidance, Bellevue College became nationally recognized as an academic hub in booming fields, including cybersecurity, sonography, radiation and imaging sciences, biotechnology, nuclear medicine, software development, computer science, and more. Also, while Ms. Floten was President, Bellevue College became home to the National Science Foundation’s first Centers of Excellence in Information Technology and Biotechnology.

As a senior consultant, Ms. Floten calls upon her knowledge of and professional network in higher education to guide her throughout her searches. She cares about the success of each institution, working diligently with the institution and its search committee to fully understand the college or university’s culture, mission, aspirations, and every detail of the position she is helping to fill. Once she grasps these crucial elements, she scours her extensive network to find the precise candidates who can best serve and thrive in the role.

Although Ms. Floten has an affinity for community colleges, she has led searches at all types of institutions in various administrative and executive positions. She especially enjoys the responsibility of a demanding search, including presidential searches, and is confident in her ability to coalesce multiple groups around a common pursuit. She feels immense pride and satisfaction when she has successfully helped committees and institutions find and hire exemplary candidates.