Updated Nov. 10, 5:52 p.m.

An alumnus has made it to the final round of deliberations in a bid to become president of Cape Cod Community College.

John Cox is one of three candidates seeking to replace retiring 14-year President Kathleen Schatzberg at the two-year institution in Massachusetts. Schatzberg is set to leave the college in June 2012.

Cox serves as vice president of finance, operations and government relations at Harford Community College, in Bel Air, Md. Before that, he acted as budget director for Harford County Public Schools.

He holds a bachelor of arts in criminal justice, a master’s in public administration and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from GW – a progression he said “really helped propel me in getting prepared to meet the final qualifications to run for the presidency.”

Michael Gross, director of college communications at Cape Cod Community College, said the school is in the process of arranging on-campus interviews for the candidates and will send a delegation to each candidate’s institution in the coming weeks.

The three contenders are scheduled to be presented to the college’s Board of Trustees for review in early December. The final step in the process of selecting a president is approval from the Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education.

With the state’s open process, Cox said “you feel like the world’s going to know that you applied.”

Even though he said he doesn’t have a good feel for the competition, Cox does have an awareness of what the college is looking for.

“There are no secrets,” he said. “You take a deep breath as you go into it.”