DR. DAN TERHUNE Citing an interest in new challenges, Spartanburg Community College President Dr. Dan Terhune will leave his post at the college in October.

Terhune, 61, announced his decision to step down Tuesday during a campus wide meeting on the main campus in Spartanburg. He became president in 1996 and played an instrumental role in last year's successful opening of the college's Cherokee County branch campus.

More than 500 students are attending general education classes on the 62- acre campus site off I-85 and Highway 11 near the Peachoid. The campus consists of an academic classroom building, a Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation shop and a business training center.

"I have been doing this a long time. This job requires a lot of time and energy," Terhune said in an interview from his office Thursday. "I am leaving this fall because it feels like a good opportunity to try other things."

The Spartanburg Community College president said he has no immediate plans for the future.

The college is expected to appoint a search committee soon, which will spend the next several months looking for Terhune's replacement.

Terhune will remain through October to help with the transition to a new president.

He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto in 2008 for his lifetime achievement and service to the state of South Carolina.

Since 1996, Terhune secured more than $32 million for new buildings, $20 million for new equipment and $10 million for capital projects from the state to help Spartanburg Community College expand its education mission.

In 2008, Spartanburg Community College partnered with Duke Energy to develop a two-year associate degree in industrial technology with a major in radiation protection technology.

"Our partnership with Duke Energy is unique to Cherokee County and has helped give the campus its own identity. This is the only program like it anywhere," Terhune said.