However, his successor, Grace Sawyer Jones, has taken a different, much more cautious approach toward the controversial relocation issue.

Jones has held her new position for nearly five months and, still, she declines to say which of the four plans she favors.

On Thursday, during a luncheon she held with local media, she didn't even wait for the question about her stance to be asked.

"I have always said that I would pledge to see closure by the end of the calendar year, instead of adding another voice to the chorus," Jones said to start the meeting.

The Connecticut Community College Board of Trustees is evaluating four different proposals for consolidating the college. It plans to make a decision by the end of December.

One study used for review showed it would cost $70.4 million to consolidate the Mohegan campus, $80 million to move to Brewster Point on Route 12 in Preston and $61.5 million to consolidate at the Thames Valley campus.

Ron Aliano of the Chelsea Community Development Corp. also submitted consolidation plans to the state.

One would cost $111 million and another would meet the state's $62 million budget for the project. Chelsea developers want to move the college to the city's waterfront.

The debate over where the college should consolidate has been a long, draining affair for those involved and has been heated.

For many years, DeVaughn's public opinions about the best location for the college were muted, though he preferred the Preston site.

But in March, DeVaughn called the downtown proposal "prohibitive," sparking an indignant response from state Rep. Jack Malone, D-Norwich.

At the time, Malone, a staunch advocate for the downtown plan, said it was out of turn for DeVaughn to inject his opinion into the process.

Jones said she wants to keep any opinions to herself so she does not disrupt progress.

Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon said Jones arranged a meeting with him recently to discuss consolidation and other issues related to Three Rivers.

But she again offered no opinion.

"She didn't say, 'I think the college should go here or there,'" Congdon said. "She would love to have a decision so she can get on with the business of running the college."