COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Change is on the horizon for North Idaho College with a switch of key players.
These include filling three of five trustee positions and hiring a permanent president.
Thirty-seven applicants have stepped up to fill in the trustee slots, as reported by our partners, The Coeur d'Alene Press.
The names of those applying are:
NIC Trustee Zone 1:
• Clark Albritton – Coeur d’Alene
• John Austin – Coeur d’Alene
• Chris Baker – Coeur d’Alene
• Spencer Fansler – Coeur d’Alene
• William H. “Hal” Godwin – Coeur d’Alene
• Matthew Irving – Coeur d’Alene
• Robert Nonini – Coeur d’Alene
• Bill D. Richards – Coeur d’Alene
• Marc Stewart – Coeur d’Alene
• Julie Tiger – Coeur d’Alene
• David Wold – Coeur d’Alene
• Jeff Zember – Coeur d’Alene
NIC Trustee Zone 2:
• Joseph Accursio – Cataldo
• Brad Corkill – Cataldo
• Megan Dardis-Kunz – Coeur d’Alene
• John Goedde – Coeur d’Alene
• Michael Gridley – Coeur d’Alene
• Dean Haagenson – Hayden
• Katie Lien – Coeur d’Alene
• Richard Meyer – Harrison
• Mara Thorhaug – Coeur d’Alene
• Elizabeth “Beth” Washabaugh – Athol
• Amber Wheelock – Cataldo
• Rachel Wickham – Coeur d’Alene
NIC Trustee Zone 5:
• Nina Beesley – Rathdrum
• Robert Blansfield – Rathdrum
• Pete Broschet – Hauser
• Ann Hardt – Rathdrum
• Andrew Kemna – Rathdrum
• Dan LaVine – Post Falls
• Geoff Newman – Rathdrum
• Marlon B. “Brad” Patzer – Post Falls
• Tim Plass – Rathdrum
• Kimberly Shaner – Spirit Lake
• Eric Shanley – Rathdrum
• Paul Sturm – Spirt Lake
• Michael Waggoner – Rathdrum
The three selectees will be seated May 6.
The trustee seat for Zone 5 has been empty since January, when former trustee Michael Barnes resigned amid concerns he was a South Dakota resident and not living in his NIC Trustee Zone, a requirement to be eligible to serve on the board.
The two other seats will be vacant May 3 when the resignations of trustees Ken Howard (Zone 2) and Christie Wood (Zone 1) go into effect. Howard and Wood announced their resignations April 8.
Their resignations will leave the board with two members, board Chair Todd Banducci and trustee Greg McKenzie, and unable to function without the minimum of three trustees for a quorum.
The board by law consists of five members. According to Idaho Code, vacancies shall be filled by the State Board of Education if there remain on the board less than a majority of the required number of members.
President Kurt Liebich, Vice President David Hill and Secretary Linda Clark of the SBOE will name an ad-hoc committee that will review applications and name finalists.
The finalists will be interviewed May 5 by the ad-hoc committee on NIC’s main campus. The committee will make recommendations to the full state board, which will convene a special meeting May 6 at NIC to deliberate and select the new trustees.
Mike Keckler, chief communications and legislative affairs officer for the SBOE, said the agency plans for the interviews and the May 6 meeting to be open to the public, who may attend in person or view via livestream. Laura Rumpler, spokesperson for the college, said NIC will accommodate the SBOE as best they can.
NIC is also searching for a permanent president. The president will be selected from a pool of 59 applicants, with the 27-member presidential search committee choosing semifinalists and the NIC board making the final selection.
The presidential search committee, composed of people from the college community and community at large, is anticipated to select eight to 10 semifinalists to be interviewed in mid-May, according to Dr. Angela Provart. Provart is president of the Pauly Group, a national consulting firm facilitating the search.
The finalists will then be invited to NIC in June to meet with college constituent groups, community members and other external stakeholders before the board makes the final selection. Dates have not yet been finalized.
On the morning of April 19, the deadline to apply for the permanent president position, Interim President Michael Sebaaly said he had not yet decided if he would apply for the position. Sebaaly did not respond to a Press request Monday about his decision.
An update on the presidential search will be given at the regular board meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Lake Coeur d’Alene Room in the Student Union Building on the NIC main campus.
The board meeting Wednesday will also be available via Zoom at https://nic.zoom.us/j/84896344752 or by phone: 669-900-6833 Webinar ID: 854 1563 9679.
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