Interim NIC president holds candidate forums

Nearly four months into its search for a new president, North Idaho College on Tuesday hosted what officials hope will be the last candidate forums.

The search took an unexpected turn in May after one of two finalists dropped out after visiting campus.

Interim NIC President Priscilla Bell, one of four candidates originally named a semifinalist by the NIC Board of Trustees, was named a finalist after Ronald Kraft, a businessman and educator from Western Washington, rescinded his candidacy.

Bell is up against Leah Bornstein, 42, the chief executive officer of Colorado Mountain College’s Summit Campus and a finalist for the presidency of Coconino Community College in northern Arizona.

Bell, 57, has been at the college since late February, when Michael Burke resigned as president to take over leadership of San Jose City College. She accepted the interim presidency about four months after leaving Highline Community College near Seattle in what media outlets described as a firing but she calls simply a decision by the board to exercise a buy-out clause in her contract. She served six years as the college’s president.

Bell held two open forums Tuesday, just as Bornstein held two in one day when she visited three weeks ago. NIC’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet in executive session June 20 to discuss the search.

If neither Bell nor Bornstein is selected, the search will start over.

Bell opened the forums with a presentation on her background, then fielded questions. An audience of roughly 75 at the morning forum asked about her leadership style, her plans for the college and her views on internal happenings on campus and collaborative decision-making.

Some questions reflected the tumultuous times on campus.

Faculty and staff have long been disgruntled with things like low salaries and the leadership dynamics of the administration, and the past two years saw three top administrators leave. First-year Vice President for Instruction Barbara Hanson recently resigned following a no-confidence vote from faculty, and a decision earlier this year to refund a course fee paid by a student who was upset over an English instructor’s comments about Republicans. That decision angered some faculty and grabbed attention on the Internet.

“We’ve gone through some difficult times this year; there’s no glazing over that,” Bell said. “We haven’t really done ourselves any great favors in terms of public image.”

Bell said the college is at a point where faculty, staff and administrators need to work on coming together, “so that each one of us is acting as an ambassador.” Doing so would help with other priorities, such as community relations and long-term planning.

One question addressed Bell’s status as the board’s third choice and asked what she’ll change about her leadership style to ensure the college doesn’t get stuck with a “second-tier candidate.”

“I move fast; I think fast; my mind moves very quick, and sometimes it’s difficult for me to step back and say, ‘OK, time to listen,’ ” Bell said, adding that she needs others to tell her when she’s moving too fast.

Another question asked about her past job at Highline and the reason she left.

“It was time for a change,” she said. An official statement from the Seattle-area community college cited “philosophical differences” between the board and Bell.

She didn’t elaborate, but said the board wanted to make changes with which she didn’t agree.

“I felt like the board felt like I did what I needed to do, and it was time for a change,” she said.

Ruth Windhover, chairwoman of Highline’s faculty assembly, said in a phone interview that faculty and staff at the college were “very surprised” by Bell’s departure and that no one has explained why she left.

She said Bell was well-liked at the college.

“Priscilla and the faculty always had very good relationship,” Windhover said. “She worked very hard with maintaining a productive relationship with outside entities such as the state Legislature and the businesses community.”

Phil Corlis, a photography instructor at NIC for 25 years, said he attended the forum because the college president can impact campus culture and affect all faculty and students.

“It has the potential to shape attitudes and activities on campus,” he said. “The process is always challenging and difficult.”

Said English instructor Jeanne Emerson, “The leader of the college is the visible person in the community. It’s very important that we get the right person.”