Meyer to leave NIC board

COEUR d’ALENE — Judy Meyer is resigning from North Idaho College’s Board of Trustees not even halfway through her four-year term.

But no, there’s nothing scandalous here. No terminal illness or sexual harassment scuttlebutt.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about because things have been going so well at the college,” Meyer told The Press Thursday after submitting a letter announcing her resignation during Wednesday night’s trustee meeting. “My resignation date isn’t effective until the end of January, so the board has lots of time... to find someone to continue the good work.”

Meyer said that to understand the timing of her resignation now, you have to go back to 2016 with the hiring of NIC President Rick MacLennan from Garrett College in Maryland.

“We had a new president who had just come on,” Meyer said of the autumn 2016 trustee election. “I had gone back to visit [MacLennan’s] campus and done interviews there. I felt a sense of responsibility in representing the college and recruiting him that I wanted to be with him for at least a year to welcome him into the community.”

It’s not like Meyer is leaving right after getting started, either.

She served on the NIC board from 1990 to 1994, when she was appointed by Gov. Cecil Andrus to the State Board of Education. Meyer was elected president of the State Board of Education in 1998. After that term was completed, she came back to NIC for more — lots more. She’s now in her fifth term on the board. That’s a grand total of 27 years fulfilling the mission of higher education in Idaho, with 22 years serving NIC.

In her letter of resignation, Meyer said:

“It is with sadness and gladness that I submit my resignation from the North Idaho College Board of Trustees effective January 31, 2018. Sadness because I have enjoyed my service to NIC and the community and I will miss all the relationships at the college. I am proud how NIC has grown over the years to serve North Idaho. Glad because the college is on a good trajectory with sound leadership. And, glad because my personal time commitment to higher ed governance since 1990 will be reduced and I will get a part of my life back.

“Outstanding and dedicated people at NIC are the core of the college. I thank the Board, the students, the administration and the faculty for their commitment to make NIC such a special place.”

She closed with a Sufi blessing that she said sums up her philosophy:

From you I receive

To you I give

Together we share

By this we live

Judy and Steve Meyer bestowed a bountiful blessing themselves in 2005, when they donated $1 million to the college. NIC named the Meyer Health and Sciences Building after the family.

“Judy has given her heart and soul to NIC. Her dedication and love for the college can never truly be replaced,” MacLennan said in a press release Thursday. “Judy’s forward thinking, compassion and insight have influenced every aspect of North Idaho College. She has been a driving force in guiding us to where we are today.”

Board Chair Christie Wood said the college will soon seek applications from trustee candidates in Meyer’s district. Applicants will be interviewed publicly before a successor is chosen to fulfill Meyer’s term — not that it will be easy for NIC, the community or the board to actually replace her.

“Judy has devoted decades to public education,” said Wood, who has served 13 years on the board with Meyer. “The effort she put in across the state; she never wanted it to be just North Idaho. She was very connected all over the region and was an advocate for the college continually at the state level.”

On a personal level, Wood said Meyer set a shining example.

“She’s a strong female role model,” Wood said. “She always will be gracious. Even when she disagrees with someone, she’s very dignified, very respectful, but she still states her position very clearly.

“She’s just an ideal public servant and I’ve learned a lot from her. I adore her.”