NIC should keep its leader at the helm

Happy fifth anniversary, President Rick MacLennan.

Will there be a sixth?

Next week, North Idaho College’s Board of Trustees is expected to discuss — dare we say, determine? — MacLennan’s immediate future with the institution. Reaching his fifth year with NIC has been more challenging for him over the last six months than it was for the previous four and a half years, when he racked up positive job evaluations and praise that far outweighed criticism.

In the five years under MacLennan’s leadership, NIC has been a star on the labor front. Despite the declining enrollment that greets most places of higher ed in a strong economy, North Idaho College has made great gains with its emphasis on entrepreneurial programs.

Though he didn’t start it, NIC’s Parker Technical Educational Center out on the Rathdrum Prairie has been a godsend with MacLennan at the helm, training local students for important and high-paying jobs in the trades and industry throughout the region.

And we believe we can speak for Kootenai Health and other medical providers in declaring that NIC’s nursing program, one of the very best of its kind and always in high demand, helped carry our community admirably through the treacherous rapids of pandemic.

What MacLennan lacks in political luster or bluster, he more than makes up for with a quiet, cerebral and practical approach to the problems of the day. If you think that would make him an ideal fit for a board of trustees that values character and quality over charisma, you’d be right — but only to a degree.

Last fall, voters chose two newcomers to the board, men who defeated longtime and respected educators, including former NIC President Joe Dunlap. The newcomers, who ran on bringing strong conservative principles to local higher education, joined a stalwart conservative, Todd Banducci, who serves as the trustees’ chair.

Almost to the day, the election marked a steep decline in the relationship between president and board — or at least, president and board chair.

On Jan. 18 of this year, MacLennan gave voice to his concerns. In an email to board members and NIC attorney Marc Lyons, an email that was acquired by this newspaper through a public records request, MacLennan cited examples of what he considered inexcusable and untenable acts and tendencies by Banducci. Micromanaging the operational head of the institution was just one of MacLennan’s complaints. He felt Banducci wanted him gone.

MacLennan knew what he was doing.

“By communicating my concerns about Mr. Banducci's behavior, I am aware that a door is being opened that cannot be easily closed,” MacLennan wrote.

The hope here is that for the good of the college and for the community, next week begins the successful sixth year of MacLennan’s leadership at North Idaho College, that any conflicts between the president and board chair can be put on hold until they're healthily resolved, and that the previously consistent direction of the institution can be placed firmly back on track.

For the record, former President Dunlap retired after four years at NIC’s helm. His predecessor, Priscilla Bell, called it quits after five years.

North Idaho College has a good president in charge. Trustees should keep it that way.