NIC president forums gathering feedback

North Idaho College affiliates and the general public have two more opportunities today to engage in the presidential search process.

The Pauly Group, the search firm working with the NIC board of trustees to find the next president, is hosting forums today from noon to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m.

The forums will be held at the Edminister Student Union Building in the Driftwood Bay room at NIC’s main campus in Coeur d’Alene.

Tuesday, Angela Provart, president of The Pauly Group, addressed attendees' concerns and questions on the process.

NIC student Mark Tetzlaff said he would like to see a candidate selected who has a proven record of leadership.

“It’s like the president sets the atmosphere for the whole college,” Tetzlaff said. “Part of that would be a commitment to the mission, which is giving everyone in this community that enrolls in this college the best possible education, and then a commitment to people.”

Tetzlaff said having a president committed to the mission and well-being of the staff, faculty and students is especially important because the college is in a country and community where there is a lot of political polarization.

“We need someone who’s committed to the mission and committed to people over and above political affiliation or ideology,” Tetzlaff said.

NIC staff member Tami Haft said the president should have community college experience as their mission is different from that of a four-year university. She said it's also important that the candidate has demonstrated community engagement.

Provart said about half of the search committee, which includes a citizens group as well as representatives from the college’s constituent groups, have been identified so far.

She said the hope is to have the first kickoff presidential search committee meeting in mid-March, wrapping up in mid-April.

Sometime during the last two weeks of April is when she expects eight to 10 final candidates will be chosen and scheduled for their first round of interviews in mid-May.

From there, Provart said the committee will probably narrow the selection down to three or four final candidates who will come to the college and meet with various groups. Trustees would then select the new president, likely in early June.

Provart said she has a little concern about timing. She said the best time to recruit is during the beginning of a semester, whether fall or spring.

“That just means we’re going to have to be really diligent in a couple of different things, making sure that we have that quality applicant pool to start with,” she said. “We certainly don’t want leftovers.”

Joe Jacoby, NIC professor of theater, said he'd like to see the normal minimum qualifications for a candidate restored so they can get the best possible president.

At the October board meeting, trustees voted to remove the requirement of a minimum of five years of experience in higher education administration/senior leadership from the job description for an interim president.

“I think we also need somebody who has a lot of experience dealing with accreditation bodies, with state and federal regulations and obligations, knowing what it is that we have to be accomplishing,” Jacoby said.

Provart said she likes to keep the minimum qualifications a little open so non-traditional candidates apply. However, she said requirements for the permanent president are a little more stringent than the job requirements were for interim president.

Provart said that while the process has moved slowly because of trustee disagreements, she will not push the search committee to make decisions if there's not a good applicant pool.

“We’ll figure out what our next steps will be at that point, but my goal is not to get just anybody in that seat,” Provart said. “I’d rather delay it than have somebody who is not right for the position.”