Thursday, July 14, the North Idaho College board of trustees approved the new president’s contract in a vote 3-2.
Dr. Swayne comes to NIC from Virginia, where he served as Executive Director of 4-Virginia, a collaborative partnership between eight universities.
Dr. Swayne is slated to begin in this position August 1, 2022.
Below is a copy of Dr. Swayne’s contract as approved on July 14th; I have called out a few very interesting portions that make me go “hmmmm.”
I do not have a copy of the previous president, Rick MacLennon’s, contract but I will update the website when it’s available.
Compensation
NIC agrees to pay President an annual base salary of $230,000 for the extent of the contract.
NIC will make an annual retirement contribution of 10% into the President’s supplemental retirement account. The 10% equates to $23,000 per year contributed into the retirement account.
NIC will pay for all temporary housing for the President until he finds something permanent. There is no time or amount limitation other than “at a price and location deemed appropriate by the College.”
Once the President has found permanent housing, NIC has agreed to pay a housing allowance of $2,500 per month for the tenure of the contract.
NIC agrees to pay for all relocation costs associated with moving from Virginia to Idaho. There is no amount limitation other than the phrase “reasonable, actual expenses associated with the President’s move to Idaho.”
Rudimentary math to total the taxpayers payment to the NIC President:
Termination
Due to the nature of how former President Rick MacLennan was terminated, I know a lot of people are going to ask about the Termination clause:
This agreement may be terminated for cause if a Board super-majority (at least 4 trustees) determines:
1.) President failed/refused to act in accordance with a material provision of this contract or any directive/order of the Board;
2.) President has exhibited gross misconduct or dishonesty;
3.) President is or has been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or physical/emotional harm of a person;
4.) President is unable to perform his duties; or
5.) President has acted in bad faith to the detriment of NIC.
This contract passed with a vote of 3-2, the 3 new appointed board members vs. the old 2 elected members. The terms of the newest Board members, David Wold, John Goedde, and Pete Brochet are all set to end in 2022 so the 2022 General November election is going to be very interesting to the makeup of the board and college for the next couple of years.
Take that as a warning. 😉
Here’s the link to the full President contract.