Board names 3 finalists for top job at The Evergreen State College
The Board of Trustees at The Evergreen State College on Friday nominated three people as finalists to be the next president of the public liberal arts college in Olympia.
One of them is expected to replace current president George Bridges, who announced last year a plan to return to teaching.
All three finalists were unanimously supported by the board on Friday.
The finalists:
▪ Michael Dumont, a recently retired Navy vice admiral and lawyer with experience as a prosecutor and national security leader. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern Maine, a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and master’s degrees in national security studies from the U.S. Army War College and the National War College.
▪ Catherine Kodat, provost and dean of faculty at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, and a former journalist turned academic scholar who has served as faculty, department chair, and dean at several liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. She earned an undergraduate degree in English at the University of Baltimore, and her graduate degrees at Boston University.
▪ Lee Lambert, chancellor of Tucson’s Pima Community College system, is a former president of Shoreline Community College and an Army veteran. He earned his undergraduate degree from Evergreen and a law degree from Seattle University, and went on to serve as special assistant to the president for civil rights and legal affairs at Evergreen.
“We have three capable and talented individuals who would bring great experience, energy and perspective to this vital role,” said Board of Trustees Chairwoman Karen Fraser in a statement.
The board nominated and voted on the finalists after an hours-long executive session on Friday, but did not discuss the finalists in public. Trustee Fred Goldberg turned heads when he made a motion to nominate a finalist, then said, “I nominate Lee Lambert to be the next president,” then corrected himself and said “finalist.”
During the meeting, Fraser reflected on the yearlong process to find the school’s next leader.
The process began with retaining search consultant Karras Consulting of Olympia, who Fraser said had done an “excellent job of guiding us and assisting us through this process.”
Presidential search and advisory committees were formed, a prospectus about the college was created and shared, and then the search process itself began, attracting 166 nominations and recommendations and 63 applications from a diverse group, most of whom were from outside the state, she said.
“We can all feel proud that so many people have such high confidence and enthusiasm for the future of Evergreen,” Fraser said.
Twelve candidates were identified and five were recommended to the board, although ultimately seven candidates were interviewed by the board, she said.
Up next are community forums, which will be held virtually because of the pandemic.
The first is a student- and faculty-focused meeting with the finalists from 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 21. This will be followed by a session hosted by the search advisory committee from 5-8 p.m. the same day. Alumni, Evergreen retirees, emeritus faculty, friends of the college and key stakeholders are invited to attend the later session.
Then college staff will get to meet with the finalists at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday, April 22. For more information about the community forums, check the college’s presidential search web page on the Evergreen website.
After that, the board will review community feedback, deliberate, then Fraser will be asked to negotiate a contract with the finalist, identified in an open meeting, said Susan Harris, executive associate to the president and secretary to the board.
A special meeting of the board is then set for May 5 in which the board is expected to make a motion to offer the position to the finalist. If accepted, the college will have its next president.
This story was originally published April 17, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
