Decision to withdraw was not about Evergreen but about ‘where I am today,’ finalist says
One of three finalists to be the next president of The Evergreen State College in Olympia said Friday his decision to withdraw was not about the college.
All three finalists withdrew from consideration shortly after meeting with faculty, students, staff and alumni, the Board of Trustees announced Wednesday.
The Olympian was unable to reach finalists Catherine Kodat and Michael Dumont, but Lee Lambert, who attended and worked for Evergreen and is now chancellor of Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, said Friday his decision to withdraw was less about Evergreen and more about where he is today at the community college.
He said he asked himself, “Do I want to leave the work I am leading here?” He decided the answer was no, that he was unsure if he wanted to take on a new challenge at Evergreen.
He said the college’s search process was well run and professional and that his interactions with faculty and students were respectful.
“It’s more about what’s going on here,” he said about his current role.
Lambert acknowledged that if he had been named president, some “remodeling” would have to take place at Evergreen. Lambert said he “loves Evergreen,” and that the college was a leader in the 20th century, but now it’s time for it to come into the 21st century.
“If you’re not online, you don’t exist,” he said. “We are doing that here. Evergreen is not even there.”
He pointed out the college adapted to the pandemic with online learning and now it needs to continue.
As for all three finalists withdrawing at the same time, Lambert said he, too, was shocked by the news.
“I am hopeful someone will emerge to lead the college,” he said.
Also on Friday, the Board of Trustees voted to approve a process to find an interim president, and the work begins right away, board chairwoman Karen Fraser said.
She was granted the authority to identify candidates, followed by evaluations and interviews. Right now the board is set to meet again on Monday and Wednesday.
“Anybody who submitted a resume is in the pool,” she said, adding that the college received 60-some applications during the presidential search process.
Others might be considered as well. Trustee Melinda Bratsch-Horsager suggested the board look at former college presidents who do interim work.
Although current college president George Bridges, who plans to return to teaching, is preparing to leave at the end of June, there’s still no hard date for the interim hire because of the time needed for interviews and negotiations, Fraser said.
“We want to move expeditiously,” she said.
During the meeting, trustees Bratsch-Horsager and Ed Zuckerman shared some thoughts on the presidential search process.
Bratsch-Horsager said the candidates saw plenty of positives about Evergreen, but not enough about the challenges facing the college. She said those challenges are not necessarily financial or about enrollment, but are “cultural.”
Evergreen’s cultural challenges have decimated the college over the last 20 years and remain “toxic,” she said.
Zuckerman said the finalists did not see a “unified Evergreen.”
“I think we’ve learned there are very distinct, divergent and sometimes sharp differences of opinion about how this college needs to move forward,” he said of the campus, adding that the interim hire needs to bring those thoughts together into one Evergreen.
Zuckerman said if the college isn’t unified, it will be very hard to make that permanent presidential hire.
At the top of the meeting, Chairwoman Fraser reminded the board and those attending the virtual meeting about the school’s strengths.
She praised the undergraduate programs and the graduate programs in teaching, environmental science and public administration.
“Evergreen is a special resource,” she said.
This story was originally published May 8, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
