Evergreen board gets faculty input, enrollment update as it finalizes interim president
The Evergreen State College’s Board of Trustees made its nominations for new leadership a reality on Thursday when the board approved the hiring of its interim president and executive vice president.
Interim President John Carmichael, the college’s former vice president of finance and operations, will earn $305,400 per year for two years, or until a new permanent president is selected, Chairwoman Karen Fraser announced at the meeting.
Executive Vice President Dexter Gordon, previously a professor at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, will make $250,000 a year. Carmichael starts July 1.
The last day for current president George Bridges is June 30, and he addressed the board during the meeting.
“I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve in this role, for the support you provided senior leadership and me throughout my tenure as president, and for the time, energy and treasure each of you has invested in the college,” he said.
Evergreen decided to name an interim president and executive vice president after the three finalists for president —Michael Dumont, Catherine Kodat and Lee Lambert — withdrew their names from consideration last month, following online interviews with students, faculty, staff and alumni.
At Thursday’s regular board meeting, the board heard reports from a number of sources, including a faculty representative to the board.
In his comments to the board, faculty representative Paul Przybylowicz shed light on why the presidential finalists withdrew.
“The interview process included experiences that caused the candidates to withdraw,” he said. He offered two solutions, one technical, the other cultural.
On the technical side, he said “Candidates not seeing the chat” might help, referring to the comments submitted during online Zoom meetings.
He added, “Collectively we could commit to better behavior.”
The biggest thing to address in the next year is a change to the college’s culture, he said.
“We must heal, unite and improve our culture before we attempt this search again,” he said. “If we can’t improve the culture, how can we expect a different outcome the next time around?”
The board also received an update on college enrollment from Chief Enrollment Officer Eric Pedersen, which revealed a mixed bag of data.
An applicant snapshot showed gains in its graduate degree programs, but overall enrollment was largely unchanged from fall 2020 at about 2,030 students.
Projections for fall 2021 undergraduates were more encouraging, Pedersen said. Based on application trends, and those students expressing a commitment to attend next year, the college is projecting 100 more undergraduate students in the fall.
At the same time, registration of current students has slowed, he said.
“It was a good year, but they are tired,” Pedersen said.
This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 5:45 AM with the headline "Evergreen board gets faculty input, enrollment update as it finalizes interim president."
