Everett Community College President David Beyer has received a contract extension intended to keep him at the helm of the two-year institution into 2018.
“We’re very proud to have somebody of David’s caliber here at the college,” said Betty Cobbs, chairwoman of the EvCC Board of Trustees. “We don’t want to lose our president.”
Trustees completed Beyer’s performance evaluation in January, then voted in March to tack a year onto his existing five-year contract, pushing the expiration date to June 30, 2018.
He’ll also get a raise. Under the contract, his salary will rise from $186,664 to $210,000 on July 1, to $225,000 on July 1, 2015 and $240,000 on July 1, 2017.
Beyer, 64, who was hired in 2006, said he was recruited for jobs in California and Arizona last year before he decided to sign a long-term contract with EvCC.
“When you look around, you see other things and other places. This is a good institution,” he said. “You look at the quality of life in Everett and Snohomish County — with the exception of a lack of sunshine — this is a pretty good place.”
One reason he contemplated moving on is the state’s decision to put Washington State University in control of the University Center of North Puget Sound. EvCC manages the consortium today and objected to the transfer of power which must be completed by next summer.
“We pushed back. I wondered if I was the best guy for the transition,” Beyer said. “We want to be supportive of it, and we want to be sure we’re OK at the same time.”
Apparently he is certain, given how hard the trustees worked in the past year to ensure Beyer stuck around.
“We want to have the continuity of leadership for some of the things happening at the college that are pretty challenging,” Cobbs said.
Beyer worked as a consultant for Boise State University in Idaho prior to becoming the 15th president of Everett Community College.
He served as interim president at Wenatchee Valley College and at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash. By contract, he could not be considered to permanently fill those openings.
He also was president at Umpqua Community College in Oregon from 2003 to 2005 and at Flathead Community College in Kalispell, Mont., from 1994 to 2001.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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