MHCC District board poised to extend contract of interim president for one year

The district board seemed intent on extending interim president Michael Hay’s contract for another two years at Wednesday’s board meeting, an extension Hay himself said he would beto the board.
Brian Freeman was the speaker on the presidential recruitment report, and spoke of his and his fellow board members satisfaction with Hay’s performance thus far and said they would pursue an extension of Hays contract for an additional two years, whereas currently his contract was to run for only a year.
The board initially spoke about the possibility of extending Hay’s contract at the board retreat on Sept. 17, when Rob Monroe, a board member and state senator, suggested that they take up Hay’s offer to maintain the interim presidency for the next two years and the board subsequently discussed the pros and cons of keeping Hay as interim president for the extended period.
At the retreat, six of the seven board members agreed with prolonging Hay’s interim presidency, with only Bob Coen not supporting the move, saying he needs more information before making a decision. Nonetheless, at the board meeting Wednesday, Coen seemed more supportive of the extension.
Board member Dave Shields at the retreat said that the college should delay a formal search for a year to maintain school stability.
School stability in general seemed to be one of the main reasons felt that keeping Hay as a temporary president would be in the best interest for the college.
“Having him remain for two years, with his consent, would be good for the college,” said Freeman on Wednesday.
“We are confident in the presidents ability to lead the college,” he said.
Freeman also said that the board feels comfortable enough having Hay as the president that they don’t feel pressured to look for an immediate replacement.
Freeman said that the chairman will sit down with Hay to consider the changes needed to extend the contract to two years.
With an extension, the board is given more time to establish a criteria that can be used to decide upon a permanent replacement said Freeman.
Hay himself has said recently in an interview that he would be willing to accept a permanent position as president if he were elected.
During the board meeting, Hay presented goals which included enrollment growth and facilitating student degree completion and striving towards a balanced budget.
Several of the board members called the goals very ambitious, but were pleased by his progressive attitude.
Freeman added that at this time the school is in a transition stage, with three new board members and new president, and that it would not reflect poorly on Hay if he did not reach two or three of his goals.