China Cassidy On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Navajo County Community College Governing Board held a special meeting where Northland Pioneer College (NPC) President Mark Vest gave his resignation after serving as president since 2018 and fulfilling various other positions for the past 20 years. With the majority of the special meeting taking place in an executive session, out of public purview, no details surrounding Vest’s decision were discussed. Following the executive session, board members each took the opportunity to thank President Vest for the time he’s invested and what he’s accomplished for the college. Board Member Elias Jouen expressed his appreciation towards Vest for his time and dedication, especially in the midst of an unexpected pandemic. “Thank you for your 20 plus years of service with the college and Navajo County communities. I believe you have led the college admirably with exemplary leadership. At the onset of this pandemic, you were the first with an action plan to move to online learning at a lightning speed. Your accomplishments are tremendous, at least for the time I’ve been serving as a board member. I know it’s a thankless job, but I personally thank you and wish you all the best.” Board member Derrick Leslie wished Vest well saying, “It saddens me to accept your resignation President Vest. I’m at a loss of words. I have seen you come through a lot, especially, during this pandemic. You, your leadership and the rest of your team, brought us through the accreditation of HLC (Higher Learning Commission). On behalf of my district and the tribe here, I want to thank you for your service, and I wish you all the best moving forward in whatever you decide to pursue.” Acknowledging his awareness that the last few months have seemed stressful for the president, board member Everett Robinson offered, “I worked very closely with Mark over many years and respect his leadership (and) respect what he has done for the students of this college. I could detect that he was under stress during the last couple months but he continued to lead and guide this college. His contributions will be greatly missed but they will be greatly remembered as well. Mark, thank you for your service, it was a pleasure serving with you.” Chairman of the Board Frank Lucero commended Vest for his work, “Mark, I enjoyed all our years working together. I know I bugged you bunch during that time and you’ll probably be happy that I won’t be able to call you anymore. But you’ve done a good job, you’ve done your best, and I think you’ve improved the college by being here and I’m sorry to see you go. But it’s something you wanted so I had to go along with it. Sorry I couldn’t talk you out of it last week. Vest addressed the board to thank them for their consideration during this time. “Board members and Chair Lucero, you did not have to honor this request, and I know that in the short term, this harms the college that you did. So, thank you. You did something that was kind and generous toward me and my family and you didn’t have to do that. To the college I would say this was 100 percent my decision. Each one of the board members tried valiantly to talk me out of this, both initially and later over the weekend. But for my health and family this is something I need to do. I love this place, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I cannot speak highly enough of all of you individually and collectively and I will miss you greatly.” Vest’s last day of employment will be Tuesday, Oct. 27. Vest was placed on paid administrative leave beginning Oct. 13 until his final date of employment. A special meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, where the Leadership Council is expected to have no less than three, but no more than five candidates for the interim president position. The college will be accepting resumes until Friday, Oct. 23. The board also approved a motion to waive the 90-day notice requirement for resignation.
