The North Idaho College Board of Trustees voted in September 2021 to fire President Rick MacLennan without cause, setting off what would become a years-long governance crisis at the Coeur d’Alene community college.

No public reason was given for the dismissal. Trustees had clashed with MacLennan over pandemic-era decisions, including mask mandates on campus. Board member Todd Banducci had described an ongoing conflict with what he called entrenched interests at the college.

Following MacLennan’s departure, the board promoted NIC wrestling coach Michael Sebaaly, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, to serve as interim president. According to MacLennan, the firing prompted an exodus of senior administrators from the institution.

The decision drew immediate community backlash. NIC, founded in 1933, serves approximately 4,000 students and has been a cornerstone educational institution in Kootenai County for nearly nine decades. The board’s action would eventually attract the attention of the college’s accreditor, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.