North Idaho College’s board of trustees voted 3-2 in September 2021 to terminate President Rick MacLennan, a decision that would trigger years of institutional turmoil and threaten the college’s accreditation.
The firing came just weeks after the board voted along the same 3-2 lines to rescind a campus mask mandate that MacLennan had implemented. The decisions reflected deep divisions on the board between a conservative majority and two dissenting trustees.
MacLennan subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the college. Meanwhile, four area human rights organizations submitted complaints of civil rights violations at NIC to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the college’s accrediting body. The complaints set in motion an investigation that would have far-reaching consequences for the institution.