WVC Extends Contract of Long Running President While Nationwide Search for Replacement Continues

Wenatchee Valley College is delaying the retirement date for President Jim Richardson while it continues to look for his replacement.

The school is using an outside consulting firm (Academic Search, Inc.) to conduct a nationwide search, after being told by staff about the needs of its diverse student body.

Richardson's contract now runs through the end of the year, after he originally announced he'd be leaving at the end of June. The Board of Trustees finalized the move at its Tuesday meeting.

The extension means an interim president will not be needed to take over for Richardson, who is WVC's longest serving president with 17 years in the role.

Richardson will retire before the end of the year if a replacement is put in place before then.

Meanwhile, WVC's newest Board of Trustees member has two meetings in the books.

Phylicia Hancock Lewis of Omak was appointed to a five-year term last month by Gov. Jay Inslee.

She was a nurse practitioner with Confluence Health for 25 years until her retirement in December, and remains on the faculty of the University Of Washington School Of Nursing.

Hancock's husband is T. Lewis, who is the cartoonist behind the “Over the Hedge” comic strip and movie of the same name from DreamWorks.