Northwest College President Stefani Hicswa announced Tuesday she will be leaving to become the new chancellor of Montana State University Billings. She has been the president of NWC since 2013. 

“I will miss the extraordinary faculty, staff and students at Northwest College,” Hicswa said in a statement from NWC. “We accomplished some amazing things together in the last seven and a half years.” 

Her resignation takes effect Friday, Jan. 8, but she will be on leave beginning Wednesday, Nov. 11. At that time, Lisa Watson, vice president of administrative services, will serve as acting president while the board of trustees determines how to move forward with finding Hicswa’s replacement.

“It is truly an honor to serve the college and the board of trustees in this capacity. Even with Dr. Hicswa’s departure, I am confident in Northwest College’s ability to move forward in its endeavors,” Watson said.

Watson was hired at NWC in 2014. She previously held the same vice president position at Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana, where she had served under Hicswa, who was president of MCC.

“Over the past 10 years — six at NWC — as a vice president and CFO, I have worked diligently to develop a solid understanding of campus operations, budgets, student services and academic needs,” Watson said.

Dusty Spomer, NWC Board of Trustees president, said the route the board will take — including whether they’ll look for candidates internally or externally — won’t be known until the board meets on Nov. 9. Should the board decide to conduct a full, nationwide search, Spomer said it could possibly be spring or summer before the college has a new president.

“It’s certainly going to be a daunting task, and it’s going to take some time,” he said.

Spomer said he couldn’t speak for the board, but whatever route they take, they’ll be “proactive” and “methodical” in their approach to find “the right leadership, whatever that might look like.”

While NWC has struggled with declining enrollments that most colleges across the country are facing, under Hicswa’s leadership, NWC achieved the highest retention rate of all post-secondary institutions in Wyoming and the highest completion rate in the history of the college. It also received one of the best accreditation reports in NWC’s history.

“Dr. Hicswa and her family have been tremendous contributors to not only the college but the community as a whole,” Spomer said. “They will be greatly missed. Northwest College will do well to replace President Hicswa with someone of her caliber and with her passion for students and the community college mission.”

Hicswa holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. A first-generation college student, she earned her master’s in adult, community and higher education from Montana State University and a bachelor’s in organizational communication from the University of Montana.

Hicswa has assumed state and national leadership roles, including membership on the Higher Education Research and Development Institute National Advisory Board. In 2018, she was appointed by then Gov. Matt Mead to co-chair the Wyoming Educational Attainment Executive Council. Gov. Mark Gordon appointed her to serve on the Wyoming’s Tomorrow Task Force in 2019.

She was recognized by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society in 2018 with the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction, Phi Theta Kappa’s most prestigious award for college presidents. 

Currently, she serves as a board member for Forward Cody, Powell Economic Partnership and Chamber of Commerce.

(Kevin Killough contributed reporting.)