By Mohamed Adan, The Central Circuit special to CHS

Seattle Central College president Paul Killpatrick has said he will step down, effective June 25th.

Killpatrick made the announcement in an April 2nd email to staff and faculty. In it, he wrote, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this incredible institution, and I can honestly say my tenure here has been the high point of my 36-year career in higher education.“

In the email, Killpatrick characterized his departure as a voluntary “retirement” but Jill Wakefield, the chancellor of the Seattle College District, said it was time to “transition to new leadership” at the Capitol Hill school.

“After reviewing Paul’s achievements, surveying the challenges ahead, and considering Paul’s own timeline, I decided, and Paul agreed, that it was time to transition to new leadership and to not extend his contract,” Wakefield said about the decision.

Killpatrick assumed leadership of Seattle Central in August of 2010, after having been selected through a national search process. He holds a doctorate in postsecondary education from Oregon State University and was previously president of Lake Tahoe Community College in California.

Killpatrick’s first two years in office were unusually contentious, with budget disputes taking center stage. Only two weeks into the job, Killpatrick was informed the college would need to cut between 4 to 7% of its budget due to shortfalls in state funding.

While some college presidents — especially newly appointed ones — might have moved cautiously in these circumstances, Killpatrick was bold.

Within a year, he forced out several longtime administrators and terminated four programs, among them the regionally acclaimed Film/Video Communications program. (Other cut programs were: Interpreting for the Deaf, Apparel Design, and Publishing Arts)

Killpatrick said these actions were necessary to save the college money during tough economic times but many students and faculty objected to the way the cutbacks were executed. Killpatrick faced particularly strong backlash from supporters of the film program who said the administration ignored a proposal that would have preserved the program at no cost to the college.

Killpatrick also weathered controversy surrounding an age discrimination lawsuit brought by a Seattle Central administrator in her 70s who alleged she was forced out of the position she held for 39 years because of her age. In summer 2013, a jury found that the termination was not discrimination. Nevertheless, the trial was damaging to Killpatrick’s standing. During the proceedings, it was revealed that his handling of the budget cuts had displeased people close to Wakefield, and Killpatrick admitted under oath to having made false statements to the presidential hiring committee that brought him to Seattle Central.

Despite his bruising start, Killpatrick has gone on to lead Seattle Central during a time of great change. Under his leadership, the college made online education a priority and has welcomed increasing numbers of international students to campus. Killpatrick himself traveled to Vietnam last year in a bid to build partnerships and attract more students. The college has also rolled out new four-year degree programs in Applied Health and Nursing, and has moved to acquire space in the PacMed building on Beacon Hill.

In his email, Killpatrick said he was “tremendously proud” of these accomplishments, and thanked faculty and staff for helping to bring them about.

In an April 8th email message to personnel across the district, Wakefield praised Killpatrick’s leadership, saying that she admired his “unwavering support and commitment to students, faculty, and staff”. She also praised him for starting a program to help veterans transition to civilian life and for serving on boards with local community organizations.

Wakefield said that she would work with Killpatrick to fill vacant vice president positions before his term concludes. Currently the college is searching for candidates for the following positions: Vice President of Instruction, Vice President of Student Services, and Vice President of Administrative Services.

Wakefield also said she would appoint an interim president by July 1st. A national search for a permanent president is slated to commence next fall.

This article originally appeared in The Central Circuit student magazine. It has been edited for length and content for this post.