Eneguess unanimously approved as interim president for Berlin/Laconia college

The N.H. Community Technical College Board of Trustees Thursday

unanimously approved the nomination of Katherine Eneguess as interim

president for the Laconia/Berlin colleges.

Board Chair Claudette Mahar said the board will try and get the nomination

before the Governor and Executive Council next Wednesday for its approval.

Earlier this year, Eneguess stepped down from the Business and Industry

Association of N.H. where she was vice president, specializing in

legislative, regulatory, and government affairs. Education was among her

area of public policy expertise.

Mahar said Eneguess is well known in the state and has been well received by staff and faculty on both campuses.

"She's very capable of doing the job," Mahar said.

Trustee Walter Peterson reported that Eneguess once worked for him as

admission officer at Franklin Pierce College and is a friend of his niece.

"I know her as a person with a vibrant personality, a lot of energy, and a

wealth of knowledge," Peterson said.

Peterson also noted that while Eneguess lives in Jaffrey, she has ties to

the North Country where her family has had a place at Lake Umbagog for

years.

Eneguess said she spent summers at Umbagog as a youth and is currently in

the process of building a home at the lake with her husband. When she was

18, she operated Deer Run North, a canoe and kayak camp in Errol with her

brothers. She continued to operate the camp during the summer months through

1986. She also ran the Androscoggin Canoe and Kayak Club back in the

seventies.

"This is basically home to me," she said, of the Androscoggin Valley.

Eneguess said she knew the NHCTC system was seeking an interim president for Laconia/Berlin and when several people suggested she consider seeking the position, she was interested. Eneguess noted she has a background in organizational development.

Eneguess said she is aware of the tension that exists between the two

campuses over the firing of the former president but expressed confidence

the differences can be bridged.

"The whole motion of moving forward together is very accomplishable," she

said.

If her appointment is approved, Eneguess said her first priority will be to

complete the accreditation process underway. She said she is very familiar

with the process, having served on the New England Association of Schools

and Colleges accreditation committee.

Another goal would be to expand the various partnerships the college has

forged. Eneguesssaid she sees a lot of opportunities for the college.

While her nomination is for interim president, Eneguess said she is

interested in applying for the permanent position.

That the bad feeling created by the firing of former President Karen Grosz

still lingers at Berlin was demonstrated yesterday. Mary Elizabeth Klechot,

who has been a persistent critic of the board's handling of Grosz' firing,

addressed the board at the end of the meeting.

She welcomed Eneguess and said the Committee for the Advancement of Higher Education in the North Country, which Klechot chairs, looks forward to

working with the interim president.

"In addition to welcoming you, we want to extend our fervent hope that this

Board of Trustees treats you better than they treated the last president of

the college," Klechot said.

Klechot later called on trustee chair Mahar to resign, saying Mahar and

trustees Dan Degesse and Carl Linblade had promised back in mid-July to

push the issue of separating the two campuses and going back to individual

presidents. Klechot said there has been no further discussion of that

promise.

Dagesse defended the board's handling of Grosz's firing and charged

Klechot with twisting words and taking statements out of content.

Mahar concluded the exchange by accepting a motion to adjourn the meeting.

"Our board is interested in moving ahead and forward," Mahar said.