CALDWELL - The Board of Trustees for the College of Idaho in Caldwell has appointed two local business and nonprofit leaders to lead the private college.
Doug Brigham is the former president of TitleOne Corporation, and Jim Everett is former CEO of the Treasure Valley YMCA.
The board finalized their appointments Friday in a unanimous vote.
The selection of co-presidents is unusual. In a news release sent to KTVB on Saturday afternoon, a C of I spokesman says the college's presidential search committee had identified Brigham and Everett as the two top individual candidates, and the committee was "intrigued" when the two candidates re-framed their individual candidacies as a co-presidential team.
Here's how Brigham describes the re-framing: "I said 'well, I've got a crazy idea. I think there's a lot to be done at the college, and the job of a college president is complex. What would you think about doing this together and being co-president?'"
"Almost as soon as he said it, I thought 'wow,'" Everett said on Saturday. "I was flattered and I was honored because I know Doug. I don't think it would work with everybody or every institution."
"It's a very unique structure. We don't believe there is any structure similar to that in the country, but really, we were more focused on getting two people together who could hit the ground running," Brigham said.
After some in-depth discussions and broad consultation, the search committee concluded that the complementary skill sets distinguished Brigham and Everett from the remaining candidates, and the committee unanimously recommended a co-presidency to the trustees.
"We're splitting the salary. We're both going to work full time. We're that passionate about it," Everett said.
Both Brigham and Everett have previously served on the College of Idaho board.
Everett is well known in the Treasure Valley from his 29 years with the YMCA - beginning in 1987, when the Boise branch had 3,000 members and was struggling financially. The Treasure Valley Y now has six facilities and more than 57,000 members.
Everett graduated in 1974 from Albion College in Michigan, where he became the first swimmer inducted into the college's hall of fame. After retiring from the YMCA, he became head coach of the C of I Yotes swim team.
"I have been here, just have fallen in love with this place," Everett said. "There's nothing that fills my cup up more than watching some student find their place in the world and begin to believe in themselves, and I see that happen here."
Brigham graduated from the College of Idaho in 1987, then earned an MBA from Boise State University. He went on to a 20-year career in financial and operational leadership with Washington Group International -- formerly the Morrison Knudsen Corporation, now a division of URS. Brigham worked as corporate treasurer, corporate controller, and senior vice president for operations and maintenance at WGI. He joined TitleOne in 2008 as an employee-owner.
Brigham has taught finance courses at C of I, and served on the board of trustees. He was the board's chairman from 2015 to 2017.
"It's a special place in our lives and in our hearts, and so many other people are passionate about the college as well," Brigham said.
Brigham and Everett will officially take office as co-presidents on April 2.