The Northeast Iowa Community College Board of Trustees has named Dave Dahms as its interim president. (Photo courtesy of Northeast Iowa Community College)
Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar has promoted its acting president to interim president after a unanimous vote from the college’s board of trustees.
Vice President of Finance and Administration Dave Dahms was named acting president in October after its former president, Herbert Riedel, was placed on administrative leave.
Dahms will serve in the interim role for no more than two years, according to a news release, receiving a first-year salary of $260,000. He started working at the community college as vice president of finance and administration in 2015.
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Riedel contested his proposed termination by NICC, requesting a private hearing to determine its validity, which was held in March. A judge ruled in May that the college was justified in its actions. Riedel was found to not have improved in building trust with college leaders, staff and other stakeholders, strengthening community relationships and forming a “respectful and diplomatic relationship and reputation among staff and students,” according to a NICC news release in May.
“The grounds asserted for just cause termination included failure to make satisfactory improvement in areas of expectations identified in the evaluation and performance action plan,” the release stated.
Riedel is now appealing the board’s decision to discontinue his contract, which was originally set to end on June 30, 2025. According to court documents filed July 30, Riedel is alleging that the board violated his “substantial rights.” He is asking the court to reverse the board’s decision, order that Riedel be reinstated as president under the terms of his original contract and award him damages for lost wages, benefits and other damages.
According to the court documents, Riedel appealed his proposed termination to the NICC Board of Trustees in mid-June. After holding a private hearing June 27, the board passed a motion in open session to end Riedel’s contract “effective immediately,” and gave Riedel written notice on July 1 that it had adopted the judge’s ruling.
Riedel also filed a suit against the community college in January, alleging it violated open meeting laws in June 2023 when the college board of trustees discussed Riedel’s job performance and employment details during a closed session. NICC denied violating laws, according to court documents.
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