Unanimous vote suspends Lisa Rhine; Provost Doug Berry to take her place during indefinite absence

The Yavapai College Governing Board voted unanimously to place President Lisa Rhine, Ph.D., on paid administrative leave effective immediately during its meeting on Tuesday, June 30.

The vote, which happened with no public discussion, came after a two-hour-44-minute executive session discussing the terms of Rhine’s contract with the college’s recently hired attorney, Jon Paladini.

District 4 Representative Patrick Kuykendall also tendered his resignation after the meeting, effective immediately, the college announced in a press release. Kuykendall has been attending all meetings virtually since returning from his three-meeting absence in May.

Kuykendall resigned to accept a position on the Yavapai County Workforce Development Board, Bracety stated in the press release. Kuykendall stepped down early to avoid any potential conflict of interest, since the workforce development board is a subcontractor of the college.

Following the executive session, Rhine, who had been present at the beginning of the meeting, was gone from the room, and there was no discussion or statement on why Rhine was suspended.

The subsequent press release did not specify a reason, although Bracety was quoted saying it would be an “extended leave”; he did not respond to questions about the decision before press time the morning following the meeting.

The board evaluates the president annually. Each evaluation is done in executive session, and is confidential per state law.

Historically, after this evaluation, the president’s five-year contract has been renewed with increased pay. The contact term always begin on July 1. Because the board placed her on administrative leave instead of renewing her contract, the five-year time period was not renewed. Her contract goes through 2030.

In her absence, the board unanimously approved Doug Berry, Ph.D., the school’s provost, to be the “administrator on duty.”

“I will say this, that Dr. Berry, you have the full confidence of the board, there was consensus on that, and you are empowered to do whatever action is necessary during the absence of the president,” board Chairman Steve Bracety said during the meeting.

Contract

Rhine began as president in 2018, and has had several updates and amendments in the past few years.

Additions are mostly compensatory. Her role as president is defined in her contract in only a couple sentences.

“As president, Dr. Rhine will have the responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operations and administration of the college, subject to and in accordance with the direction and policies of the Governing Board, and in compliance with Arizona state law and any other applicable law or policy,” her contract reads. “Dr. Rhine agrees to perform the duties required of her to the best of her ability, in a diligent, trustworthy, businesslike, and efficient manner. Dr. Rhine will abide by all laws, as well as the policies, procedures and practices of the college.”

The rest is terms and conditions of employment, termination policy as well as compensation.

Compensation

From 2023 to 2025, her salary has increased $52,390, which equates to just under 14%. In 2025, the president’s contract sets her base pay at $385,866, with up to 5% in performance bonus approved by the Governing Board. It was $333,476 in 2023.

“If no modifications to Dr. Rhine’s base salary is agreed upon, the agreement will continue under the same terms and conditions as otherwise set forth in this agreement,” the document reads. “The college may not reduce Dr. Rhine’s salary below the initial base salary amount set forth in this Paragraph 6(a) without her written consent.”

In addition to this pay, she is also given $16,500 for business expenses. If she does not spend the entirety of this money, the rest is treated as compensation. Travel expenses for Rhine also come directly out of the college’s budget, and do not count toward this additional compensation.

Coconino Community College’s President Eric A. Heiser, Ph.D., began his tenure Jan. 1, 2023. His contract states a base compensation of $265,000.

According to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Data Feedback Report in 2024, Yavapai College had a total 12-month enrollment of about 9,300 students and Coconino College had a total enrollment of about 4,300 students.

“In addition to the annual salary set forth herein, the President shall receive 10% of his base salary as deferred compensation on July 1, 2025,” Heiser’s most recent amendment to his contract states as of June 29. “The president will provide the account information to Human Resources for processing. For FY26 the amount to be deposited is $26,500.”

In 2023, Rhine’s contract stated 15 business days of paid vacation leave. In 2025, that was increased to 25.

“The board voted to provide Dr. Rhine with 10 additional business days of vacation for a total of 25 business days because it believed that Dr. Rhine previously was entitled to 15 business days of vacation,” the 2025 amendment reads. “However, she actually was entitled to 16 business days of vacation, and paragraph 6.f of the Employment Agreement was not previously modified to indicate the additional business day of vacation leave to which she was entitled.”

Termination

The board has not announced whether there’s an investigation or if there’s a plan to terminate Rhine as president.

Rhine’s contract states that if the board does not intend to renew her employment, it must give her a one-year written notice prior to the contract’s expiration. Otherwise, termination can be decided under four “good causes.”

“Failure to perform in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement or material breach of any provision of the Agreement,” is the first, followed by, “Unprofessional conduct, including but not limited to conduct that would violate the law and/or a college policy dealing with inappropriate conduct in the workplace, including harassment of any kind; failure or refusal to follow an official directive or policy of the Governing Board; or poor performance, as determined by the application in good faith of meaningful standards and the evaluation process described above.”

If the board chooses to terminate Rhine, she is entitled to separation pay, per her contract, which is 50% of the total amount of base salary that would have been paid to her for the remainder of her contract term.

Rhine was one of three finalists for president of Trinidad State College, a community college with two campuses in Colorado, and visited the college to interview there on April 15 and 16, but she was not hired.