Posted: 2:36 PM- Salt Lake Community College President Cynthia Bioteau has withdrawn her name from consideration for the position of president at Manatee Community College in Bradenton, Fla.
In an interview today, Bioteau said the possibility of a job close to where she and her husband plan to retire was worth the trip to Florida. But by the end of her two-day visit Tuesday for a round of interviews for the president's position at the college near Tampa, she said she and her husband Frank had switched gears.
"I always try to live my life with no regrets," Bioteau said by phone from the Atlanta airport. "I felt it was something I had to explore. Now that we know it's not for us, we're coming back home."
Bioteau, SLCC's president since July 2005, said she could not leave important work at SLCC undone to take a new job. "It became apparent to us both that we still have a lot do to in Salt Lake City, and we're not anywhere near retirement."
Bioteau and her husband own a home in Venice, Fla., where they spend the holidays and go for vacation and one day hope to retire.
Now that her name has been withdrawn from consideration for the president's job, Manatee Community College said in a press release that its board of trustees will examine the four remaining candidates for the position of president. The college is expected to reach a decision by the end of this month.
"Dr. Bioteau certainly is qualified and we were happy to have her as a finalist," board chairman Steve Harner said in the release. "We regret that we will not be able to consider her in our final deliberations, but we wish her continued success at Salt Lake."
Utah State Board of Regents spokeswoman Amanda K. Covington said Tuesday that the board supported Bioteau's decision to consider another post, but that she had already done "a tremendous job" at SLCC. "Obviously we'd like to see her stay," Covington said.