After a politically dramatic summer, Renton Technical College’s new interim president Steve Hanson plans to move the college forward.

“People want to support the college. I want to be a part of that process,” he said.

Hanson brings about 36 years of experience and a tool kit of administrative expertise, valued skills for a Board of Trustees trying to develop an operating procedure.

The drama began when the board fired former president Don Bressler Aug. 11 without giving a reason. An outraged trustee threatened to quit. And Randy Corman, a member of the Renton City Council, discovered another trustee wasn’t eligible for his position.

After confronting board members Sept. 17 at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, community leaders are still frustrated and confused by the decision.

“People are still angry and people are still upset. You can’t discount that,” Hanson said. “A lot of it involves being able to connect with people and listen.”

Meanwhile, campus life is returning to normal and classes are full, with about 9,000 students enrolled.

Two weeks in, the walls in Hanson’s corner office were blank and a portrait of the president was missing from the hallway. He’s been too busy to settle in.

He’ll make $150,000 for his roughly nine months of work.

Hanson spends time each day exploring the large campus.

The board doesn’t plan to discuss goals or define expectations with Hanson until Tuesday and it hasn’t met with him since his Sept. 8 hiring. However, it’s openly encouraging him to connect with the community as much as possible, said trustee chair Ronnie Behnke.

“Obviously they want the president out in the community,” Hanson said.

This comes with some surprise, as the board questioned whether Bressler’s heavy community involvement was time well spent.

“We currently haven’t set that standard yet,” Behnke said of a future president’s community involvement.

Hanson’s experience with board governance was a big plus for the board, which hopes to have policies set in place within a year, Behnke said.

“This is something that is a big priority for, I think, everyone on the board,” said board member Tyler Page, who didn’t take part in the controversial 3-1 vote to oust Bressler, after a serious injury left him hospitalized.

“It (board governance) defines expectations and rules, and that’s something we really need to have,” Behnke said.

In a walk around campus, Hanson spouted out numbers and facts about the students and classes. With his contract ending June 30, 2010, he’s taking a crash course on Renton and readying himself for the year.

“The college has an excellent reputation in the system,” he said.

Getting his start at Spokane Community College as a psychology instructor, Hanson returned as the college’s president, retiring in 2007.

Spokane is similar to Renton in its heavy emphasis on work-related education.

He worked his way through the ranks in the community college system, becoming a division chair at Big Bend Community College in 1976.

“It was just really a natural progression,” he said.

In 1982 he accepted position as dean at Edmonds Community College.

“The college went through rapid rapid growth,” he said, adding that it was exciting. “I liked being a dean, because I liked working with faculty.”

At Edmonds he became the executive vice president of instruction in 1999, and in 2003 he accepted the president position in Spokane.

The position came during a rough patch in the school’s administrative history, Hanson said. “They had gone through a lot of turnover.”

He retired in Lynnwood with his wife Melanie Tait, a third-grade teacher in the Edmonds School District. They have three children, all grown.

“He had just a wonderful presence about himself that really clicked with everybody, not just the board but the executive cabinet,” Behnke said.

The board received Hanson’s resume, along with others, from the Governor’s

Office, which keeps a list of retired presidents interested in interim positions.

He considers himself a master gardener. Hanson spends most of his free time volunteering. He tutored math students last fall and winter.

“It was a blast,” he said. “Working with young people is a lot of fun.”

Before accepting the position, he helped plan the implementation of a six-year, multimillion-dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce family homelessness in Snohomish County.

Starting work on the project in April, he continued to provide assistance with the project through the end of September.

For Hanson, it’s all about serving and helping people.

“I just like being apart of the community college. It’s an environment I really enjoy,” he said.