Illinois Valley Community College Board of Trustees met Thursday, Jan. 12.
Here are the minutes as provided by Illinois Valley Community College:
January 12, 2017 Minutes of Regular Meeting
The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.
Members Physically Present:
Melissa M. Olivero, Chair
Michael C. Driscoll, Vice Chair
Larry D. Huffman, Secretary
Jane E. Goetz
David O. Mallery (telephonically)
Everett J. Solon
Sarah J. Tipton, Student Trustee
Members Absent:
Laurie A. Bonucci
Others Physically Present:
Jerry Corcoran, President
Cheryl Roelfsema, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Deborah Anderson, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Bonnie Campbell, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Mark Grzybowski, Associate Vice President for Student Services
Glenna Jones, Director of Human Resources
Walt Zukowski, Attorney
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
It was moved by Mr. Solon and seconded by Dr. Huffman to approve the agenda, as presented. Motion passed by voice vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following statement was read to the Board of Trustees of Community College District 513 by president of Local 1810 of the Illinois Federation of Teachers:
Recognizing that the state-level financial crisis threatens imminent and dire effects upon our college, the Executive Board of IFT Local 1810, representing the faculty and counselors at Illinois Valley Community College, urges our administrators and Board of Trustees to think very carefully about how the college will survive this crisis. Throughout the state’s budget impasse, the college has maintained its high level of dedication to student success, but now that the few remaining options being considered include cuts to programs and personnel, the union insists upon transparency and forthrightness from our board and administrators as they contemplate cost-saving measures. The number of faculty already has decreased through retirement and attrition, and we fear any further cuts may endanger what has been a quality, affordable higher education for the students of our district. As the budget is being prepared, we hope that everything will be considered and that there are no “sacred cows.” If, as we are told, drastic measures are necessary to stave off a huge budget shortfall, and since the choice of what to cut and what to continue funding reflects the college’s values, the faculty are ready and waiting for a sincere invitation from the administration and the Board to help explore creative emergency measures to get the college through these extremely challenging times—measures that will value the contribution of IVCC’s dedicated faculty members and support the college’s core mission of teaching and learning.
CONSENT AGENDA
It was moved by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Ms. Goetz to approve the consent agenda, as presented with the revisions on the December 8, 2016 board meeting minutes. Motion passed by voice vote.
The following items were approved in the consent agenda:
Approval of Minutes – November 29, 2016 Board Planning Committee and December 8, 2016 Board Meeting
Approval of Bills - $1,298,113.15
Education Fund - $892,897.80; Operations & Maintenance Fund - $75,875.38; Operations & Maintenance (Restricted Fund) - $54,170.14; Auxiliary Fund - $175,213.22; Restricted Fund - $12,642.87; Audit Fund - $750.00; and Liability, Protection & Settlement Fund - $86,563.74
Personnel
Approved the stipends for pay periods ending November 26, 2016; December 10, 2016; and December 24, 2016
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Dr. Corcoran reported Athletic Director Cory Tomasson is happy to report that the overall Athletic Program GPA for fall 2016 was a very impressive 3.08. Coaches Jason Goode, Chris Herman, Jim Lukosus, Tim Cottingim, Julie Milota, Tom Ptak, Ed Young, Cory Tomasson, and Erin Polte were commended for a job well done. It’s clear that the College’s student athletes are indeed, students first. Dr. Corcoran thanked Trustees Olivero and Huffman for attending the staff holiday luncheon on December 21and interacting with faculty and staff. The employees sincerely appreciated the Board’s recognition of their hard work. Dr. Corcoran hoped the Board enjoyed the program, especially the music provided by the Black Students Association. Tomorrow Dr. Corcoran is going to make it a point to attend the retirement reception in honor of Rex Conger at Perry Memorial Hospital. Rex has been a huge supporter of the college for many years. He was a leader in making sure that in-district hospitals showed their support for IVCC’s Nursing program by helping to cover some of the costs for a Nursing Instructor position, so that the College could hire the best candidates possible and ensure that the quality of the program remains intact. Dr. Corcoran noted La Salle County Sherriff Tom Templeton is retiring from his part-time teaching position at the end of the spring semester. Dr. Corcoran has known and admired Sheriff Templeton for a long time and he was sure that he was speaking for others in thanking him for his willingness to share his knowledge with the students and elevate the reputation of the criminal justice program, while playing a role in keeping the campus safe for 25 years. At the bottom of the Sherriff’s letterhead is the phrase “Progress through Professionalism” which pretty well sums up how he approaches every initiative he undertakes.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
None.
STAFF APPOINTMENT – JULIE HOGUE, DIRECTOR OF NURSING
It was moved by Mr. Solon and seconded by Dr. Huffman to approve the appointment of Julie Hogue as the Director of Nursing for Health Professions at an annualized salary of $70,500, effective January 12, 2017. Motion passed by voice vote.
FACULTY RESIGNATION – DR. ABHIJEET BHATTACHARYA, ECONOMICSINSTRUCTOR
It was moved by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Ms. Tipton to accept with deep regret the resignation of Dr. Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Economics Instructor, effective December 31, 2017. Dr. Huffman noted that he is always sorry when good people leave and Dr. Bhattacharya did a good job of representing the College very well. Dr. Huffman had the privilege of hearing Dr. Bhattacharya present at an event and economics is not always easy to understand, but he made it so with the people in the room. Motion passed by voice vote.
BID REQUEST – CULTURAL CENTRE RENOVATION
It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Mr. Solon to authorize the administration to seek bids for the Cultural Centre Renovation project at a total estimated cost of $396,623. Motion passed by voice vote.
BOARD POLICIES (second reading)
It was moved by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Mr. Solon to approve all the new and revised board policies except for the Alcoholic Beverages Sales Policy 6.17. Motion passed by voice vote.
It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Mr. Solon to approve the Alcoholic Beverages Sales Policy 6.17. Mr. Mallery reinforced his concerns from last month’s board meeting that the Foundation and the College are two different entities. While they serve the same people, they should be kept separate. Mr. Mallery believes the Alcoholic Beverages Sales policy would be a lot easier with no alcohol on campus. Dr. Huffman has thought about this policy and believes approval of this would lead to Continuing Education running classes with alcohol on campus with an educational nature. The policy is primarily for a social nature. The only way the College can be free of all risk is to do nothing and Dr. Huffman does not believe doing nothing is the right thing to do. Motion passed by voice vote with Mr. Mallery opposing the motion.
TRUSTEE COMMENT
In looking at the financial report, Mr. Mallery noted the Adult Education received more money from the state this year than from the previous year. He also noted there was a $210,000 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Grant. He wanted to know what the College intended to do with it. Cheryl Roelfsema reported the funds from the CTE Grant are unrestricted for educational purposes. She noted it is a grant received each year but was not received in FY2016. The College still has a large shortfall of revenue from the state. The $210,000 will help, but the College still has a shortfall of over $800,000.
Ms. Goetz noted the number of graduates and the number of degrees and certificates earned in the fall of 2016 were greater than the number of fall graduates in 2015. She also wanted to personally thank Chery Roelfsema for donating scholarships to the College Foundation in her father and sister’s names.
CLOSED SESSION
It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Mr. Solon to convene a closed session at 6:50 p.m. to discuss 1) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body; 2) litigation; and 3) closed session minutes. Motion passed by voice vote.
After a short break, the Board entered closed session at 6:58 p.m. On a motion by Mr. Solon and seconded by Dr. Huffman, the regular meeting resumed at 7:42 p.m. Motion passed by voice vote.
CLOSED SESSION MINUTES
It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Ms. Goetz to approve and retain the closed session minutes of the December 8, 2016 Closed Session Meeting. Motion passed by voice vote.
OTHER
None.
ADJOURNMENT
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