Feb. 15, 2010 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

 

The regular session of the Pratt Community College Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:32 p.m.

Chair Ed Barrett, Michele Hamm, Wendell Howell, Mike Koler and Jenny Larrison attended. Also in attendance were President Dr. William Wojciechowski, Vice President of Instruction Jim Stratford, Vice President of Finance and Operations Kent Adams, Vice President of Students and Enrollment Management Lisa Perez Miller, and Athletic Director Kurt McAfee. The faculty was represented by Rhonda Westerhaus, and the staff was represented by Lora Lobmeyer. The clerk is Jody Jorns. Arriving at 7:08 p.m. was Vice Chair Ken Van Blaricum, and board member Jeff Shumway was unable to attend.

Mr. Howell led the group in the pledge of allegiance.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS

Guests included Don Munday, Director of the Wichita eLearning Service Center; Pam Dietz, Dean of Academic Instruction; Gale Rose of the Pratt Tribune; and students Megan Gardiner (Greensburg) and Brian Rios (Pratt).

Rios manages the women’s basketball and volleyball teams and came to PCC partly to continue working with Women’s Basketball Coach Stephanie Shanline. He plans to become a certified athletic trainer or physical therapist. Gardiner is a sophomore who works with women’s basketball and the baseball team. She cited the need for additional equipment for athletic training efforts and noted the demands on existing equipment will grow with the addition of soccer.

Dr. Wojciechowski noted he has talked with Head Athletic Trainer Jodi Ward and asked her to identify the immediate needs for equipment and space so they can be considered.

Mr. Stratford explained the new orientation process for student athletes, which will take 15 hours (one credit hour) and be completed before the beginning of the second semester.  Mr. McAfee reported that orientation will cover scholarship requirements, rules, expectations, appropriate behavior, housing issues, etc. Academic progress, career counseling and degree requirements also will be covered. Each coach will complete an academic advisor training program in advance, and athletes with two or more academic deficiencies will be assigned to the Student Success Center. Every athlete will have required study sessions through mid-term each semester. If the athletes maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, study sessions will not be required for the remainder of the semester. Substantial penalties will be in place for those who don’t comply. He also said PCC’s coaches are strongly supporting the program, and there’s “great cooperation” between coaches, faculty, advisors and the administration.

Ms. Miller outlined plans for the summer academy, which will be held June 1-3 on campus. This project originated during meetings with the Wichita Hispanic Advisory Committee formed by Dr. Munday at the Wichita eLearning Center. It aims to provide an educational opportunity for diverse students in the Wichita area and PCC’s service area, raise awareness of PCC and increase enrollment. One hour of college credit will be earned for participating, and each attendee will receive a $500 scholarship to attend PCC. The academy will be promoted through high schools, Wichita networks, websites, etc. 

Dr. Munday noted that eLearning Center has been open one year. During that year, space has been expanded and the center gained an outside entrance. The Learning Center is featured on the 360Wichita website (www.360Wichita.com). Traffic at the center has increased significantly and has been used for testing, counseling, recruiting efforts, signings and meetings.

Minutes of the January 25, 2009 Regular Meeting were presented in Exhibit D.

Personnel Actions were presented in Exhibit E. One additional hire was noted – Amanda Keller, Allied Health assistant coordinator and instructor.

Dr. Wojciechowski introduced two bids received for the purchase of PCC’s 1991 Eagle bus. Southwest Truck Sales offered the highest bid of $2,288 and was accepted.

Financial Reports were presented in Exhibit F.

Enrollment Management Report was presented in Exhibit G. Dr. Wojciechowski noted that enrollment has increased 4.9% by the 20^th day certification.

Development/Foundation Report was presented in Exhibit H

Management Information Systems (MIS) Reports were presented in Exhibits I and J.

Other Written Reports were presented in Exhibits K. L, M and N. Dr. Wojciechowski noted that the Technical Education Authority meets Feb. 24, during which Mr. Van Blaricum and Dr. Wojciechowski will brief TEA on the pending litigation regarding funding inequities. He added that if PCC has received equal funding, it would have received an additional $1.4 million just this year. A recent preliminary finding in the case prompted discussions to possibly settle the lawsuit.

Mr. Shumway motioned to approve the consent agenda, and Ms. Hamm seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Finance Committee Rotation: Mr. Van Blaricum will rotate off the finance committee as shown in Exhibit O. Mr. Koler will continue to serve through April, and Ms. Hamm will begin a 6-month term.

Performance Agreement Revisions: The Board reviewed the proposed revisions in Exhibit P, which much be filed with the Kansas Board of Regents by March 1. The current Performance Agreement concludes next year, so PCC will soon begin to set goals for a new 3-year agreement. Ms. Larrison motioned to approve the revisions, and Mr. Howell seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Cooperative Agreement for Electrician Program: Dr. Wojciechowski introduced the proposed Electrical Technology Program, offered through a partnership with Coffeyville Community College. Approval by KBOR and the Higher Learning Commission will be required as well. Mr. Van Blaricum motioned to approve the agreement, and Ms. Hamm seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Bids for Lesh Arena Bleachers: Mr. Adams introduced the two bids received, noting that other companies did not bid the project due to the circular shape of Lesh Arena. The low bidder, Kansas Contract Design, of Wichita, proposed 1,265 seats and can install the seats by the end of November. He also noted that about $180,000 in donations toward the bleachers has been raised, and PCC will soon kick off a seat licensing program to raise additional funds. The remaining expense will be financed for a period of about 5 years. Mr. Howell motioned to approve the Kansas Contract Design bid, and Ms. Larrison seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Unbudgeted Expense to Employ Bilingual Staff Member: Dr. Wojciechowski introduced Exhibit T, distributed at the meeting, to add a bilingual staff/faculty position to address the growing need for Hispanic representation on the staff and for Spanish language instruction. Mr. Howell motioned to approve the position, and Mr. Van Blaricum seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Waiver of Board Policy 3-07: Mr. Adams introduced the requested waiver in Exhibit U, distributed at the meeting, to approve the repairs for glass windows in Chandler Hall. Mr. Howell motioned to approve the waiver, and Ms. Hamm seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

ACCT: The National Legislative Summit was postponed due to a winter storm in Washington, D.C. It has been rescheduled for March 10-12.

KACCT: Mr. Barrett reminded everyone about the PTK honors luncheon on Feb. 18. The KACCT executive committee will meet that morning, and the board meets in the afternoon. Mr. Van Blaricum noted the executive committee will consider the pending technical education funding litigation, but he is likely to encourage the board to delay the topic until its meeting in June when more is known.

Faculty: Ms. Westerhaus announced the Mardi Gras coffee will be held Tuesday, 2-4 p.m., in the library. Feb. 22 will be the Academic Olympics. PCC is expecting more than 900 students from 26 high schools to compete. Also, March 2 will be events for the Executive in Residence, beginning with a Chamber coffee at 10 a.m. The invocation will be at 11 a.m. in Carpenter Auditorium, and the luncheon begins at noon. Mr. Barrett encouraged board members to attend.

Staff: Ms. Lobmeyer noted that the Staff Senate is working on a proposal for continued customer service training, writing a customer service mission statement and creating an incentive program for employees who exhibit superior customer service.

Comments/concerns from the general public: Mr. Rose applauded the PTK/Kappa Beta Delta initiation and the approval of a Spanish-speaking staff member as a “tremendous asset” to PCC.

Closing comments from the President: The Council of Presidents meet this week in Topeka, and Dr. Wojciechowski will meet with Sen. Ruth Teichman while there for the KBOR meeting.

Other comments: Mr. McAfee noted that seven PCC wrestlers qualified for the national tournament, and will leave Thursday for the competition in Des Moines, Iowa.

·         March 22, 2010: Regular Board Meeting in the Riney Student Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

·         April 12, 2010: Regular Board Meeting in the Riney Student Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Ms. Larrison motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Mr. Howell seconded the motion. Motion carried.