December 2012 Board Report

Construction of Illinois Valley Community College’s 80,000-square-foot Peter Miller Community Technology Center remains on schedule for next fall’s opening, trustees learned Tuesday.

East campus work, including the east addition to the welding/auto shop and construction of the new maintenance building is progressing nicely, IVCC President Jerry Corcoran informed the board.

In the CTC, second floor drywall should be complete by the end of December and painting has begun. Window trim and zinc panel installation is underway, elevator installation starts Jan. 15 and casework installation Jan. 31, Corcoran added.

In other business, April Kutz and Nikki Kulis of Oglesby, Delaney Ridley of La Salle and Emily Santman of Peru, all members of the IVCC women’s tennis team, attended the meeting to thank the board for allowing them to have a season this fall.

Reading from her letter to the board, Kutz said, “As you know, our team did extremely well in our regular season conference play as well as at our regional tournament where many of us took home medals. Throughout the season we grew closer to each other and established a tennis family none of us will ever forget.”

In other business, the board approved:

• Formal adoption of an $11.5 million tax levy that will result in an estimated total tax rate of .3584, an increase of 1.7 percent over 2011. “This is due to a decrease in EAV, not because of a higher tax levy,” said Cheryl Roelfsema, Vice President for Business Services and Finance. A schedule was presented showing the college’s tax rate has decreased by approximately 25 percent over the last 10 years. IVCC will submit the levy to county clerks this week.
• Seeking proposals from information security consultants to help the college comply with regulations and safeguard personally-identifiable information. Total cost for the consultant is not expected to exceed $10,000 and will be paid from the tort liability fund.
• An agreement between the board and the American Federation of Teachers Local 1810 adding the fitness center director position to the union’s bargaining unit.
• Setting its 2013 meetings for 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month.
• Retaining closed session minutes and the destruction of verbatim audiotapes of three 2010 closed session meetings.

The board learned:

• Ian Reddy, a University of Toronto master’s graduate, has been hired as collection development and access librarian.
• Adjunct instructor Andrew Fisher’s book, “Christmas 1588: Beginnings,” volume one of the “Kringle Manuscripts” series, is available on Amazon.com for 99 cents and ready for download to any Kindle.
• Nursing instructor Nora Hamilton has been awarded a Nurse Educator Fellowship worth more than $9,000 by the Illinois Board of Higher Education because of her excellent work and the recommendation of Health Profession’s Dean Bonnie Campbell.
• Last week, AFT Local 1810 elected Mike Phillips president, Rebecca Donna vice president, Cynthia Schultz treasurer, Vince Brolley corresponding secretary, Delores Robinson recording secretary and Renee Prine, Michelle Story, and Jill Urban-Bollis sergeants at arms.