March 26, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Physically Present:
David L. Wilcoxson, Board Chair
Dennis N. Thompson, Vice Chair
Lori E. Scroggs, Secretary
David O. Mallery
Thomas C. Setchell
Elizabeth Kunkel, Student Trustee

Members Absent:
Paula J. Endress
Deborah L. Sweeden

Others Physically Present:
Dave Louis, Interim President
Jerry Corcoran, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Bob Marshall, Vice President for Student Services
Walt Zukowski, Attorney

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to approve the agenda as presented. Motion passed by voice vote.

CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to approve the consent agenda as presented. Motion passed by voice vote.

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of Minutes –Board minutes of the February 27, 2008; Special Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2008; March 3, 2008; March 7, 2008; March 10, 2008; and March 12, 2008.

Approval of the Bills - $2,508,634.34

Education Fund - $783,076.23; Operation and Maintenance Fund - $132,229.95; Operation and Maintenance (Restricted Fund) - $119,577.05; Bond & Interest Fund - $1,265,400.00; Auxiliary Fund - $95,245.10; Restricted Fund - $98,388.08; Liability, Protection and Settlement Fund - $14,717.93.

Treasurer’s Report

Personnel

Approved the stipends for the pay period ending February 23, 2008 as presented.

Bid Results – 15-Passenger Shuttle Bus

Accepted the bid from Midwest Transit, Kankakee, Illinois, to lease a 2008 Ford Starcraft for 36-months, at an annual lease payment of $7,835.00

Insurance Renewals

Accepted the recommendation from the insurance consultant to renew all coverage with the same carriers at $290,625.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Louis referred to page 59 in a national publication by the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Science Foundation in which IVCC’s MIMIC (Making Industry Meaningful in College) program was featured. Dr. Louis noted this as an example of the quality that exists at IVCC and complemented the College and staff. Dr. Louis took a few minutes to personally complement those who handled the passing of Steve Charry by providing a room for faculty and staff to gather and reflect on his life and by preparing the memorial service that will take place at the College tomorrow for faculty, staff, students, and friends. This being his last Board meeting, Dr. Louis thanked the faculty, staff, and Board for the opportunity and privilege of serving as interim president for the past nine months. He remarked he has learned a lot and the quality of the staff is tremendous. He stated the College is ready to move forward under the leadership of Jerry Corcoran. The Board has made the right choice. His advice was to let Dr. Corcoran do it, let him go, and you will be surprised where you will end up.

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

Ms. Kunkel introduced Cassie Fuller who is running unopposed for Student Trustee for academic year 2008-2009. Elections will take place on April 3^rd and 4^th. Ms . Kunkel reported the IVCC team for the Polar Plunge raised $2,000 and the event overall raised $50,000 for Special Olympics. The Student Government Association has volunteered to help the Red Cross raise money with their silent auction. Students will be attending Lobby Day in Springfield on April 15 with two main issues – capital funding and general community college funding. The student trustees have sent their safety survey to ICCTA for revisions before being sent out. The report will be presented at their June meeting. The student trustee from Joliet Junior College and Ms. Kunkel presented at the ICCTA Governmental Subcommittee on textbook legislation. IVCC won the ICCB/SAC voter competition by two votes. The IBHE/SAC will be meeting this weekend and will be reintroducing the mental health paper from the Virginia Tech incident and presenting a statement in regard to the NIU tragedy. This was Ms. Kunkel’s last Board meeting as a student trustee and she thanked the Board members for a wonderful year of experiences that she will never forget.

Mr. Wilcoxson and Mr. Mallery attended the March ICCTA meeting. Mr. Wilcoxson spent a great of time on the ICCTA Awards Committee. The topic of dealing with the media was discussed with a reminder to respond to the media quickly. Mr. Wilcoxson received a number of survey results on different topics that he will email to the Board members. Lobby Day is scheduled for April 30 and Ms. Kunkel, Dr. Scroggs, and Mr. Wilcoxson are planning to attend. Mr. Wilcoxson announced that Ms. Kunkel was chosen as the recipient of the ICCTA 2008 Gigi Campbell Student Trustee Excellence Award. This was the first time an IVCC student trustee was selected for this award.

FACULTY RESIGNATION – DR. JEFFREY CARVER, CHEMISTRY INSTRUCTOR

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to accept with regret the resignation of Dr. Jeffrey Carver, Chemistry instructor, effective May 16, 2008. Motion carried by voice vote.

AT&T CONTRACT

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Mr. Thompson to enter into a 36-month agreement with AT&T for the College’s local calls at rates of $.0094 per minute for Band A and $.02304 per minute for Band B. Motion carried by voice vote.

SBDC TRANSFER OF FUNDS

It was moved by Mr. Setchell and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to transfer $5,000 within Fund 06 (Restricted Purposes Fund) from the ICCB Workforce Development Grant to the Small Business Development Center and transfer $5,000 within Fund 06 (Restricted Purposes Fund) from the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center to the Small Business Development Center. Motion carried by voice vote.

TAXING BODIES INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT UPDATE

Cheryl Roelfsema reported the taxing bodies met to discuss the Intergovernmental Agreement to allow the taxing bodies to move forward with negotiations on the EAV of the Exelon plant. Ms. Roelfsema anticipates bringing the agreement to the Board for approval at the April or May Board meeting at which time the agreement will have been shared with legal counsel and approved by the larger taxing bodies.

2008 ICCTA AWARD NOMINEES

It was moved by Dr. Scroggs and seconded by Mr. Setchell to submit the nomination of Mr. Daniel A. Brongel for the 2008 ICCTA Lifelong Learning Award. Mr. Brongel was enrolled full-time at LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College in 1962-63. He then went to work at Sundstrand, a manufacturer of hydrostatic transmissions, as a machine operator and advanced to facility engineer. After Mr. Brongel’s 41-year career at Sundstrand, Sundstrand closed its doors and Mr. Brongel enrolled in the computer aided design/computer aided engineering program at IVCC. He will graduate in December of 2008. He serves on the leadership team for the Making Industry Meaningful in College (MIMIC) and also assists IVCC’s engineering technology program with presentations to grade school students at career day workshops. Three instructors nominated him for this award. Motion carried by voice vote.

Sue Caley-Opsal, Anatomy and Physiology instructor, was named IVCC’s 2008 Outstanding Faculty member. She is very active in many facets of the institution. Her nomination was submitted for the ICCTA 2008 Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

Wanda Kember, a wheelchair bound student, won the IVCC Paul Simon Student Essay Contest. The essay described how IVCC has changed her life where she does not see herself as a victim anymore. She will be invited to read her essay at IVCC’s graduation in May and her essay will be submitted for the ICCTA 2008 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest.

ACCT ANNUAL LEADERSHIP CONGRESS REGISTRATION

The Association of Community College Trustees 39^th Annual Leadership Congress will be held October 29 through November 1, 2008 in New York. Mr. Thompson, Mr. Setchell, and Mr. Wilcoxson indicated they would be attending this conference along with the Student Trustee.

PUBLIC COMMENT

No comments

TRUSTEE COMMENT

This being Dr. Louis’ last meeting, Mr. Wilcoxson thanked him for serving as interim president. He stated he fit right in, made everyone feel good, and did an excellent job. Dr. Louis praised the staff who do such a wonderful job. He stated the staff made it easy for him and it was a pleasure to be at IVCC.

CLOSED SESSION

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to convene a closed session to discuss 1) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body; 2) collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives; 3) probable litigation; and 4) closed session minutes.

The board recessed at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Mallery entered the meeting at 7:31 p.m. The Board entered closed session at 7:40 p.m.

On a motion by Mr. Thompson, seconded by Ms. Kunkel and carried unanimously, the regular meeting resumed at 8:35 p.m.

CLOSED SESSION MINUTES

It was moved by Mr. Thompson and seconded by Dr. Scroggs to approve and retain the closed session minutes of February 25, 2008; February 27, 2008; March 3, 2008; March 7, 2008; March 10, 2008; March 12, 2008; and March 18, 2008. Motion passed by voice vote.

OTHER

Mr. Mallery distributed information from the Illinois Economic Development Board as part of the Illinois Board of Higher Education presentation on “Public Agenda for College and Career Success.” Findings associated with the Northwest Region in which IVCC resides included a drop in population in the next twenty years which contradicts other reports. The report also stated the Northwest region has the lowest percentage of students transferring to four-year universities; but IVCC has almost two times the rate of the region. Mr. Wilcoxson noted that ICCTA expressed concern regarding questionable community college data cited by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and will communicate those concerns to IBHE’s staff and study consultants. Other information presented was the associate degree programs with the highest annual openings in occupational programs were RN, Nurses Aid, Automotive, and LPN. The occupational programs with the highest openings for bachelor degrees were: 1) secondary teachers, post-secondary teachers, operation managers, and elementary teachers. It was also reported that Illinois community colleges as a whole increased tuition by 60 percent in the last two years and 161 percent for the last ten years. Mr. Mallery stated the Diversity Committee has been discussing each community college’s hiring process to foster a diverse staff to represent their student bodies. Only 22 community colleges answered the survey with IVCC being one. The new national charge of community colleges is to eradicate poverty with education and its opportunities. This is a lofty goal and the question is whether it is attainable. Also the trustee education committee is looking for options for seminars. One will be the conflict of interest in the Treasurer/CFO scenario. Also the committee is looking for someone to present on tax levies and the process. Mr. Mallery asked Mr. Walt Zukowski if he would be interested.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Mr. Setchell, seconded by Ms. Kunkel, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Motion passed by voice vote.