July 2017 Board Report

The state budget that survived a veto from Gov. Bruce Rauner last week will bring financial assurances to Illinois Valley Community College after more than two years of uncertainty, IVCC President Jerry Corcoran told the board Thursday.

“What I'm most pleased with is it brings stability and predictability to the picture by providing supplemental funding as we close out last fiscal year – including our commitment to assist MAP-eligible students,” Corcoran said.

“And although this year’s appropriation is down 10 percent across the board for all colleges and universities, we will plan accordingly based on what we know, versus being left hanging in the surreal world of the unknown, which has been the case for the last 700-plus days,” he added.

Corcoran credited the college community for remaining optimistic throughout the prolonged stalemate.

“Our students, faculty, staff and board have all handled this unfortunate problem well, without anyone overreacting to a very difficult situation. Similar to what one of IVCC’s state representatives Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley) said when commenting on why he voted for the budget, I too believe this is what we needed to turn things around and help stabilize enrollment,” Corcoran said.

The college expects to be reimbursed for MAP payments it fronted to students in 2016-17 including $307,706.92 for the fall semester alone.

In other business, the board approved a tentative 2018 budget totaling over $31 million. Revenue for all funds is $31,208,559, a 5.1 percent decrease from 2017 and expenditures are $31,850,619, a 5.1 percent decrease.

Operating budget revenue is $21,354,944, a 3.1 percent decrease from the previous year. Expenditures are $21,431,044, a 3.8 percent decrease. To balance operating funds, there will be a transfer of $87,000 from auxiliary funds for IT infrastructure.

Trustees also approved naming an open “pre-function” area near the Cultural Centre and a pair of adjacent conference rooms for donor and alumnus Ralph Scriba of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.

Scriba’s recent $50,000 donation for agriculture scholarships and instructional equipment put his total donations at $250,000 since he began giving to IVCC in 2013. Scriba graduated from IVCC predecessor La Salle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College in 1951 and was inducted into the IVCC-LPO Hall of Fame in 2015.

“With the most recent donation, Mr. Scriba qualifies for a new level of recognition based on the naming rights policy,” said Corcoran.

The pre-function area and CTC124 and 125 will be named “The Ralph Scriba Conference Center.” A formal naming ceremony is planned for the fall semester. 

Trustees also approved:

  • The appointment of Bonnie Campbell as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs until Deborah Anderson returns. Campbell is the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.
  • The appointment of nursing instructor Maddalena Alfano, a part-time instructor in the program and a former clinical education, clinical educator scholar and RN at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
  • An intergovernmental agreement to continue allowing Lake Land College of Mattoon to provide classes at Sheridan Correctional Center which lies in IVCC’s district.
  • An intergovernmental agreement with the city of Streator for two new TIF districts.
  • The renewal from Guarantee Trust Life for student athletic insurance with 1st Agency for $35,460 and the renewal from Axis Insurance for student athletic catastrophic insurance from Ramza Insurance Group for $3,251.
  • The printing of an enrollment driver magazine by United Graphics of Mattoon for $10,430. The magazine will be mailed to approximately 29,000 district residents in November and April to spur enrollment.
  • The final year of a five-year contract with Blackboard for $76,384. The contract includes Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) software, managed hosting and additional storage.
  • Seeking proposals for a website content management system (CMS). “Our web presence is the most important tool we have to reinforce our brand and is the gateway for many community members,” said Corcoran. “With approximately 3.9 million page views in the last year, creating a positive, dynamic site is essential to building our brand and serving our constituents.”

The board also learned:

  • Diane Lane has been appointed administrative systems lead for the IT department. Lane, a graduate of IVCC and ISU, has been a programmer/analyst at IVCC since 2013 and was a former project leader at State Farm.
  • Part-time English and writing tutors Zachariah and Kelsey Forkner will both resign this summer. In addition, library technician Jayna Leipart Guttilla will resign July 20.
  • A total of 17 LPN graduates will be pinned at a 5 p.m. Monday, July 24 ceremony in the gym.