The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of trustees held its regular meeting on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. The board held the meeting electronically due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first action item on the agenda was consideration of the fiscal year 2022 budget. A public hearing was held and no oral or written objections or petitions were heard or submitted. The board approved the budget as presented.
The board appointed Carmalee Woods, assistant to the president and coordinator of special projects, as board secretary effective March 10, 2021. Tia Samo, SWCC chief financial officer, had been serving as board secretary since being appointed to the position following the resignation of the former board secretary, at the Dec. 8, 2020, board meeting.
Jolene Griffith, director of human resources and equity/Title IX coordinator, presented the college’s Affirmative Action Plan to the board. This biennial report is a measure of SWCC’s success of affirmatively recruiting females and minorities in positions and determining where underrepresentation may exist, while also collecting information on persons with disabilities and veteran status. Following Griffith’s presentation, the board approved the plan as presented.
In personnel, the board approved the resignation of Ryan Howe, professional music instructor, effective at the end of his 2020-21 contract.
The board approved the hiring of Travis Hamilton as criminal justice instructor. Hamilton has 18 years of law enforcement-related experience with police departments in the following Iowa cities: Boone, Earlham, Johnston, and Monroe. He acquired security-specific training through Securitas Security of Des Moines, as well as his current employer, Global Security Services of Des Moines. Hamilton earned his associate degree in criminal justice from Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo; as well as his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from Simpson College in Indianola. He will start his position on March 22.
The board approved the early retirement request of Dr. Barb Crittenden, SWCC president. Crittenden has served as president of the college since November 1996 (see related release, “Crittenden announces retirement at SWCC board meeting”). Her last day at the college will be July 30, 2021.
Following the request of Jerry Smith, board member from Osceola, Dr. Tony Cass of Creston, board of trustees president, authorized college administrators to move forward with the presidential search process. The college will utilize the services of consultant Dr. Larry Ebbers, university professor emeritus and professor emeritus, higher education, Iowa State University.
Cass noted that at the request of Crittenden, the CEO evaluation would be held in closed session.
During discussion of the monitoring process, Fred Shearer of Corning, SWCC board of trustees member, posed a question regarding the digital and television advertising campaigns currently underway by the SWCC marketing department. Terri Higgins, director of marketing and enrollment management, explained the new television ad was produced internally at no expense to the college, but costs are incurred when the ad runs online and with television and cable stations. Shearer complimented the college on the quality of the ads.
Shearer also requested additional information related to the proposed child care facility on campus, reported in monitoring. Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president for economic development, shared a committee in Union County is looking at several sites in the area, with SWCC being one of them. Lesan said the committee would acquire the funding and the college would not be responsible to financially manage the facility. He emphasized discussions are in preliminary stages and no plans are available at this time for evaluation. Lesan said consideration would be given to a number of issues, including traffic flow and management structure, prior to any recommendations being brought forward.
During the president’s report, Crittenden shared the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Component 2 Grant has been made available through the CARES Act. Crittenden said the 15 community colleges in Iowa worked together to develop a grant proposal, which was funded for approximately $275,000. Indian Hills Community College will act as the fiscal agent for the grant. The main goal of the grant is to provide a high-quality professional development repository, and to ensure equitable access to quality online, professional development courses and curriculum for community college faculty.
Smith, who is the college’s representative to the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees (IACCT), reported he will be attending the March IACCT meeting on March 12.
The board then went into closed session.
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