Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., in the college’s Administration Center, for their regular board meeting.
Wayne Pantini, SWCC vice president of economic development, presented the college’s Five-Year Facilities Maintenance Plan to the board. Pantini said SWCC administration reviews the plan annually to identify and prioritize building maintenance and facility needs. The plan itself outlines progress, includes cost estimates and potential funding sources, reflects strategic plan priorities, and aligns with the Master Facilities Plan, which is updated every 10 years. Pantini reminded the board the Master Facilities Plan was reviewed last year.
In personnel, the board approved athletic contracts for the 2025-26 academic year for Alexa Anderson, assistant softball coach, and Mark Johnson, head sports shooting coach. Bishop said Johnson will spend this year recruiting for the sports shooting program, with competition beginning during the 2026-27 academic year.
During the discussion of monitoring process, Fred Shearer of Corning, vice president of the board, asked for an update regarding Iowa’s research related to community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees. Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC president, reminded the board Iowa lawmakers tasked community colleges with evaluating the feasibility and potential impacts. Stoaks said a final report is due to legislators in October 2025.
Pantini offered the board an update related to the college’s 260F programs.
“This is one of the tools we have to work with businesses and industries in our region to identify training needs and help leverage their training dollars,” Pantini explained.
Pantini said during the past two years, SWCC has delivered training to 235 employees from 14 employers in SWCC’s region.
Cole Higgins, SWCC athletic director, presented an overview of the college’s athletic programs to the board. He spoke about national placings and qualifiers during the past year. Higgins identified by athletic program, how many student-athletes are eligible to compete at SWCC each year. With nine athletic programs in place, approximately 140 students are involved in athletics. Higgins said during the spring 2025 semester, SWCC student-athletes had an overall combined grade point average of 3.22.
Higgins talked about future facility projects, as well as plans for the development of two future athletic programs—the return of sports shooting and the addition of men’s and women’s wrestling.
Pantini provided the board of directors an update on recent construction projects. He said the HVAC and catwalk project in the Instructional Center are ready for a final walkthrough. Pantini also spoke about updates with exterior wayfinding signage, access control systems being installed, and updated branding in the Student Center and Instructional Center. He said the ORBIT Center open house in Osceola, was postponed until September due to repairs being completed by the contractor.
Stoaks talked about the recent Community Colleges for Iowa Trustee Conference. She said during this statewide event, two SWCC board members were honored for their years of service to community colleges. These awards, new to Iowa this year, honor community college board members who have served 15-24 years of service. Because the two SWCC board members were not able to attend the conference, Stoaks presented years of service plaques to Dr. Tony Cass, SWCC board president, and Shearer (photo above right).
Shearer was elected to the SWCC board of directors in 2002 and Cass was elected in 2009. Stoaks thanked both individuals for their dedicated service to the board.
Sue Stearns of Woodburn, SWCC board member and Community Colleges for Iowa representative, provided the board with a brief summary of happenings at the state level.
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