Summary of the May 6, 2025 Board of Trustees Meeting

Published on May 6 2025

Board Business

President of the Board Dr. Mullery announced at the start of today’s board meeting that the resolution aimed at rescinding the college’s current resolutions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion is being pulled, not tabled, which means this item will not be brought back. I am happy to say that these resolutions will continue to stand as important artifacts that bolster our institutional values and culture. 

Consent Calendar Action Items

The Trustees approved the recommendation to employ Jennifer Johnston as Marty Coelho’s Foundation Coordinator and have Dr. Alan Price serve as our new Dean of Science, Math, Climate, and Conservation. Dr. Price has the perfect background to lead the division into the future. He served as the Dean of Educational Programs at Santa Barbara City College where he oversaw eighteen academic programs, managed over 150 faculty and staff, and administered budgets exceeding $11 million. His tenure at Santa Barbara was defined by strategic innovation and collaborative leadership, expanding dual enrollment opportunities, and playing a key role in institutional and programmatic accreditation efforts. A press prelease was sent to local media outlets about Dr. Price’s hiring this afternoon. 

I want to acknowledge the employee change of status for three of our colleagues: Irene Gonzalez-Herrera from Assistant Director of Student Equity to Interim Director of Multicultural Education Center; Rebecca Gwin from .5 FTE Administrative Secretary II (Athletics) and .5 FTE Scholarship Coordinator (Foundation) to 1.0 FTE Administrative Secretary II (Athletics); and James Hays from Programmer Analyst to Senior Systems Analyst. I also want to welcome four new associate faculty to our college community: Thomas Fortier (Computer Information Systems), James Holland (Counseling), Mark Taylor (Counseling), and Nicole Hill (Art). 

The Board ratified my acceptance of four resignations and one retirement. Cedric Aaron, Assistant Director of EOPS and CARE, resigned to go back to work for our higher education partner Cal Poly Humboldt, Allison Formica resigned her Instructional Support Specialist III position, Jerry Goodrow will leave his Instructional Support Specialist II – Welding effective this summer, and Megan Uphoff will leave her Assistant Professor of Nursing position effective May 31, 2025. To this last resignation, I approved an automatic search for Megan’s faculty position since she resigned while in the tenure process. I am sad to announce that Caroline Haug, Professor of Nursing, will retire effective May 17, 2025. I regret that I was not able recognize Caroline’s service to the District in my May 2, 2025 Times Standard article given the belatedness of her retirement letter. 

A little over a year ago, I announced that the College had entered into an agreement with Bear River to build a baseball field on the grounds of the rancheria alongside the softball field. My agreement with Bear River had us contributing $300,000 toward the project. However, despite attempts to move the project forward, the construction of the baseball field did not commence by April 23, 2025 as set forth in the MOU. I concluded that continuing with the Bear River MOU was not in the College’s best interest. I therefore sent a communication to Bear River Tribal leadership notifying them of my decision to terminate the MOU effective April 29, 2025. The Times Standard ran a story in its Sunday edition about the sunset of the MOU and the impact on our baseball program from the perspective of the baseball coach John Downey: CR baseball field at Bear River a no-go – Times-Standard

So, what do we do now? The short-term strategy involves reallocating $200,000 of the original $300,000 Bear River set aside to Ryan Bisio and Bob Brown to bring an existing community field up to suitable NCAA standards for our use. A long-term solution involves following our Facilities Master Plan and allocating $7 million of our Measure I bond funds, contingent upon available funds, to build a combination baseball/softball field on the Eureka Campus. 

I will reallocate $100,000 from the Bear River MOU set aside to our rodeo program for startup costs, which may include equipment, facility improvements, and other related rodeo expenses. 

Informational and Administrative Reports

Incldued in the Information Report section was a mention of the restoration and reinstallation of Stand Our Ground Next Time, the iconic driftwood and found-object sculpture by renowned Karuk artist Brian D. Tripp (BDT), made possible through the support of a President’s Academic Innovation Grant. The grant proposal was authored by CR Art Department faculty member Shannon Sullivan, in consultation with Tripp’s family—artist Alme Allen and cultural leader Pimm Tripp-Allen. 

Originally installed in the early 1990s, Tripp’s powerful sculpture stood as a cultural and artistic beacon behind the old Creative Arts building. The project also involved collaboration with CR faculty emeritus Robert Benson and instructors Ben Funke (Art), Derek Glavich (Construction Technology), and Kyle Shamp (Welding). The reinstallation process included in-class lectures by Alme and Pimm, who offered students personal and cultural insights into Tripp’s life and artistic vision. Students enrolled in Funke’s Three-Dimensional Design and Sculpture courses participated in hands-on restoration sessions, working directly alongside Tripp’s family to carefully restore the sculpture’s wooden elements.

The Board publicly acknowledged the men’s and women’s basketball teams for their outstanding seasons. In my written report I also recognized several baseball student athletes for their post-season accolades. Sophomore infielder Bode Joyner was named to the First Team GVC selection after a terrific season, sophomore outfielder Oscar Rudman and sophomore infielders Justin Powell and Seth Grammer earned a spot on the All-GVC Second Team. We also had three more players named as honorable mentions for the conference teams, with first-year pitcher Drew Franklin, first-year infielder Tenoch Tapia and sophomore pitcher Miles Oliver. All three honorable mentions came from the H-DNL, with Franklin playing at Fortuna, Tapia with McKinleyville and Oliver with Arcata.

I noted in my administrative report that Academic Senate Resolution 2025-2 Stable Senate Release Time has been addressed to the satisfaction of the District, CRFO, and Academic Senate. We agreed with CRFO that the Academic Senate release time as follows for 2025-2026 academic year: 27 TLUs Senate President; 9 TLUs Senate Vice President; 18 TLUs Curriculum Committee Chair; 9 TLUs Distance Education Chair; 6 TLUs Academic Standards & Policies Committee Chair; 6 TLUs Multicultural and Diversity Chair. We agreed to review the TLU release time annually and that the MOU shall expire in full without precedent upon the conclusion of the 2025-2026 Academic year.

We are still discussing the ramifications of Academic Senate Resolution 2025-4 – Support and Guidance for (Re)shaping of CR Dual Enrollment Programs and Processes.

I also provided an update on the work we have completed in response to the federal executive orders and guidance from the Department of Education. Last February and March, we began a careful review of our policies and practices to ensure legal compliance with federal and state laws while protecting the values that define CR. This work was never about retreating from our commitments, it was about adapting thoughtfully in a complex and shifting legal and political landscape. Here are the highlights of actions that we have taken following the March 2025 release of the final report of the DEIAA Assessment Task Force.

• The Board of Trustees, Julie Gilbride, Julia Morrison, Alia Dunphy, Jose Serrano, Molly Blakemore, Amy Moffat, and I have reviewed and in some cases modified Board Policies (BP) Administrative Procedures (AP), planning documents (except the EMP), and communication materials with language that is acceptable under current federal directives, complies with federal and state law, and maintains an unwavering commitment to student access, success, and wellness.
• Most of the BPs and APs falling in the 3000-6000 sections were revised to align with the Board’s use of pronouns in their BPs and APs. For example: in some APs we deleted “he/she/they” and replaced it with “an individual” or deleted “his/her/their” and replaced it with “that person’s or the borrower’s” or deleted “his/her” and replaced it with “their.” Changes were made based on the context of a sentence.
• I worked with Human Resources to review personnel-related processes and the BP/AP 7000s. Although we removed direct reference to the term “DEI” from our staff and management personnel evaluations, it was clear to us, after careful review of our personnel recruitment and hiring processes, that we will not be able to maintain full compliance with current federal guidelines, California Code of Regulations (CCR), and California Education Code (Ed Code) simultaneously. The new federal guidelines conflict with CCR and Ed Code requirements in several areas. While there was room to adjust certain practices to better align with the new federal guidelines, fully adopting them would risk non-compliance with state law and statutes. Therefore, I chose not to implement certain aspects of the Trump Administration’s executive orders and Department of Education guidance in certain areas to ensure that our recruitment and hiring processes continue to follow the California Code of Regulations, Title 5, and our EEO plan. We will also continue to maintain anti-discriminatory employment processes and policies that support hiring based on meeting qualifications identified in the job descriptions, and offer promotional opportunities that fall within federal, state, and bargaining unit requirements.
• The Board reviewed and revised the College’s Mission and Values statements as well as the Board’s two-year goals.
• Executive Cabinet’s annual goals were revised to align with the Board’s revised goals.
• We have affirmed our commitment to inclusive outreach activities while maintaining firm support for the wellbeing of all students.
• We have taken action to ensure that our communications are clear, so that the College community is aware that clubs, activities, and sports are open to all students.
• Irene Gonzalez Herrera published and trained staff about recently approved policies related to potential law enforcement requests to access the campus and residential units for any purpose related to the immigration status of students or staff members.
• We will continue to comply with the preexisting protections outlined in FERPA, which safeguards student records except in the case of a criminal warrant, meaning we cannot disclose student immigration status.
• Irene Gonzalez Herrera and Julie Gilbride worked together to create an easily understood guidance sheet for the college community to know what to do in the event ICE appears on any of our campuses or sites.
• We have reaffirmed our commitment to continue with the Multicultural Graduation Celebration and we will make sure to communicate that it is open to all.
• The name of the Multicultural Equity Center/Pride Dreamer Center was changed to the Multicultural Education Center/Pride Dreamer Center after consulting with students and on the recommendation of the MEC’s leadership.
• We will continue to adhere to current legal requirements and state regulations related to gender ideology in sports as outlined in the California Community College Association Bylaws.
• We will continue to maintain the current scholarship criteria unless, and until, the demographic criterion for awarding private dollars shifts.
• With full support of Board President Dr. Mullery and Board Vice President Mathews, we are not, and will not, consider rescinding any Board resolutions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am happy to say that these documents will continue to stand as important artifacts that bolster our institutional values and culture.
• The Board of Trustees and I have repeatedly and publicly stated that we will resist all political attacks on institutional autonomy and academic freedom and steadfastly stand against any move to abridge the right of faculty to engage in free inquiry and discuss their ideas in the classroom without fear of censorship. We will not allow external political forces to dictate what our faculty—who are trained scholars and disciplinary experts—are permitted to teach, research, or discuss. To do so would be to betray the very mission of higher education, which is to foster critical inquiry, pursue truth, and defend intellectual freedom as essential to a democratic society. 

 I also want to share some key points I included in my of the academic year email sent to all employees of the District. 

• At the heart of our direction is the Education Master Plan (EMP). This foundational document defines our institutional identity and serves as our North Star. I fully support the EMP as it is written. I am not advocating for any revisions in response to outside political pressures or ideological interference. Rather, I will be asking the Academic Senate to join me in unequivocally reaffirming the EMP as the guiding document for CR’s future.
• In June, I will ask the Board of Trustees to adopt a formal resolution that reinforces our long-standing commitment to institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and free expression. We will not allow external political forces to dictate what our faculty—trained scholars and disciplinary experts—are permitted to teach, research, or discuss. The right to explore ideas, challenge assumptions, and pursue truth is not only protected, but also essential to the mission of higher education and a functioning democracy.
• Professor Dana Maher made a comment at last Friday’s Academic Senate about the importance of student organizing on and beyond our campuses. I agree with Professor Maher. I have lived my whole life and career believing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are important. The challenge is how to find effective ways to engage and persuade others who can have an impact on making the change that we hope to see happen.
• I believe that the price of chiseling away at the foundational freedoms that define us as a higher education institution will be paid by our colleagues, students, communities and ultimately our society. Defending our freedoms against governmental and ideological attack will not be easy; however, I remain committed to the fight. 

Julia Morrison shared that we are working with Cossolias, Wilson, Dominguez, Leavitt (CWDL) to prepare the annual financial audit report for the District and a separate audit for the Foundation. She also noted that the pricing of the Measure I bonds was held the week of April 28. The closing of the transaction is still scheduled for the week of May 12. Crystal Morse noted that our Wellness Vending Machine pilot program was featured in Inside Higher Ed this month.  The Wellness Vending Machine Pilot Program, a state-funded program which aims to make preventative care products more accessible to college students. The program provides funding for eighteen colleges to address students’ physical health and overall academic success in a unique, lower-cost way: through vending machines that dispense everything from Band-Aids to birth control. CR has participated in this pilot program since its inception. Marty Coelho’s report noted that the CR Foundation hosted the Grizzly Bowl Ring Ceremony. He also mentioned that the CR Foundation helped sponsor the First Annual Pre-College Program in Spanish, a joint program of College of the Redwoods, Cal Poly Humboldt, and the Humboldt County Office of Education which hosted 170 middle and high-school-aged youth. This event provided middle and high school students, whose primary language is Spanish, the opportunity to participate in an immersive, Spanish-language event at Cal Poly Humboldt. Students engaged in a variety of college-related activities, including workshops, facility tours, library access, and interactions with current college students. He also recognized Irene Gonzalez-Herrera for her efforts on this event.