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Published on 2/4/2020.

Comments/Board Business

Member Comments: Vice President of the Board Kelley thanked the Board for supporting his request to attend the CCLC conference. Trustee Biggin stated that she enjoyed watching our basketball team’s play via live streaming. Trustee Emad informed the Board that he attended the graduation ceremony of the very first fire fighter academy cohort.

President of the Board Dr. Mullery said that she attended the CCLC conference, the fire fighter academy graduation, a basketball game, and the reception for our newly tenured faculty. Dr. Mullery also mentioned that she has been included as a member of the Police Chief screening committee. 

Board Committee Reports: President Dr. Mullery reported that the Trustees have started reviewing the board policies (BP) and administrative procedures that are under the Board’s purview.  Vice President Kelley and Trustee Biggin noted that the Board’s ad hoc committees reviewing BP 2210 Officers and advocacy met on January 18. 

Trustee Mathews stated that the ad hoc committee managing the president’s evaluation process met immediately prior to today’s Board meeting. She informed the Board that the evaluation survey instrument will be disseminated to the Trustees and constituent groups in April.

Status of Board of Trustees Requests: Two of the three Board of Trustee requests are still considered “in progress”—CR History and Board Policy (BP) 7330 Communicable Disease and Vaccinations.

The request related to the District’s art collection has been completed. Dr. George Potamianos and Curator Ruth Jenson made the artwork database public. Several of the previously misplaced large art pieces have been found and relocated to a secure storage area. George and the art faculty are reviewing the appropriate Board Policy and Administrative Procedures.  Additionally, ninety percent of our current pieces have been secured. George and Ruth will finish securing the remaining 10% this semester.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: Included in the personnel actions approved by the Board were the change of status for six of our colleagues, the ratification of three resignations and two retirements, and the hiring of twelve new associate faculty.

Joe Hash, Dr. Angelina Hill, Patricia Nyberg, Erik Sorensen, Tina Wahlund, and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera changed their employee status. Joe moved from Vice President of Student Development to Dean of Students and Community Relations. Angelina went from Vice President of Instruction/Accreditation Liaison Officer to Vice President of Instruction and Student Services/Accreditation Liaison Officer. Patricia moved from ECE Associate to Child Development Center Assistant. 

Three colleagues agreed to serve in interim (temporary) positions. Erik Sorensen moved from Network Administrator to Interim Manager Information Technology. Tina Wahlund moved from Human Resources Manager to Interim Assistant Director, Human Resources, and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera moved from Administrative Office Assistant II – Foster Kinship/Multicultural Center to Interim Assistant Director, Student Equity.

The three employee resignations included Wendy Bates (Director of Human Resources), Brett McMurray-Hammon (Academic Advisor – Upward Bound), and Scott Stephansky (Instructional Support Specialist II – Greenhouse).

Cathy Cox retired from the Director of the Library and Academic Support Services position and Joe Hash retired from his role as Vice President of Student Development. Both retirements will be effective in 2021.

Several of the personnel actions reflect my decision to change how Human Resources, the President’s Office, Instruction, and Student Development are organized. Tina Wahund will step in as the Assistant Director of Human Resources (HR) on a temporary basis while I search for a replacement for Wendy Bates. Based on experience, it will take some time to find a new HR director with knowledge of community colleges.

The President’s Office incorporated Athletics, Special Programs, and the Multicultural and Diversity Center.

Wanting to improve student retention and completion, I brought units focused on student services and instruction together under Dr. Angelina Hill. I repositioned Counseling, Trio/Upward Bound, and DSPS under an Office of Instruction and Student Services division led by Angelina. This action acknowledged the considerable amount of synergy between instruction and student services areas.

Joe Hash will focus on administering student conduct, serving as the referral for non-academic student complaints and student Title IX issues, and leading the Behavioral Intervention Team. He will also take a leadership role in expanding strategic partnership opportunities with Humboldt State University and supporting our efforts to nurture and maintain relationships with community partners. His background is well suited for his new role.

We have the opportunity  to welcome several new associate faculty members to our college community: Erik Apperson – Administration of Justice (Del Norte); Bernadette Arnold – Nursing (Eureka); Claudette Banda – Nursing (Eureka); Maureen Bell – Nursing (Eureka); Richard Bise – Administration of Justice (Eureka); Danielle Carmesin – General Studies (Del Norte); Matthew Cendejas – Business (Eureka); Michelle Doty – Business (Eureka); Adamou Fode Made – Math (Eureka); Suzanne Gonzaga – Nursing (Eureka); Megan Jones – TriO Counselor (Eureka); Luke McCarthy - Forestry and Natural Resources (Eureka); Erin O’Brien – Nursing (Eureka); and Shoshanna Raybin – Nursing (Eureka).

Bond Project Status: Measure Q expenditures to date totaled $44,229,894. We have less than $500,000 in unspent budget.

Request for Proposals to Revise the District's Facilities Master Plan (FMP) and Education Master Plan (EMP): Anticipating the need to revise our current FMP and EMP, the Trustees approved my recommendation to invite qualified consultants to facilitate the revision of our master plans. I am aware that some of our colleagues feel, based on our institutional history, that bringing in a consultant to help us may not serve us well. Please allow me to explain my thinking.

We used an internal educational planning task force and the Facilities Planning Committee to develop our current plans. To my mind, it is imperative that we have a visionary education master plan is directly linked to a long-term facilities master plan.

I believe that an outside consultant will help us develop compelling educational strategies that will ensure that we not only survive, but also thrive. The consultant can help us develop a farsighted facilities master plan that is linked to our long-term educational plan. It is important to note that the Board’s action today will help us meet accreditation Standard III.B and Eligibility Requirement 19.

Action/Discussion Items

Monthly Financial Status Report: This month’s financial status report showed that we received $4.88 million in property tax revenue.  This may be adjusted in the First Principal Apportionment Report later this month.  Our total revenue continues to trend higher than at this same point in time last year. Our salary and benefits are right on par with last year and continue to be slightly under budget.  Total expenses overall are still under budget. We still plan to transfer $90,000 to the Child Development Center, $94,377 to the Shively Farm, and $520,000 to the OPEB fund from the general fund. We still show a projected 2019-20 ending fund balance of 7.9%. I commented on this agenda topic:

• The 11050-2011-320-6760-55850 Staff Diversity Funds -AB1731 Advertising V0400401 11/22/2019 $5,000.00 was for the USC Race/Equity, 11/13 Prism recruiting network.
• There were duplicate PO#/Date/Payee line items in the report such as Otis Elevator (PO#: B0011328) and MBS Textbooks (PO#: P0024935). When changes are made to a purchase order, sometimes the report pulls the item in twice.  Julia tries to spot and correct these before publishing the report.
• The charge of $74,784.75 for United Rentals PO#: P0024956 was to purchase three generators.

Actions/Discussion Items

Remove District Chief Labor Negotiator: The Board approved my recommendation to remove Wendy Bates as the District’s chief negotiator for CRFO and CSEA.

Appoint District Labor Negotiators: I recommended, and the Board approved, Kerry Mayer as the District’s chief negotiator with CRFO and Julia Morrison as the District’s chief negotiator with CSEA replacing Wendy Bates.

Student Nonresident Tuition Fee and Student Nonresident Capital Outlay Fee for 2020-21: The District could adopt a rate that is the same as that of a contiguous district.  When we initially discussed this with Siskiyous they, were going to adopt the $290 rate.  However, we were later informed that they might charge the same rate as Shasta, which is $280.  If we were to set a rate based on the cost of education, the rate would be $340.  The advantage of keeping the $291 rate would be that it is lower than our cost of education.

Student Housing RFP Recommendation: We solicited proposals from experienced development teams for the design, development, and possible financing of new student housing.

We had potential bidders call for information but Servitas was the only firm to submit a proposal.

The Board approved my recommendation to award the architectural services contract to Servitas Collegiate Real Estate Services, a nationwide student housing development firm. 

We found Servitas’ proposal to be very student focused, clearly showing that the vendor understood the importance of designing residence halls based on student needs. With this award, Servitas will complete a feasibility study, design new dorms based on the goals enumerated in the RFP, obtain DSA approval for the project, and administer the construction bidding process.

Servitas’ clients include Orange Coast College, Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), Texas A&M, Blinn College, and Northeast Texas Community College.

I want to thank Jordan Hamill, Steve McKenzie, Ericka Barber, and Julia Morrison for reviewing the proposal.

I will go back to the Board for approval for funding and construction pending the outcomes of the feasibility study.

We will provide a detailed timeline for completion of the project when Julia meets with Servitas.

Resolution 755 in Support of Prop 13 Resolution: The Trustees passed a resolution supporting Proposition 13. Proposition 13, if approved by the voters on March 3, will invest $15 billion in making California children safer and our school buildings healthy, safe, and conducive to learning. In addition to K-12 ($9 billion) and Community Colleges ($2 billion), the Prop 13 includes California State Universities ($2 billion) and University of California ($2 billion). We do not know how the Chancellor’s office will allocate the funds yet.   

Informational Reports

Accreditation Update: Angelina provided a very thorough update on the progress the District has made to address the Commission’s recommendations for improvement. It is clear that our faculty, staff, and administrators we have done a lot of very good work. I attached her update in case you want to take a look our progress.

Sabbatical Leave Presentations: Professors Ryan Emenaker and Mike Haley gave wonderful reports on the outcomes of their sabbatical leaves.

Progress on meeting President's 2019-20 Goals: I provided an update on the progress made to satisfy my goals for this academic year. I attached the update to this article as information.

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: Senate Co-President Sokolow mentioned that the Senate is continuing to discuss the Senate’s leadership structure. The Senate is also discussing whether the Multicultural/Diversity Committee should remain under the Academic Senate’s purview.

CRFO: President Haggerty commented that the CRFO is considering joining Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) as a contract school.

CSEA: President Engman noted that the classified staff saw a robust beginning to the semester. She also mentioned that CSEA has two new officers—one from Eureka and one from Del Norte.

Management Council: President Waters thanked Kim Price for his leadership of the fire fighter academy. He also thanked Margaret Talcott for supporting  the academy and Dr. Kintay Johnson for his work on the Welcome Back event.

Student Trustee:

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent's Report:  My written report consisted of information relative to the College Connect event, the leadership change at the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), the County Supervisor Candidate Forum, our advocacy work, potential uses of our vacant land, and the CR/HSU collaboration.

• We hosted a College Connect event on the Eureka Campus last fall semester where HCOE brought five groups of 11th and 12th grade students from five different high schools to learn more about CR classes. Student surveys following the visit found that 84% of the students reported that they were highly considering CR as an option for college, 95% of the students would highly recommend the opportunity to other students, and 9 out of 10 found the experience helpful in thinking about their future career and educational goals.
• The ACCJC announced the appointment of Dr. Stephanie Droker as a replacement for President Dr. Richard Winn.
• We hosted the Humboldt County Supervisor Candidate forum on the Eureka Campus on January 29, 2020. Thank you to Tami Engman, Paul Chown, Jose Ramirez, Mark Bernards, and Marty Coelho for working with Cooperative Humboldt to pull off the event.
• Past Board President Emad, current Board President Dr. Mullery, and I met with Senator Mike McGuire to discuss healthcare related issues. Senator McGuire agreed to consider including a $302,000 one-time funding request to support our Nursing Program in the State’s 2020-21 budget. Additionally, the Senator agreed to research the issue of out-of-state nurses practicing in California without having to be re-certified.
• I tasked the Facilities Planning Committee (FPC) early last fall semester with proposing projects for development on the open space created by the demolition of the Old Library, Creative Arts, Physical and Life Science buildings. The FPC used the findings from the Greenway Partners, Inc. report and the outcomes from a district wide survey to develop a list of potential land use ideas (see below).

The Executive Cabinet, Instructional Council, and Expanded Cabinet provided input on the proposed project ideas. I will finalize the list of projects next month.

• Solar – Install a canopy and ground mounted system in the main parking lots and to include the area currently occupied by the Physical Science building. Areas to expand the solar field will be considered on the east side of campus as well.
• Re-introduce ponds to campus – Clear as much dead debris as possible from in and around the ponds.
• Agriculture– Plant trees and garden areas at the current site of the Creative Arts building and an area to the west of the tennis courts.
• Teaching Greenhouse – Build a greenhouse on an area currently occupied by a portion of the Creative Arts building.
• Clear space – Create open areas throughout campus for student and staff relaxation and open air events.
• Vegetable Stand – Build a trailer mounted mini-house to be built by the Construction Technology department
• Composting – Set aside space for composting.
• Botanical Gardens Collaboration – Expand the footprint of the Botanical Garden.
• Student Cooperative Gardens – Collaborate with Cooperative Humboldt to create a student cooperative garden.
• Wiyot Tribe Collaboration – Work with the Tribe to create a Native American food forest.
• Interpretative trail system/Art walk – Clear and re-introduce the expansive trail system that currently exists throughout campus. This can include interpretative signage, exercise stations, art and sculpture, Wiyot and campus history.
• Arboretum - Plant native trees and shrubs and ethnobotanical gardens.
• 1st Class Cross Country Course –Create a high level course that can be used to draw local, regional, and state level events to campus.
• Re-location of sand volleyball court – Move the courts closer to the core of campus possibly near the residence halls to allow for a higher recreational use and ease of maintenance.
• Outdoor Amphitheatre – Create an amphitheater on the lawn area below where the Old Library was situated.
• Public/Private micro huts/lodging – Build micro huts as a possible income stream and/or accommodations for volunteer groups for trail and garden rehabilitation projects.
• RV Parking – Create space as a possible income stream and/or accommodations for volunteer groups for trail and garden rehabilitation projects.

I shared a few examples of how our Multicultural and Diversity Center (MDC) is working with HSU to enhance services to CR's MCC students.

• HSU administrators Steve S. Onge, Dr. Jason Merriweather, and Dr. Pedro Martinez held a Scholarship Opportunities Workshop in December to talk about scholarships available CR students. The workshop will be repeated in Spring 2020.
• CR and HSU held an Undocumented Student Ally Training though HSU's Scholars without Borders last fall.
• HSU's Dr. Jason Merriweather, Dr. Stephen R. St. Onge, Dr. Jennifer Sanford, Dr. Brian Mistler, and Dr. Eboni Turnbow were instrumental in helping a CR student receive emergency access to mental health medication in the fall.
• CR and HSU worked together to implement American Indian College Motivation Day in the fall.

Future collaborations between CR's MDC and HSU include the following:

• Families Rising event (Educational Outreach for LatinX Families)
• Latin Film Festival
• Youth of Color Empowerment Day Friday at HSU
• TRIO Program-Outreach to Middle and High School (Humboldt, KT, and Del Norte)
• Social Justice Summit
• North Coast Youth Summit
• Native Youth Education Summit
• Equity Summit
• Humboldt County Office of Education Language Learner programs for Translation Services for Application processing
• Youth of Color Empowerment Day at HSU
• Guest Speakers from HSU (Women’s Day, Native American Resiliency, ICWA and the Impact on Native American
• students)
• NEA Big Read Grant to bring author Claudia Rankine (Citizen: An American Lyric). Issues discussed in the book frank and open conversation about race, racism, police violence.
• Hoopa Athlete Outreach
• Native American Film Festival
• CR Experience Weekend event that will help students transition from high school to college

I mentioned that CR was selected to participate in the Human-Centered Design Boot Camp in March 18-20. We will be joined by teams from Cooperation Humboldt, Open Door & Middleway Network; Two Feathers Family Services' Chekws Hope for Tomorrow Program; Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation; Changing Tides Family Services; Yurok Tribe; First Five Humboldt; Organizational Leadership Discovery Team (led by HAF); and Racial Equity Discovery Team.

I also informed the Board that Kerry Mayer and I are going to host a delegation from the Norwegian Consulate on February 14 from 8:30-9:30. The delegation is in Humboldt to explore opportunities for educational collaboration with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) focused on marine, ocean, and aquaculture programs. Board President Dr. Mullery and Vice President Kelley will join us.

Vice President of Instruction Report: Angelina’s report noted that:

• The District's new library services platform, “OneSearch” was made available to students last month.  OneSearch is part of a statewide collaborative effort involving 110 of the 116 California Community College libraries, who will use the same library services platform as the 23 CSU campus libraries. This is the culmination of a yearlong project that involved a great deal of effort from both the Library and the IT department, with support from the CCC Technology Center and funding from the Chancellor’s Office.
• The Assessment Committee, chaired by Professor Philip Mancus, is leading efforts to transition from the college's current assessment reporting tool to eLumen. Associate deans and faculty volunteers will pilot eLumen this semester. eLumen operates differently than our current system, prompting us to rethink the assessment process. Full implementation of eLumen for course assessment is planned for fall 2020. The assessment committee will also begin exploring how eLumen will be used for assessment of student services programs and learning outcomes.
• Governor Newsome recently signed AB 1504—a bill that requires California community colleges to collect a $2 student representation fee from each student during registration. One dollar of every two-dollar fee collected will be used to establish and support the operations of a statewide community college student organization that participates in state-level community college shared governance and works with governmental affairs representatives to advocate before the legislature and other state and local governmental entities.

Angelina commented that 72 Pelican Bay students made the honor roll.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia’s written report noted that Governor Newsom released the 2020-21 State Budget Proposal on January 10, 2019.  The Governor's budget focuses on issues related to housing affordability and homelessness, as well as addressing the risks that result from climate change and wildfires. Here are some important budget proposal recommendations that relate to Community Colleges:

• A 2.29% COLA for the Student Centered Funding Formula;
• Funding for .5% enrollment growth;
• One-Time initiatives to support part-time faculty office hours, zero textbook cost degree programs, and deferred maintenance and instructional equipment;
• Funds for support services for undocumented students; and
• No changes in the Student Centered Funding Formula.

She also updated the Board on the Brown Act, Ethics, and Conflict of Interest Training she, Stephanie Burres, Angelina Hill, Cynthia Petrusha, Joe Hash, Marty Coelho, Tina Wahlund, Ericka Barber, and Sara Stolt attended on January 14.

Julia informed the Board that we will start work on the 2020-21 Preliminary Budget soon.

Vice President of Student Development Report: Joe’s written report touched on the Multicultural and Diversity Center sponsoring of the "Families Rising" or "Familias Levantandose" event and offering a number of support groups in the Spring Semester including the First Generation College Student Support Group and the Women of Color Support Group.

Executive Director of Foundation Report: Marty’s report included mention of his meeting with George Schmidbauer and Kay Johnson of C&K Johnson Industries to discuss repurposing the Scmidbauer's Challenge Grant fund (currently valued at $145,000) and with Professor Shannon Sullivan to discuss Foundation support for a College of the Redwoods Alumni Art Exhibition at the Morris Graves Museum.

Marty also noted that the Foundation Board approved Jim Ritter as a new board member, he assisted Dr. Kintay Johnson with a presentation on “How a Small Rural Community College Supports Students Experiencing Homelessness” for SchoolHouse Connection, and his work with a local community group to promote a fundraising event for the Redwoods Room & Board Scholarship Fund.

Future Agenda Items, Reports, Requests for Information

Approve a Trustee Request to Place an Item on a Future Agenda: The Trustees asked me to provide a report relative to the services we’re offering in Southern Humboldt.