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Published on 4/3/2022.

Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Carol Mathews read the District’s formal statement that recognizes our area’s Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land that College of the Redwoods occupies. 

We acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered today is unceded territory of the Wiyot people who continue to live and thrive on this land today. It is surrounded by the traditional, ancestral, and present homeland of several indigenous nations including the Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok that make up Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.

Member Comments: Trustee Kelley informed the Board that he attend the ACCT Board forum and the RRDEC visioning workshop. Vice President Biggin commented that she appreciated how many staff and faculty attended the recent Klamath-Trinity Mid Semester celebration. She also encouraged the Trustees to visit the CCLC webpage to become familiar with the various issues facing community colleges. President Mathews commented that she attended the meeting of the Accreditation IV ISER committee.

Board Committee Reports: Vice President Biggin reported that the Ad Hoc Committee on Board Evaluations has completed its work and intends to disseminate the survey instrument next week. Trustee Kelley commented that the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Matters (comprised of Trustees, Kelley, Dorn and Dr. Robertson) met on March 29 to consider changes to BPs and APs relative to advocacy.  The Ad Hoc Committee formulated a statement of purpose that includes the promotion of student success and the financial stability of the institution by:

• Reviewing and revising BP/AP 2515 to clearly articulate the roles and relationship of the board and the president with regard to advocating positions, actions, and initiatives that will benefit the district, with the objective of leveraging the spheres of influence, networks, and expertise of each board member.
• Monitoring and influencing state and federal legislation that will have a significant impact on the district, its students and staff
• Monitoring and influencing the California state budget as it relates to the District and to community college districts throughout the state
  • Legislative and budget advocacy priorities for the year will focus on educational access and enrollment, student financial aid reform, and equity focused institutional funding (including support for student basic needs)

The Ad Hoc Committee will meet again on April 26th in advance of the Governor's May Revised Budget to discuss position statements relative to state and federal budget items.

Review CR’s Mission Statement: Board Policy 1200 calls on the Trustees to review, and if necessary revise, our Mission Statement on an annual basis.

College of the Redwoods puts the success of every student first while providing accessible and relevant transfer, career and adult education of the highest quality. We strive to create a safe and inclusive environment that promotes and values diversity, equity, and inclusion among students, faculty, and staff. We partner with the community to contribute to the economic vitality and lifelong learning needs of our District. We continually assess student learning and institutional performance which leads directly to the continuous improvement of our curriculum, programs and services. To achieve its mission, the Redwoods Community College District follows the mission of the California Community College System as determined by the State Legislature.

The Trustees discussed our Mission Statement at this meeting. Following a breif discussion, President Mathews appointed Trustee Dr. Robertson, Trustee Dr. Mullery and herself to an ad hoc committee to review and revise our Mission Statement.

Approve Revised Board of Trustee Goals for 2021-23: The Trustees recommended four minor changes to their 2021-23 goals at the April Board meeting. Here’s a summary of the changes the Board approved at this meeting.

• Goal 1: Promote student success, educational equity, inclusion and accessibility, and the fiscal health of the institution through advocacy by monitoring and working to influence state and federal legislation that will have a significant impact on the District.
• Goal 3.c: Providing advocacy for legislative efforts to correct problems in and improve the funding formula for year 2022-2023.
• Goal 4.c: Reviewing, and revising as needed, the District’s mission, vision and board policies in the 1000’s and 2000’s to advance equity, inclusion and accessibility.
• Goal 9:  Plan for the future of College of the Redwoods by supporting, reviewing, and providing input to the Education Master Plan and the Facilities Master Plan, with special emphasis on monitoring trends in community college education, supporting a cultivating partnership with Cal Poly Humboldt, and identifying economic/workforce opportunities for program development and community partnership. Continue planning for the future of College of the Redwoods through the Education Master Plan and the Facilities Master Plan with special emphasis on trends in community college education, partnership with Cal Poly Humboldt and economic/workforce opportunities for program development and community partnership.

Recommendation to Name a Facility or Property: I asked the Board to reconsider my recommendation to name the CR Boardroom in honor of former Trustee Bruce Emad. The rationale underlying my recommendation is that Mr. Emad served with distinction, and in multiple leadership roles, while on both the College of the Redwoods Board of Trustees for twenty-six years and on the CR Foundation Board for more than twenty years.  Mr. Emad’s service on the Foundation Board resulted in long lasting fiscal viability for the organization.

I reported in my blog summary of the January 4 Board meeting that the Trustees tabled the recommendation to honor Mr. Emad with a naming opportunity because they saw the original recommendation as possibly conflicting with Administration Procedure 6620. The AP 6620 states that “When an area or building is proposed to be named for individuals associated with the District or California education, a period of not less than three years should elapse between the end of the individual’s service to the District or California education and consideration by the Board of Trustees.”  Mr. Emad retired from the Board in November 2020.

When the Trustees discussed the original recommendation they noted that honoring Mr. Emad’s service to the District by naming the boardroom after him was not in question.  His service to the District was exemplary and deserving of honors. However, the Trustees were unclear on whether Trustees are considered employees of the District and therefore subject to waiting at least three years before being considered for a naming opportunity.

I clarified in this agenda item that, under the Education Code, trustees are elected officials, and not considered employees. Trustees cannot can be disciplined, suspended, or evaluated as traditional district employees can under the Education Code. Trustees have no probationary period and do not attain permanent status. Furthermore, the Education Employee Relations Act specifically excludes board members from the definition of employees, by stating a public school employee is any person employed by any public school employer except persons elected by popular vote. (Government Code section 3540.1)

I am pleased and honored to report that the Board of Trustees unanimously approved my recommendation to name the Boardroom after former Trustee Bruce Emad.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: We had several personnel related items approved or ratified at this Board meeting. It is with great pleasure that I recap the personnel actions taken.

• Five new classified staff are joining our college community: Lydia Carpenter, Evaluation Specialist, Admissions & Records; Andrea Bright, Instructional Support Specialist II – Adult and Community Education; Jonathan Broadhurst, Student Services Specialist III – Counseling and Advising; Athens Marron, Student Services Specialist III – Counseling and Advising; and Rebecca Gwin, Scholarship Program Coordinator (.50 FTE) and Administrative Secretary II (.50 FTE).
• Leigh Dooley has agreed to join us as our new Director of Distance Education.
• Nine new fulltime faculty for fall 2022 and three associate faculty are joining us. New fulltime faculty are: Cintra Agee, Assistant Professor, Native American Studies;  Karyn-Lynn Fisette, Assistant Professor, English Del Norte and Pelican Bay; Trevor Harman, Assistant Professor, Computer Information Systems; Kyle Shamp, Assistant Professor, Welding Technology; Nathalie Dierkx, Assistant Professor (Non-Tenure Track), Social Work and Human Services Del Norte and Pelican Bay; Madeleine Lopez, Assistant Professor, Forestry and Natural Resources/Geomatics; Theresa McBride, Assistant Professor (Non-Tenure Track), Business Del Norte and Pelican Bay; Jason White, Assistant Professor (Non-Tenure Track), Physical Education, Kinesiology, Athletics, Recreation and Head Football Coach; and Kendra Guimaraes, Assistant Professor, English and Adult Education. The associated faculty are Kenneth Ayoob (Music) and Stephanie Bernal (Nursing) for spring 2022, and Julie Reyes (Anthropology) for next fall semester.
• Two of our colleagues’ employee change of status were approved: Miguel Magdaleno, Administrative Office Coordinator – EOPS to Administrative Office Coordinator – Counseling, Outreach, and International Students and Colin Trujillo, Instructional Support Specialist III and Interim Director of LRC, EOPS and CARE Programs to Director of LRC, EOPS and CARE Programs.
• The Trustees ratified my acceptance of three retirement requests: David Bazard as of May 15, 2023; Marla Gleave effective May 18, 2024; and Michele Bradley effective June 30, 2022.

Please join me saying “hail” to the new faculty and staff and “farewell” to our colleagues who have elected to retire.

It is appropriate to acknowledge the time our Human Resources staff have put into coordinating the searches for new faculty, staff and managerial employees. Tina Wahlund, Megan Schroeder, and Lupita Martinez deserve to be recognized for their work and energy to make sure the search process is effective and efficient.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: As this month’s report noted, we have not made any budget adjustments since the March. We still plan to transfer general fund moneys to the Child Development Center ($90,000), Shively Farm ($59,567), OPEB fund ($820,000), and Capital Outlay Fund ($600,000) for a total of $1,569,567.

Although this report signaled that we are still projecting a 2021-22 ending fund balance of 17.2% based on our current information, Julia and I do not want to place too much emphasis upon the percentage of unrestricted fund balance in the general fund at any one time. The Chancellor’s Office is now recommending that an adequate fund balance should equal 2 months’ worth of General Fund expenditures.  To put this reserve amount into context, the average monthly General Fund payroll cost, including salary and benefits, is $2,754,000.  Two months equals $5,508.000.

Informational Reports

Student Success Data: Included in this Board agenda was a summary of the number of students transferring to a CSU or UC.  The data from our IR department showed that of the 163 students transferring from CR to a CSU in fall 2021:

• 94% of students who applied were admitted
• 21% were traditionally underrepresented (includes Hispanic, African American, and American Indian groups)
• 24% were first generation
• 49% had parents who did not graduate college
• 56% were female
• 67% were ages 22 – 64

Of the students who transferred, over 75% of CR students transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt in 2020-21. Sacramento and Chico were the next most popular CSUs.  As with the CSUs, proximity to Humboldt County appears to be a deciding factor, with Berkeley and Davis receiving the most CR transfers over the last four years.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Report:  Included in this DEIA Report was a brief reference to a potential change in Title V language. The California Community College Board of Governors (BOG) is considering adding DEIA to the faculty and staff evaluation and tenure review processes Changes that the BOG is considering are:

§ 53602

(a) District governing boards shall adopt policies for the evaluation of employee performance, including tenure reviews, that requires demonstrated, or progress toward, proficiency in the DEIA competencies published by the Chancellor.

(b) The evaluation of district employees must include consideration of an employee’s demonstrated, or progress toward, proficiency in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)-related competencies that enable work with diverse communities, as required by section 53425. District employees must have or establish proficiency in DEIA-related performance to teach, work, or lead within California community colleges.

(c) To advance DEIA principles in community college employment, districts shall:

(1) include DEIA competencies and criteria as a minimum standard for evaluating the performance of all employees;

(2) ensure that evaluators have a uniform understanding of how to evaluate employees on DEIA competencies and criteria;

(3) set clear expectations regarding employee performance related to DEIA principles, appropriately tailored to the employee’s classification;

(4) place significant emphasis on DEIA competencies in employee evaluation and tenure review processes to support employee growth, development, and career advancement;

(5) ensure professional development opportunities support employee development of

DEIA competencies that contribute to an inclusive campus and classroom culture and equitable student outcomes;

(6) include a self-reflection and a comprehensive evaluation from appropriate evaluators who reflect a range of perspectives on an employee’s performance. The evaluation process shall provide employees an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of DEIA and anti-racist principles, including how the employee has operationalized DEIA in the performance of their job responsibilities.

§ 53605

(a) Faculty members shall employ teaching and learning practices and curriculum that reflect DEIA and anti-racist principles, and in particular respect for, and acknowledgement, of the diverse backgrounds of students and colleagues to improve equitable student outcomes and course completion.

(b) Educational and other Administrators shall include significant consideration of DEIA and anti-racist principles into existing policies and practices, funding allocations, decision-making, planning, and program review processes. These processes shall take into account the experience and performance of students and colleagues of diverse backgrounds, and work to close equity gaps in student outcomes and hiring.

(c) Staff members shall promote and incorporate culturally affirming DEIA and anti-racist principles to nurture and create a respectful, inclusive, and equitable learning and work environment. In conducting their duties, staff members shall respect and acknowledge the diversity of students and colleagues.

CRFO: President Haggerty commented on several things including several of the faculty related bills the union is following and the proposed Title V changes related to including DEIA in faculty evaluations and the tenure process. I agree with the sentiment expressed by Trustee Dr. Mullery following President Haggerty’s comments that faculty and staff support integrating diversity,equity and inclusion in our curriclum and operations; however, the principle question associated with the potential Title V change is related to implementation.

CSEA: President Engman thanked the Board for approving the CSEA contract earlier in this meeting. She also acknowledged the passing of Renel Nordeman.

Student Trustee:  Student Trustee Rimmey informed the Board that ASCR is working on several issues including a textbook bank and approving the formation and funding of student clubs and organizations.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent's Report: My written report noted that:

• We have been selected to participate in the Chancellor’s Office Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) program. Our project will focus on new student supports through onboarding that are holistic and shepherd students through the transition from admissions to enrollment and persistence. This will involve creating more holistic student profiles that lead to individualized student support (e.g., student mindset profile, career aspirations, placement/competencies, early identification of success barriers); creating a cross-department team with members who oversee all aspects of the new student experience; evaluating the existing new student orientation and onboarding efforts, including messaging to students and identify pain points where students get off track; creating an orientation that is followed by targeted and continued outreach based on where students are in the matriculation process; developing short videos to help support students. Thank you to Dr. Angelina Hill and Dr. Crystal Morse for leading this project.
• The ASCR and Institutional Effectiveness Committee agreed to form a five member Student Advisory Committee (SAC) chaired by the Student Trustee.
• Human Resources sent out an email district-wide seeking nominations for the Kathryn G. Smith Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual employee or a group of employees who embody both the letter and spirit of leadership excellence within the CR community.  
• The College of the Redwoods (CR) Art Department and the Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) Department of Art and Film collaborated to provide an informational session focused on helping CR students transfer to Cal Poly Humboldt's BFA and BA in Studio Arts, BA in Film Production, BA in Art History, BA in Art Education, and Museum Studies Certificate.  
• Dr. Tom Jackson and I co-hosted a virtual meeting of the Joint Native American Advisory Council (JNAAC) recently. The meeting was a wonderful opportunity for tribal leaders to speak directly with the College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt leadership. The group discussed institutional updates from CR and CPH, ideas that Tom and I should consider, dates that we could visit each Tribal Nation, and naming facilities after Tribes.
• We are going to modify CR’s masking policy to align with state and county masking guidelines. As of May 15, CR will strongly recommend that all students, staff, and faculty, regardless of vaccine status, wear a mask in all indoor public settings. Masks will still be required for everyone in high transmission settings like public transit, emergency shelters, health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care facilities.
• The Institutional Effectiveness Committee held the annual Institutional Effectiveness Summit recently and which focused on creating EMP driven actions that we may include in the 2022-23 Annual Plan. I attached some of the actions the summit participants identified. Please join me in thanking Angelina Hill, Amber Buntin, Bob Brown, and Prudence Ratliff for facilitating the conversations.
• More Americans believe degrees have value and graduates are prepared for work than was true four years ago. But [the] partisan divide is widening (and Independents are losing confidence). Twice as many Americans (38 percent) said they believed higher education was “generally on the right track” as thought it was on the wrong track (19 percent), with a plurality (44 percent) saying they didn’t know. That’s comparable to how respondents answered the same question in 2019 and somewhat better than the responses in 2017, when 27 percent of Americans said they thought higher education was on the wrong track. I refer you to my board report to read the full March 14 Inside Higher Ed article that discussed the public's impression of higher education.

In my verbal comments, I mentioned that Dr. Jeff Crane, Cal Poly Humboldt’s Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences accompanied me to the Klamath-Trinity Mid-Semester celebration. I also commented on Renel Nordeman’s passing.

Interim Vice President of Instruction Report: Kerry’s written report noted that:

• CR established a local chapter of The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). I want to join Kerry in thanking Associate Professor of History Abi Queen for her willingness to serve as the District's local Chapter Advisor. An invitation to CR students who qualify for membership was sent out on February 14 and, to date, 133 students have accepted the invitation to join CR's chapter. This represents an 11.5% acceptance rate which is well above NSLS's national average acceptance rate of 4%.
• She is working closely with the Academic Senate and CRFO to ensure that the District has an appropriate mentoring and orientation program in place to support our new fulltime faculty in the fall. She and the CRFO are reviewing a reassignment request (through the Stipend and Reassigned Time Committee) that proposes to compensate two faculty mentors to coordinate the mentoring and orientation efforts for new faculty during the upcoming academic year. Ideally, one of these mentors will be based at the Del Norte Campus. The other mentor will be based at on the Eureka Campus.

In her verbal comments, Kerry thanked the Board for approving nine new fulltime faculty for fall 2022. Kerry also responded to Trustee Dorn's question relateive to housing for new faculty.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia’s written report communicated that:

• The Budget Advisory Committee’s (BAC) completed program audits of the Library and the Nursing programs and finalized the Annual Budget Outlook Statement. The following primary goals will be used to inform the 2022-23 budget assumptions. 

• Develop data driven recommendations on a reasonable fund balance.
• Continue to identify budget for technology and facilities infrastructure renewal to support instruction and the overall student experience.
• Allocate resources  to support Educational Master Plan initiatives: Expand the career center, job placement programs, and increase work experience opportunities for all students through internships, job fairs, and site tours; create a working group of faculty and staff supported by a student internship team to conduct research and establish recommendations for reducing barriers and improving the student experience; improve the first point-of-contact student services including advising, enrollment services, and financial aid to streamline and enhance students’ experiences and sense of belonging; increase the presence of College of the Redwoods in small and/or remote communities by establishing access to academic services, such as computer and internet access, printing, and tutoring at specified locations; and supercharge external professional development to attract our most innovative and forward-thinking faculty in distance education, hands-on, problem-based, and experiential teaching and learning.           
• Make resources available to support recommendations from the new Facilities Master Plan.
• Improve the budget planning process, work with the Program Review Committee to ensure the executive summary includes the necessary elements to be a more useful pipe line of information.

• Julia also noted that interest rates have increased by 75 basis points since January 2022. As a result, the net present value savings (NVP) has decreased from 4.07% to 1.52%. Market conditions are not favorable for a bond refunding at this time since the recommended minimum NVP threshold is 3%.

Executive Director of the Foundation: Marty’s written report noted that:

• The Foundation Board unanimously approved Fred Robinson for membership on the Foundation Board;
• The Foundation’s Innovation Funds Committee is developing the application and review process for the President’s Economic and Academic Innovation Funds, and the CR Dinner & Auction Committee discussed recognition at the upcoming sports auction of a female athlete or women’s team in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX. 
• We going to hold an event at the CR Del Norte Education Center on April 7, 2022 to recognize that the campus is located on traditional Tolowa Territory.

Marty’s verbal comments included a mention that the Innovation Fund Committee met recently to discuss the application process and the Education Master Plan. He also informed the Board that we are going to hold that Annual Sports Auction on August 11.

Approve a Trustee Request to Place an Item on a Future Agenda or Direct Staff to Give a Regular Report: The Board asked that I provide an update on the Farm at a future meeting.