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Published on 7/30/2022.

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: President of the Board Carol Mathews informed the Board that the letter and petition from Mr. Randall South was disseminated to all of the Trustees prior to the board meeting. In summary, Mr. South requested that CR develop academic programs relative to well drilling, 2) structural moving, 3) stone masonry, 4) concrete work, and 5) finish carpentry with a focus on siding. After looking into his request, we concluded that, although there is anecdotal information that employers are looking for workers in the areas Mr. South desires, the data we are required to use to determine the viability of a new academic program does not support building entirely new programs that Mr. South wants.

As I have often stated, the Board of Trustees and I are fully committed to expanding our career education workforce program offerings in areas that supports our local community. We can point to the decision to offer a new aquaculture program to support the growing aquafarming industry and our support for wind technology and solar micro grid curricula as examples of our promise to expand our career education offerings to support the economic growth of our service area. However, we want to make sure that the academic programs we offer are sustainable and make fiscal sense.  That said, I informed that Board that I will include in my draft President’s Goals for 2022-23 a goal relative to performing an occupational needs assessments to determine the highest demand workforce programs for the Eureka, Del Norte, and Klamath-Trinity locations and to develop high demand and fiscally sustainable credit and non-credit career education programs to meet the needs identified via the assessments. I am aware that some community members are passionate about their particular ideas; however, we have to do our due diligence and go where the appropriate data leads us. That could mean deciding to offer certain career education/workforce programs via non-credit rather than credit or not offering something at all.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: The Board of Trustees approved several personnel related items at this meeting. 

We welcome Jolisa Eslinger as a new Early Childhood Assistant II and John Rios as a Maintenance Specialist II—Painter to our classified service.

We also welcome seven new associate faculty and one new fulltime faculty member to the faculty.  Dennis Houghton (Agriculture), Taylor McMillin (Coaching), Justin Whitney (Native American Studies), Kayla Costello (Coaching), Dallas Moses (Coaching), Neal Oilar (Administration of Justice), and Franklin Richards (Construction Technology) will join our community as associate faculty in fall 2022.  Elizabeth Novicky will serve as a one semester replacement Assistant Professor of Nursing at our Del Norte Campus for fall 2022. Elizabeth’s background includes a Nursing Certificate from Lane Community College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Excelsior College, and a Master’s Degree in Nursing from Regis University. Most recently, Elizabeth was a fulltime faculty member at Lane Community College teaching a variety of nursing related courses including: Health Promotion, Chronic Nursing, Acute Nursing, Pathophysiology 1 & 2, Pharmacology 1 & 2,, PN 101, 102 & 103 (LPN courses). She’s also managed and taught in the nursing labs.

The Board also ratified my acceptance of Dr. Angelina Hill's resignation as Dean of Effectiveness and Academic Partnership.  I want to thank Angelina for her years of service to the District and wish her luck as she takes on a new adventure. Rather than replacing the Dean of Effectiveness and Academic Partnership, the duties of the position will be redistributed to Kerry Mayer, Crystal Morse and me. Kerry will assume the Accreditation Liaison Officer role. Crystal will pick up Strategic Enrollment Management, Title IX coordination, and Student Conduct. I will take external partnerships including The President's Council and the CR/Cal Poly Humboldt Collaboration.

Appoint Member to Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee: I want to congratulate Student Trustee Marabeth Madsen for her appointment to Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: Our report covered the period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 or 100.00% of the fiscal year. Our total revenues received are 96.9% of budgeted the amount, which is much higher than at this point in time last year. It’s important to note that while the 2021-22 fiscal year is over, the Unrestricted General Fund revenues and expenses will continue to be adjusted as Julia’s office works through the process of closing the books.  We will report our final 2021-22 budget figures to the Chancellor’s Office in the 311 Annual Financial and Budget Report.

First Read of Board Policy and Administrative Procedure: The administration and the Budget Advisory Committee have been engaged in an open dialogue about the College’s fund reserve for some time. At issue is what represents a healthy fund reserve above the accreditation minimum of 5%? The recession, inflationary pressures, an uncertain state fiscal outlook have added to the importance of the conversation.

How we move forward to make sure the College is fiscally stable, meet accreditation standards, and support all of our employees in uncertain fiscal times is an important policy decision for our Board of Trustees. A recent analysis by the LAO concluded that the state’s General Fund will likely face a budget deficit by 2025-26, regardless of the future trend in state tax revenues. Due to the SAL, continued revenue growth could increase the state’s constitutional funding obligations and lead to large budget deficits.

The Board approved COVID-19 Emergency Conditions Allowance Application calls on our Trustees to adopt a policy aiming to align reserve balances to maintain an unrestricted, uncommitted general fund end-of-year balance of greater than or equal to two months of total General Fund operating expenditures no later than February 28, 2023. To meet this deadline Trustees Dr. Robertson and Kelley brought a draft BP 2800 forward as a first read at this meeting.  The draft BP will be submitted to the College Council in September. I intend to resubmit the draft BP to the Board in time for approval by the end of the fall semester.

Approve 2022-23 COVID-19 Emergency Conditions Allowance Application: As the background of this agenda item noted, on June 14, 2022 the Chancellor’s Office released the Emergency Conditions Allowance (ECA) Memo informing all CEOs of the requirements that must be met in order to qualify for the ECA.  The ECA application is due to the Chancellor’s Office by September 1, 2022.  The application (attached) calls on the College to submit an Emergency Conditions Recovery Plan that addresses each of the following elements: 

• The actions that the District has taken to increase enrollment.
• The efforts we’ve taken to increase uptake of federal financial aid and fee waivers and key contact at the District leading this work.
• An analysis of students the District lost between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021 disaggregated by age, race & ethnicity, and other impacted groups.
• A description of how the District will engage the Board in student success data and mitigating actions, including long-term planning to advance the District's Vision for Success goals.
• A description of how the District will incentivize and prioritize participation in distance education professional development.
• A certification that:

1. The District is a member of the CVC-OEI Consortium and has signed the Master Consortium Agreement
2. By the beginning of the first term that starts on or after January 1, 2023, ensure that the District has implemented the steps to become a Home College and has implemented or committed to: 1) enabling Course Finder API, 2) completing the steps needed to become Teaching College ready, and 3) joining a scheduled implementation cohort to become a Teaching College.
3. The District has submitted all data due to the Chancellor's Office Management Information Systems (MIS) and will continue to maintain on-time submission for all MIS submissions.
4. The District has no outstanding audit reports due to the Chancellor's Office.
5. The District has adopted, or will adopt prior to February 28, 2023, a board policy aligning reserve balances to recommendations included in the Government Finance Officers Association Budgeting Best Practices (2-months general fund reserves).

To avoid material decreases in our apportionment associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, upon approval of our ECA application and continuing adherence to requirements, the Chancellor’s Office will apply the following protection for the 2022-23 Base Allocation of the Student Centered Funding Formula:  

• The final FTES used to calculate the 2019-20 recalculation apportionment, which includes emergency conditions allowances provided to districts in 2019-20, will be used to calculate: 1) the 2022-23 apportionment for all categories of FTES as specified in the Student Centered Funding Formula and 2) the three-year average of credit FTES for subsequent fiscal years.
• Supplemental and student success allocations will continue to be calculated using actual 2021-22 headcounts and a three-year average of 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 headcounts, respectively.

Informational Reports

Student Success Data: Institutional Research provided our course success and course retention rates over a three-year period (2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22) in this informational agenda item. The data showed that we saw a slight increase in overall course success and retention rates in 2021-22 over the prior year.

Course Success Rates

2019-20                79%

2020-21                75%

2021-22                78%

Course Retention Rates

2019-20                92%

2020-21                90%

2021-22                92%

Vice President of the Board Biggin asked that we disaggregate the course success and course retention rates data. I committed to present the disaggregated data to the Trustees at the August workshop.

Lost Coast Ventures Presentation: I asked John Ballard and Dan Philips to provide a presentation to the Board of Trustees about the Lost Coast Ventures Initiative (LCV). The LCV is intended to enhance the Cal Poly/CR educational experience for students, faculty, and staff; provide attraction and retention incentives for key faculty members; improve the competitive position of Humboldt’s STEM related programs; and grow local employment in service to Cal Poly’s and CR’s communities.  I attached the presentation to this blog summary.

Outdoor Campus Collaborative Project: Our Outdoor Campus Collaborative is an example of the influence that a project developed by innovative CR colleagues and aligned with our education and facilities master plans can have on the institution. Professors Karen Reiss, Valerie Elder, and Maria Morrow discussed the Outdoor Campus Collaborative (OCC) project with the Trustees. The OCC project focuses on the evaluation, surveying, and development of an interpretive trails system and revitalization of the campus ponds on the Eureka Campus. Additionally, the project will work to build partnerships with indigenous peoples to include the history of the native tribes on whose land the Eureka Campus resides. The project will allow non-traditional students in Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resources, and Construction Technology to obtain hands-on experience in their prospective fields while also using this project to recruit additional students in the various programs associated with the project. CR will work with partners such as the Humboldt Trails Alliance to increase work-based learning opportunities for students involved in the OCC project. I attached the PowerPoint presentation to this summary.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent's Report: In my administrative report, I recapped the CR press release that announced the hiring of Taylor McMillin as the new Head Women’s Soccer Coach. The press release noted that Taylor previously served as an assistant coach at CR for the Women’s Soccer program in 2016, was the Interim Head Coach in 2017 and is currently the Director of Coaching for the Sequoia FC Soccer Club in Arcata. I also noted that AB 1655 (Jones-Sawyer), a bill that would add June 19, known as “Juneteenth,” to the list of state holidays, was heard in the Appropriations Committee yesterday, August 1, 2022.

In my verbal comments I mentioned that I agreed to partner with the Yurok Tribe to explore developing a workforce development center to certify students in vocational training such as welding. I thanked Molly Blakemore for sending in a student profile of Amanda Cuttler to the Chancellor’s Office. I shared that the Chancellor’s Office used the profile in the State of the System Report. Here’s the link to the report: https://www.cccco.edu/-/media/CCCCO-Website/Reports/2022-SOS-Report_rev071122.pdf

I also informed the Board that Ray Hamill ran a story on July 30 that focused on the return of CR football. Ray pointed out that we expect close to 40 local players to suit up for us in the fall. I encourage you to read the full story at

https://humboldtsports.com/2022/07/30/corsairs-begin-practice-as-college-football-returns-to-the-north-coast/

Interim Vice President of Instruction Report: In Kerry’s written report, she announced that CR received a supplemental Perkins award in the amount of $300,000 to support the Outdoor Campus Collaborative (OCC).  Morgan Solem, CR's Manager of Grant Initiatives and Programs, worked with a number of faculty and staff colleagues, including Professors Valerie Elder, Maria Morrow, and Karen Reiss, Agriculture Production Manager Silas Sarvinski, and Dean Mike Haley to complete the project proposal. 

One of the most critical conversations that Kerry and the instructional deans and directors have in leading up to the start of a new semester is how to prioritize our course schedules. Kerry also shared the guiding principles we use in developing our course schedules.  For fall, course scheduling was completed within the following framework: 

1. Create a stable schedule that students, faculty, and staff can count on and that is not subject to multiple changes (class cancellation, reduction in class caps, and modality/location changes).
2. Create an equitable schedule that meets the needs of a diverse student population.
3. Create a schedule that can weather unforeseen COVID impacts (like a new vaccine-resistant variant).
4. Create a schedule that is both efficient in terms of cost versus FTES-generation and meets student needs.
5. Create a schedule that addresses the elements of the Student-Centered Funding Formula (Specifically: number of students earning associate degrees and credit certificates, the number of students transferring, the number of students who complete transfer-level math and English in year one, and the number of students completing nine or more CE units).

In her verbal report, Kerry did a great job linking the work of the Outdoor Campus Collaboration, the Lost Coast Ventures Initiative with the Education Master Plan.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia provided a summary of our capital projects that are in the queue.

• Utility Infrastructure and Replacement (UIR): The Water Tank Replacement is the only outstanding UIR project. The newly constructed water tanks, located on the east side of the PE building, will be painted a much lighter color before the project is complete.  The booster house and fire pumps will be constructed this winter.  It's expected that the new tanks will be in service next summer, with the demolition of the old tanks to follow shortly after.
• Creative Arts Building Drop and Replace: All five buildings are under construction in various phases. Four of the five are being framed now and the trusses will be delivered in a few weeks. The goal is to get the buildings water tight for winter so the work can continue inside the buildings. The schedule is to be able to furnish and move all of the contents from the old building during the first two weeks of August 2023 before fall semester. The project is currently on schedule. The old building will be demolished by Nov 2023.
• Physical Education Complex Drop and Replace: This project is currently in the Working Drawings phase.  Due to some issues with retaining wall design, additional geotechnical work was required.  It's expected that the DSA Working Drawings review will occur sometime in October, and that the District will be able to go out for construction contractor bid in December 2022 or January 2023.
• Student Housing Project: Due to seismic challenges at the existing residence hall location, the current site location for the new Student Housing Project is the existing Softball field.  The District is engaged with professionals to complete the required geotechnical and topographical work.  Also, the District has engaged with engineering firm GHD to start the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.  Pending Board approval, the District will start working with BKF Engineers for the necessary civil design work.   
• The draft layout of the facility includes 241 beds, a commercial kitchen for dining with separate serving and seating areas, and common spaces for residence hall students.  The District is working with project management team Servitas to be in the best position possible when submitting the application for SB 169 funding by October 31, 2022.
• Solar Microgrid: Initial Feasibility for the Microgrid system has been complete and the project is financially feasible.  The project now includes a 727 kW Tesla back-up battery.  Previously, the back-up battery was 485 kW.  The larger battery will allow for longer resiliency during an anticipated power outage.  There are still several steps in the process before the project can officially move forward with construction.  It's anticipated that it will be another year or two before construction begins.
• Life and Physical Science Building Demolition: At the July 5, 2022 meeting the Board approved the lowest bidder, Unlimited Resources Inc., to be awarded the contract for the abatement and demolition work.  Local law enforcement and fire protection agencies have expressed interest in having the ability to utilize the buildings for scenario training prior to the demolition.  It's anticipated that the buildings will be demolished October/November 2022, allowing ample time for the agencies' training agendas.  This time frame will also come after barn swallow nesting season is over.

To access the Projects Update webpage, please click on the following link: https://www.redwoods.edu/about-us/projects

Julia touched on the connection between the new faculties master plan and the Outdoor Campus Collaborative. She also informed the Board that she is working closely with SERVITAS to make sure that our application for funding of our new residence hall project is the best that it can be for consideration by the State.

Interim Vice President of Student Services Report: Crystal’s written report spoke to the following:

• The 2022-23 enacted budget includes a $30 million system-wide fund to support creation of the Native American Program Student Support and Success Program.  This fund will be disseminated to up to 20 districts.  Once available, Crystal will submit an application that will focus on supporting the College's ongoing commitment to serve Native American students through academic, cultural, social, and transitional needs, increasing the connection and referral of students to both on and off campus resources, enhancing the development and promotion of culturally affirming programming in support of Indigenous American, Native American, and American Indian, and/or Alaska Native students, expanding outreach to tribal communities and organizations and empowering CR to serve as a resource that focuses on Indigenous and/or Native American Peoples, Tribal Nations, and Rancherias.
• In an effort to facilitate the increased support requirements of in-person services and the College's outreach and enrollment efforts, we make data-informed decisions when analyzing additional support staff and/or resources.  The pandemic, the shift in workforce, and the lack of qualified candidates have given us an opportunity to look at alternative ways to meet service requirements. For example, the Financial Aid Department is scaling the department's transition to e-forms for financial aid form submissions and DSPS is exploring several confidential, electronic records systems that will expedite accommodation verifications and appointments.  The Division is also working closely with IT to ensure appropriate security, confidentiality, and accessibility needs may be met with a projected contract in the next 30-60 days and implementation 4-6 months thereafter. If successful, this model of support may extend to additional direct student support service areas to include General Counseling/Advising, Veterans, and other special programs. 

In her verbal comments, Crystal noted that are committed to increasing the wages of our student workers in response to the recession and inflationary pressures. She will provide more specifics on the increases in her September administrative report. Crystal also shared that Student Services hosted an Advising Day on July 28 that gave students and opportunity to explore career pathways, meet with an advisor and register for fall. More than 85 students registered and participated in the 3-hour workshop. The morning of Advising Day, our enrollment was 8,325 and headcount was 2,895.  At close of business on Advising Day, our enrollment was at 8,887 and headcount reached 3,110. Crystal thanked Katrina Hanson, Myke Magdaleno, Athens Marron, Alex Wright, Barry Tucker, Lili Chen, Courtney Sousa, Montel Vanderhorck, Matt Gilliland, Lacie Meyer, Sherrie Porter, Gary Ronne, Andrew Nichols, Stacy Brown, Jonny Maiullo, Laura Meglemre, Cheryl Merten, Molly Blakemore, Jesse Wiedel, Yuri, Cameron Papp, and the maintenance team for making the event happen. I attached a document that illustrates the student survey results from their Advising Day.

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

• As of July 26, eighty percent of the tables for the auction had been sold.  The CR Foundation is continuing to receive silent and live auction items/packages on a daily basis.
• We are hosting a ceremony to honor three individuals being recognized through the naming of facilities.  The boardroom will be renamed the “Bruce Emad Boardroom” in recognition of Trustee Emad’s years of service to the District; the Light Center will be named the “Jim Davis Light Center” in recognition of Davis’s service as longtime president and board member of the CR Foundation, and AT 126 will be named the “Doris Anne Peñalosa Nursing Classroom” in recognition of her husband Fernando’s gift of $100,000 to the nursing program.