Published on 10/31/2022.
Comments/Board Business
Land Acknowledgement: President of the Board 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 Mathews and Trustee Dr. Mullery thanked outgoing Trustee Coppini for his service and commitment to the Board. November was his last board meeting. President Mathews also mentioned that she attended the Healthcare Education Hub press conference.
Vice President Biggin mentioned that she attended the Healthcare Education Hub press conference. She congratulated Trustee Coppini on his retirement from the Board and thanked him for his service. She also noted that Jonathan Maiullo attended the KT mid-semester celebration.
Administer Oath of Office to Michael Perkins as Police Chief: I am happy to report that Michael Perkins was sworn in as CR’s Chief of Police today. Chief Perkins will present his vision for the new hybrid police/public safety department at the December board meeting.
Presentation of the Slate of Board Officers for Next Year: The Ad Hoc Committee on Nominations for Board Officers nominated Trustee Biggin for President, Trustee Dr. Robertson for Vice President, and Trustee Dr. Mullery for Clerk as board officers for 2023-24. The slate of nominees and nominations from the floor will be voted on at the December meeting according to BP 2210 Officers. The new officers will assume office at the January Board meeting.
Consent Calendar Action Items
Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: With the Board’s action we welcome two new staff to our classified service. Jourdan Farmer will serve as the Administrative Office Coordinator in Disability Services and Programs for Students and Holly Wendt will join the Del Norte staff as a Student Development Advisor for Del Norte Education Center/Pelican Bay.
We also welcome two new associate faculty for spring 2023—Daniel Dawson in Religious Studies and Rusty Hicks in Political Science.
The Board ratified my acceptance of Kevin Carter’s resignation as the Director of Facilities and Planning effective October 3, 2022 and Roberta Farrar’s revised retirement date of December 31, 2022.
I want to add some clarity to agenda line item numbers 35 and 36 which refer to the hiring of Adam Blake and David Cuevas as temporary cooks in our Dining Services operation. Adam and David were hired at $17.00/hour from October 2022 to June 2023. The $119,000 included in the parenthesis at the end of the agenda line numbers refers to the total budget set aside for all temporary cooks in the cafeteria. It does not reflect the cost of the individual temporary employee).
Approve Curriculum Changes: There were a few courses included in this agenda item that I believe must be noted a particularly meaningful. The Trustees approved several new aquaculture courses critical to the development of our new aquaculture program:
- Intro to Aquaculture—Intro to Aquaculture will be part of the Aquaculture Technology program, which will prepare students for careers in aquaculture and management of aquatic ecosystems.
- Applied Aquaculture—Applied Aquaculture will be part of the Aquaculture Technology program, which prepares students for careers in aquaculture and management of aquatic ecosystems.
- Introduction to Fisheries—Introduction to Fisheries will be part of the Aquaculture Technology program, which will prepare students for careers in aquaculture and management of aquatic ecosystems.
- Salmonid Aquaculture—Salmonid Aquaculture will be part of the Aquaculture Technology program, which prepares students for careers in aquaculture and management of aquatic ecosystems.
Also approved were three new courses related to our need to expand course offerings that will meet the CSU Area F (Ethnic Studies) requirement and, starting in fall 2024, our local Ethnic Studies GE or graduation requirement:
- Introduction to African American Studies—Students graduating college with a degree ought to have the option to take a course like this in order to navigate the United States and world effectively in the 21st century and be productive members of our civil, democratic society.
- The African American in the United States-to 1877 and The African American in the United States-since 1865—These two courses represent a significant part of United States history and present society that students would benefit from studying.
I want to provide a brief explanation about the inactivation of Math-130 and the creation of Math 230—a non-credit precalculus preparation course. The data faculty gathered, as per the requirements of AB 705, did not show that a pre-collegiate Math course (Math 130—formerly Math 120) helped students pass the transfer-level Math course. One of the specific requirements of AB 705 and pre-collegiate courses is that there has to be clear data showing that students are not “harmed” by taking the pre-collegiate course and that it is clear, and overwhelmingly so, that students who are in the pre-collegiate course are able to successfully complete the transfer-level course at a rate significantly higher than if they just enrolled in the transfer-level course straight away. The data does not back this up, so the Math 130 course was properly removed from our curriculum.
The faculty decided that offering a non-credit alternative (Math 230) was the wisest choice. This would satisfy the needs of our counseling and advising colleagues and would not require that students use financial aid toward a non-transferable credit course. It is permissible under AB 705 to offer non-credit support courses, as long as they are not required and/or pre-requisites to the college-level course(s).
Action/Discussion Items
Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: This month’s report covered the period of July 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022 or 25.0% of the fiscal year and showed a projected 2022-23 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of $6,291,606, or 17.5% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures. Transfers out are comprised of the following:
$90,000 Child Development Center
$67,122 Shively Farm
$820,000 OPEB fund
$977,122 Total
You sharp eyed folks may have noticed that we had a purchase order that listed Computerland of Silicon Valley three separate times but with different amounts: on Page 2 of 6, PO#06453, dated 9/12/22 for $31,822.89; on Page 3 of 6, PO#06453, dated 9/12/22 for $31,307.99; and on Page 4 of 6, PO#06453, dated 9/12/22 for $9,800.52. The grand total of $72,931.40 was divided between three different funding sources where the programs were different: General fund for $31,822.89, American Rescue Plan fund for $31,307.99, and Technology Fee for $9,800.52.
Quarterly Financial Status Report: The Board approved our 311Q that covered the 3-month period ending September 30, 2022 for the unrestricted general fund. I want to point out that the fiscal year 2021-22 actual revenues and expenditures reported on the 311Q were sourced from the certified 2021-22 311 Annual Report, which reflected the unaudited actual 2021-22 fund reserve of 19%. The audited actual 2021-22 ending fund balance, which becomes the 2022-23 beginning fund balance, will be reflected in the Monthly Financial Status Report with the audit is complete.
I also want to mention that our 311 Q report included a statement saying that we have potential fiscal problems that need to be addressed. We are working to meet requirements noted in the Emergency Conditions Allowance for FTES protections for 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The District is implementing actions that will contribute to enrollment restoration. If we do not meet target FTES in 2023-24 and 2024-25 and actual FTES are reflected in the 3-year average for the SCFF, our revenue could decline when revenue protections expire. We are monitoring expenditures closely in order to make necessary adjustments in time to avoid putting the District in a situation where our expenditures outperform our revenue.
Sunset BP 2900 and AP 2900 and Rescind Resolution 782: The Board of Trustees unanimously approved my recommendation to sunset BP 2900 and AP 2900 and rescind Resolution 782 in time for the start of spring registration on November 14. My rationale for the recommendation was twofold; first, Governor Newsom will end the state's COVID-19 state of emergency on February 28, 2023. Second, on August 22, 2022, CDC epidemiologist Greta Massetti stated that both vaccines and prior infection offer protection from severe symptomatic COVID and “so it really makes the most sense to not differentiate with our [CDC] guidance or our [CDC] recommendations based on vaccination status at this time.” Because of this, the CDC’s guidance treat vaccinated and unvaccinated people the same. I believe that sunsetting BP/AP 2900 and rescinding Resolution 782 will help us recover lost enrollment for the Eureka and Del Norte campuses.
Recommendation to Name the New Art Gallery after Mr. Floyd Bettiga: I am pleased to announce that the Board approved my recommendation to name the art gallery in the new Creative Arts Complex in honor of Emeritus Professor Floyd Bettiga. Floyd was one of the original faculty members hired in 1964 to teach art at CR, started our permanent art collection, and established the Floyd Bettiga Art Scholarship.
Informational Reports
Update on DACA: Dr. Kintay Johnson and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera from our Multicultural and Equity Center (MEC) discussed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and what the institution is doing to help our DACA and undocumented students. If you are not aware, DACA is an administrative relief that protects eligible immigrants who came to the United States when they were children from deportation. Our undocumented students —even those with DACA status —face unique challenges financing their education.
I attached Kintay’s presentation to this blog article that highlights all of the activities the MEC is implementing to support our undocumented and DACA students.
Guided Pathways Update: Professor Nicole Bryant Lescher discussed CR’s guided pathways and dual enrollment efforts. She informed the Trustees that:
- Guided Pathways fosters innovation, creative problem solving, and collaboration in the service of students.
- Guided Pathways work integrates with our Education Master Plan, Division and Program goals and projects, and the District’s commitment to equity.
- Guided Pathways is the framework through which the District increases enrollment, persistence, completion and student goal attainment through data-driven, cross-role, systems work.
- When we say “systems work” in Guided Pathways, we mean people work, which means strengthening our culture as we strengthen our structures and processes.
I attached a copy of her presentation to this blog summary.
Organizational Reports
CRFO: Vice President Kramer reported on several state and local issues CRFO is involved in. He also reported that CRFO will hold a general membership meeting next week.
Classified: President Engman reported that CSEA is working on nominating CSEA officers for the next two years.
Student Trustee: Student Trustee Madsen’s written report noted several informational items including: ASCR’s approval of $5,000 to fund a campus beautification project with CR’s Art Department to paint art murals on the utility boxes on the Eureka Campus; Club TriO’s recognition as an official ASCR club; ASCR’s funding of $1,000 for catering and prizes for KT’s mid-semester celebration event; co-sponsoring the Campus Community Dialog On Race (CDOR) speakers Saul Flores and Jiggy Yoon; and ASCR’s $3,000 allocation to Student Services for food and prizes during Wellness Week on the Eureka Campus.
Student Trustee Madsen verbally reported that ASCR events committee, the MEC, and Housing collaborated to put on a student-led Haunted House on October 31 and November 1 and she was not able to attend the California Fix Financial Aid visioning session in Sacramento on 10/27-28 due to illness. She hopes to receive a copy of the report produced from the visioning session and will share any relevant insights with the Board once she receives them.
Administrative Reports
President/Superintendent's Report: My written report included:
In my verbal comments I mentioned that I took part in a press conference earlier on November 1 with Dr. Tom Jackson and Senator Mike McGuire to announce the partnership between College of the Redwoods, Cal Poly Humboldt, regional health care providers and the State of California to develop a health care educational center that will encourage students from multiple academic disciplines to work collaboratively and facilitate academic pathways between College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt for students who want to pursue additional training in the health care field. This new joint project will allow us to expand our academic programming into areas that will help alleviate the dire health care workforce shortage in our region.
We would like the Health Care Education Hub to be a state-of-the-art innovation center with multiple high fidelity simulation labs that will replicate pre-hospital care, intra-hospital care, and home care experiences. The facility will have space for classrooms and a conference site for Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods. In addition to nursing education, we envision using this space to train allied health professionals such as psychiatric technicians, scrub technicians, respiratory therapy, radiology technicians, and more. Collaborating with community health care and human services partners will be critical for creating a dynamic resource designed to prepare our workforce to meet the complex needs in our communities.
The 30,000-square-foot facility located at 1601 Samoa Blvd in Arcata, the Cal Poly Humboldt Samoa Facility will be renovated and adapted into a state-of-the-art simulation and training spaces. These spaces will allow for the practical application of skills being taught in the classroom, which is critical to development of the practitioners. The project will accommodate program development with expanded access to classrooms, offices, conference spaces, laboratories, and training facilities.
College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt are in the early phases of planning with a goal of the project being completed in 24 months.
Here’s a link to the Times-Standard article about the Healthcare Education Hub:
https://www.times-standard.com/2022/11/01/mike-mcguire-secures-10-million-for-health-care-learning-lab
Interim Vice President of Instruction Report: Kerry’s written report mentioned that:
- Our Ag Program and the CR Shively Sustainable Farm will participate in a grant project funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to support climate resiliency in farming. CR will receive $34,302 over the course of the next two years to host "The Climate Resilient Farmer: A College of the Redwoods training program providing long term and sustainable strategies for climate resilience and adaptations."
- Each year, on behalf of the Chancellor's Office, Santa Rosa Junior College deploys the CTE Employment Outcomes Survey (CTEOS) which is a statewide student survey to assess employment outcomes of students who have participated in career technical education coursework at California Community Colleges. From CR's 2021 CTEOS College Report: A total of 504 CR students were surveyed and 173 (34%) students responded: 42% by email, 38% by phone, and 21% by SMS. The results of the survey showed that completing CTE studies and training – whether or not a credential is earned or whether or not a student transfers – is related to positive employment outcomes. The preponderance of respondents are employed and are working in the same field as their studies or training. General findings include:
- 89% of all respondents reported that they were either "Satisfied" or "Very Satisfied" with the education and training they received at CR
- 82% of all respondents reported that they secured a job that is either "Closely" or "Very Closely" related to their program of study at CR
- 92% of all respondents reported that they are employed between 20 and 40 hours per week
- 79% of all respondents reported that it took them between 0 to 3 months to find a job once they had completed their training at CR
More key results include:
- $8.50 is the overall change in hourly wages after completing training—in dollars
- 52% is the overall change in hourly wages after completing training—in percentage gain
- 86% of respondents reported being employed for pay
- 27% of respondents reported transferring to another college or university
In her verbal comments, Kerry thanked Trustee Coppini for his service to the District and thanked the Board for approving the recommendation to name the new art gallery after Floyd Bettiga. She also provided some statistics relative to our Shively Farm CSA:
- 859 baskets of strawberries were harvested for our CSA this season. This doesn’t include the strawberries at our farm stand, or strawberries that we sold wholesale!
- 806 ears of corn went to CSA members this season, over the span of five weeks
- Over 85 different varieties of crops were grown for the CSA this year
- 54 members received fresh, certified organic produce harvested on a weekly basis by our students and staff from June 21st through November 3rd!
Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia’s written report noted that:
- We have 11.7 more faculty than we are obligated to have per CR’s full-time faculty compliance number (FON) calculation. Our Fall 2022 FON is 61.2 The total full-time equivalent faculty the District has on staff is 72.8. In comparison, our Fall 2021 compliance number was 56.2 with a total full-time equivalent faculty number of 69.0, or 12.8 above the number required.
- The BAC recommended updates to Interim Draft BP 2800 that will help to clearly define the purpose and uses of the unrestricted general fund (UGF) reserve. The BAC is also working to identify revenue contingent spending priorities in the event that revenues are higher than anticipated and the UGF reserve exceeds the target of 2-months' worth of general fund expenditures.
Interim Vice President of Student Services Report: Crystal’s written report shared the heroic story of the Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez as the VRC's Medal of Honor project’s honoree for November 2022.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
On 2 May 1968, Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire.
Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters, of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, returned to off-load wounded crew members and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team.
Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader.
When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant BENAVIDEZ mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt.
He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed from behind by an enemy soldier. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he sustained additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary.[5][note 1] He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded.
Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant BENAVIDEZ' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.
In her verbal comments, Crystal congratulated Michael Perkins for being sworn in as our first Chief of Police. She also mentioned that we re-initiated the Retention Alert program this fall.
Executive Director of the Foundation Report: In Marty’s written report, he noted that he assisted the Welding Club with the fundraising event. He’s also collaborating with ASCR to draft fundraising procedures for how ASCR approved clubs can work with the Foundation to coordinate fundraising activities, working on a Giving Tuesday campaign to launch in mid-November, and hired Lynette Mullen to work with our new librarian, Susan Gehr to review materials in the College of the Redwoods Archive including old newspaper clippings, athletics information, pictures, catalogs, and student papers for the CR History Project.
Marty verbally reported that the innovation fund deadline closed and he received five applications for funding. He also reported that the Foundation piloted the Second Chance Scholarship—a debt forgiveness program for students who accumulated a debt to the College. Under this scholarship program, a student’s debt will be forgiven if they register for classes. So far, we've received one application for the program.