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Published on 12/12/2022.

Audit Committee Meeting

The Audit Committee of the Board met immediately prior to the regular meeting of the Board. The Audit Committee approved the final audit. I am pleased to report that we received an unmodified audit with no findings—the best an institution can receive.  I attached the audit to this blog article.

The Audit Committee also talked about the financing for Stadium Upgrade and New Student Housing Facility. To this item, we are working with KNN Finance and Morgan Stanley on some potential financing opportunities for the Stadium Upgrade Project as well as the design and a portion of the construction cost for the new Student Housing Facility. Due to the variance in the timing of the project phases, the potential borrowing is currently divided into two phases. The first would be approximately $5 million for the Stadium Upgrades and Student Housing design costs. The second would be approximately $15 million for the Student Housing construction costs.

Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees

Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Mathews read the District’s formal statement recognizing 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 Dorn voiced his appreciation for the insightful questions Student Trustee Madsen asked of the three VPI candidates. Trustee Kelley noted that he attended the ACCT and REDDEC meetings. Trustee Dr. Robertson mentioned that she attached the CCLC conference. Trustee Biggin noted that she attended the Grizzly Bowl.

Board Committee Reports: Trustee Dr. Mullery noted that the Audit Committee approved the Final Audit in a meeting prior to the regular meeting of the Board.

Administer Oath of Office to Trustees: Please join me in congratulating Trustee Elect Lorraine Pedrotti for her election to serve as trustee for Area 1, Trustee Mathews for reelection as Area 3’s to the Board, and Trustee Kelley for reelection for Area 2. Vice President Biggin administered the oath of office to these three trustees.

I want to thank Trustee Mathews for her steady leadership and wise counsel as President of the Board. I am immensely grateful that she decided to remain on the Board of the Trustees for another term.

Election Board Officers for Next Year: I am pleased to announce that Trustee Biggin was elected to serve as President of the Board for 2023-24. Joining President Elect Biggin as an officer on the Board will be Trustee Dr. Robertson as Vice President and Trustee Dr. Mullery as Clerk. These 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 a few new colleagues to our college community and say goodbye to two staff members.

Daniel Jensen and will serve as Custodian I (Evenings). Daniel’s received a Bachelors from Cal Poly Humboldt in Business and Recreation Administration and has worked with the Postal Service and Humboldt Partner Group.

Mayra Sanchez assumed the role of Student Development Advisor, Multicultural/Student Equity on November 28. Mayra has a Bachelors from Cal Poly Humboldt in Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She worked at Open Door Community Health Centers coordinating patient scheduling and billing payments and checking patient insurance, demographic, and health history to keep the information current. She also worked at Cal Poly Humboldt as a department peer mentor in the Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 

Effective January 15, 2023, Corrie Watson will assume the role as our Police Sargent/Law Enforcement Academy Coordinator. Corrie’s experience as a police officer and a trainer is perfect for her new role. She has served as a police officer for over 13 years in a variety of roles including investigations, field training officer, internal program development, records and evidence management with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. Corrie was awarded the Excellence Award for meritorious service while assigned to the EPD’s Training Division for the period of January 2019 to April 2019 for developing a POST certified first-aid course for the Eureka Police Department. This program allowed EPD to maintain State required standards for perishable skills for first responders. Her efforts made EPD personnel the best trained officers for first aid skills in Humboldt County. She’s also served as an instructor in our police academy. Corrie is enrolled in Cal Poly Humboldt with a major of Leadership Studies with a goal of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree upon program completion.

Dr. Lisa Gaetje will begin service as our Vice President of Instruction on February 1, 2023. Lisa has a Ph.D. from University of Southern California in Organizational Change and Leadership, a Masters from University of Southern California in Sociology, a Masters from California State University, Long Beach in Counseling, and a Bachelors from UC Irvine in Social Sciences/Drama. Her past experience includes working as the Dean of Social Sciences and Guided Pathways Co-Chair at Cypress College, service on the Curriculum Committee, and service on the United Faculty Negotiating team from 2017-2020.

Heather Payne will serve as our Assistant Professor, Nursing (Tenure-Track) on the Del Norte Campus on January 1, 2023.  Heather is currently serving as a temporary one-semester fulltime nursing faculty in Del Norte. She has a Masters from Aspen University in MSN-Education, BSN from Simpson University, and an Associate’s degree from College of the Redwoods in ADN Nursing. Her past experience includes working as a RN-Pediatrics for Open Door Community Health Center and as a RN with United Indian Health Services.

Jasmine Iniquez will serve as CR’s Assistant Professor in Aquaculture starting on January 1, 2023.  She has a Masters from Kentucky State University in Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences and a Bachelors from Cal Poly Humboldt in Fisheries Biology. Most recently Jasmine was a research assistant with Kentucky State University where she performed research, data collection, and analysis and reporting, maintained a variety of recirculating aquaculture systems designs and sizes, supervised, mentored and trained student interns on basic aquaculture husbandry, assisted with laboratory exercises and instructed students on the use of ultrasonography in fish and ultrasound equipment for selected laboratory exercises, and assisted with assembly and improvement of recirculating aquaculture systems.

We also welcome five new associate faculty for spring 2023—Sean Anderson (Nursing), Marnie Atkins (Native American Studies), Jacqueline Labinsky (Nursing), Edward Wilson (Administration of Justice), and Charles Wormhoudt (English).

The Board ratified my acceptance of Prudence Ratliff’s resignation as the Director of Adult and Community Education and Breauna DeMatto’s resignation as an Instructional Support Specialist ISS II.

Approve/Ratify Contracts, Agreements and MOUs: The Trustees approved several contracts at this meeting. I want to call attention to a few of the contracts. I am sad to say that a population of our students face homelessness for a variety of reasons. We want to provide as much support as possible to help them be successful academically. One support tool we will employ is to use some of our state grant funds to contract with the Arcata House for $496,280 to provide support for CR students who face homelessness. The CR/Arcata House Partnership was established to work in cooperation with the CR Basic Needs Center, Retention, the Behavior Intervention Team, and the Office of Student Services to deploy a full range of supportive services, shelter, and housing. This housing stabilization partnership is poised to help up to 30 housing-insecure students maintain or obtain housing while remaining enrolled in at least six (6) units of study per semester.  All students and their families entering the housing stabilization program at any level will receive case management with the goal of obtaining permanent housing and financial stability with necessary supports in place by the end of a term, support, and connections to other resources on and off campus. A Partnership Services Liaison employed by Arcata House will work on the Eureka campus with travel to other sites, while also serving students remotely across the District.

This rapid housing/rehousing stabilization partnership operates on referral basis from CR staff to Arcata House and utilizes these primary strategies:

• Dedicated onsite supportive services to secure appropriate interventions such as homeless prevention/diversion as well as long-term shelter and housing assistance
• Emergency shelter assistance utilizing a combination of Arcata House student-dedicated housing, long-stay shelter, emergency hotel facilities with onsite supportive services
• Deposit and rental assistance to maintain or secure permanent housing
• Safe-house accommodations at an undisclosed location for fleeing/DV students in need

In addition to housing stabilization, Arcata House case management will provide a full-range of basic needs assistance to any eligible student including transportation assistance (bus passes, gas cards, and transport in AHP vehicles), food services, laundry services, etc.  

Other tools include the continuation of the CR Foundation’s Room and Board Scholarship, the Basic Needs Center and the expansion of the Food Pantry.

Several contracts, funded through restricted or bond monies, were related to our new student housing project. We’re contracting with BKF Engineers for $49,400 to provide civil engineering services for our student housing. We’re also engaging KTGY to provide architectural services for the planning, development and new construction of the student housing project.  This $2,119,625 engagement will be funded by a combination of the $1.625 million that the District set aside last year for the new Student Housing and Athletics Field and Stadium Upgrade projects as well as financing through a certificate of participation (COP).

Approve Curriculum Changes:  The Board approved several course revisions and a new certificate and degree in aquaculture. I want to thank Interim Vice President Kerry Mayer, the Curriculum Committee, and the Academic Senate for supporting our new aquaculture program by developing the Certificate of Achievement and an Associate of Science Degree in Aquaculture Technology.

Action/Discussion Items

Accept the Final Audit: The Board accepted the Final Audit. I want to point out some language included in the Economic Factors May Affect the Future section of the final audit document that President of the Board Mathews mentioned as a caution for the future. On page 10 of the audit (which I attached to this blog summary) the auditors noted the following.

The 2021-22 enacted State budget, when compared to the Governor’s January 2021 proposal, was surprisingly robust due to revenue performance that was better than expected. The COLA estimate increased from the 1.5%January estimate, to 5.07%. The new COLA rate included a catch-up amount for 2020-21 and a small COLA for 2021-22. The budget also included the payback of the revenue deferrals so the District had adequate cash flow to pay the TRAN funds back upon maturity. The District’s ability to participate in the Emergency Conditions Allowance provision for FTES protections made the SCFF more favorable for the District than Hold Harmless, despite the decline in enrollment, resulting in an estimated SCFF revenue of $31.217 million.

The 2022-23 enacted State budget was even more robust than the previous year due to an anticipated continuation of strong revenue performance. The Budget included a 6.56% COLA with additional investments in community college base funding and significant one-time funds for specific purposes such as instructional equipment and scheduled maintenance. As mentioned previously, the District will be participating in the ECA for 2022-23 due to lost enrollments. Enrollment in Fall 2022 is approximately 12% higher than Fall 2021 enrollment, but there is still a long way to go to get back to 2019-20 levels. The SCFF is favorable for the District in 2022-23.

While there are several factors that indicate the State has recovered economically from the pandemic, there is still uncertainty about the future of the economy. While the 2021-22 and 2022-23 State budgets have included surpluses, a recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office is anticipating a $24 billion budget deficit for 2023-24. The deficit is mostly driven by revenue levels being lower than previously estimated.

The uncertainty of the economy and the ability of the District to recover FTES create significant challenges for multi-year budget planning. The District will continue to build annual budgets assuming conservative state revenue amounts, ensuring that staff salaries and benefits and operational needs are met. PERS and STRS increases are built into the annual budget, as are funds to cover OPEB obligations.

The District’s economic condition is driven primarily by the level of state support provided to the California community colleges system, by the District’s enrollment and performance results, and by the District ability to control costs. A fundamental goal for the District is to manage costs, so that expenditure growth does not outpace revenue growth and the fund balance continues to increase. An additional goal is for the District to implement initiatives that will increase student success metrics in‐line with the Chancellor’s Office Vision for Success.

By continually monitoring the fiscal environment and updating the multi‐year forecast revenue and expense assumptions with new information as it becomes available and taking the necessary budget actions, the District will be positioned to maintain a healthy fund balance and continue to have revenue levels that meet operational needs.

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: This month’s report covered the period of July 1, 2022 to October 3, 2022 and continues to show that our projected 2022-23 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance is $6,291,606, or 17.5% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures. Our Transfers out are comprised of the following:

 $90,000         Child Development Center

  $67,122         Shively Farm

$820,000         OPEB fund

$977,122         Total

I also want to mention that the Chancellor’s Office approved our application to participate in the Emergency Allowance Condition funding program. The emergency condition allowance adjustment to FTES will be applied by the Chancellor’s Office. The Chancellor’s Office will apply the following protections to the District’s 2022-23 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. 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. Specifically, the protected 2022-23 credit FTES amount will be used as the 2022-23 credit FTES in the calculation of the three-year average of credit FTES in 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.

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.

Julia and I will present a revised budget to the Board’s Audit Committee and the full Board in January that reflects the ECA revenue.

District Compliance with the Fifty Percent Law Requirement: The Fifty Percent Law requires all community college districts to spend at least half of their “Current Expense of Education” for “Salaries of Classroom Instructors.”  Education Code Section 84362 and the implementing regulations in the California Code of Regulations title 5, section 59200, et. al., provide for exemptions under certain circumstances.   Our 50% Law calculation for 2021-22 is 56.19%. This is the highest it’s been since 2016-17.  In comparison here are the 50% Law calculations for the past few years:

• 2020-21 - 52.17%
• 2019-20 - 54.27%
• 2018-19 - 53.95%
• 2017-18 - 54.97%
• 2016-17 - 55.02%

Approve Sabbatical Recommendation for 2023-24: I am very pleased that the Board approved my recommendation to grant John Johnston a sabbatical for the spring 2024 semester. Professor Johnston plans to develop a free comprehensive course text available for student and instructor use in any section of Philosophy 12: Introduction to Logic taught by any instructor at CR. The text will provide detailed explanations of the fundamental principles of argument with a focus on formal logic and will include study guides, practice exercises, and homework exercises. The text will be available to students as a free download or as an inexpensive printed packet sold in the CR bookstore. This text will provide all course materials PHIL 12 students need so they will likely incur $0 for course materials for PHIL 12.

First Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: Several changes will be completed on a few BPs and an AP. We will add Klamath-Trinity to AP 3420 and add Campus Police Department to BP 3500.  We will also fix the “Chief of Policed” to “Chief of Police” in BP 3506 and “its fine art” to “its fine arts” in BP 3830.  The format in BP3505, BP3506 and BP3507 will be fixed for the second read.

Second Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: I am pleased to say that the Board approved BP 1200 District Mission, BP 6200 Budget Preparation, BP 6250 Budget Management, and several BPs and APs in the 2000s. These documents will now become active.

Emergency Conditions Allowance Plan Update: As I mentioned in the monthly budget approval agenda item above, our Emergency Conditions Allowance (ECA) application was approved by the Chancellor’s Office. To remain eligible for the ECA, I presented an Emergency Conditions Recovery Plan Update to the Board of Trustees that included a Board Policy on Reserves that aligns with the recommendation noted in the Government Finance Officers Association Budgeting Best Practices, confirmed that the District is a CVC-OEI Consortium member and has taken steps to become a Home College, and certified that we do not have any outstanding audits and are current on our MIS data submissions.

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: President Chris Gaines mentioned that the Academic Senate has been working on guiding direction for faculty as we deal with the consequences of AB 928. The guiding direction included establishing two possible GE pathways for students -- the CR GE Pathway and the CalGETC Pathway; endeavoring to keep the CR GE pathway to no more than 21 units; ensuring that the CR GE pathway meets the new Ethnic Studies requirement; ensuring that each course option in all GE categories included in the CR GE pathway be fully approved in the corresponding area in the CalGETC pathway; and encouraging faculty to audit their program/certificate requirements in an attempt to keep programs to no more than 60 units whenever possible. Chris also mentioned that the Academic Senate will discuss several topics related to the EMP this spring semester including DEIA, Distance Education, and faculty culture.

CRFO: President Haggerty discussed the loss of learning, student mental health, and the technology and compensation surveys they deployed to all faculty. Michelle also mentioned that CRFO is collaborating with ASCR on advocating efforts.

Classified: President Engman welcomed Lorraine Pedrotti as a new trustee.

Management Council: Erik’s report included the following:

• There’s a new Academic Advisor at the MEC
• The MEC held a Multicultural Celebration on Tuesday, December 6, 4-6pm and the Chosen Family Celebration with the candle light vigil on Wednesday, December 7, 4-5pm 
• The LRC has 25 new Dell laptops to check out to students for the Spring Semester.
• The Marketing Department is in the process of the Spring Enrollment Marketing drive.
• EOPS hired an additional Advisor for the KT site. 
• All retro and salary increases for staff have been paid out.
• Phase One of District Wi-Fi improvement project, upgrade all existing wireless network gear, is complete. Del Norte and KT were completed before the Fall semester began. Eureka Campus was completed Thanksgiving week. Phase Two is in process, which will add additional access points indoors around areas of high-saturation. Phase Three will begin in Spring, and will expand wireless access to more outdoor areas on campus.

Student Trustee: Student Trustee Madsen was not able to attend the meeting. However, she did forward a written report that we made available to the trustees and public. Her written Student Trustee Report from ASCR meetings on November 10, December 6, and December 8, 2022 included the following information:

• ASCR approved $6,000 to fund an interagency collaboration with Retention Specialists at each CR campus during spring semester. Katrina Hansen, Lauryn Cortez, and Misty Knight have allocated the majority of these funds to cover planned events at the Del Norte and Klamath-Trinity campuses along with Welcome Week on the Eureka campus.
• ASCR is collaborating with the MEC and Housing to support a movie streaming service called Swank that will be free to all CR students and available to stream movies on each campus. Swank covers all licensing fees for streaming and promotional materials, and several educational movies include discussion guides. ASCR is hoping to organize a showing of Just Mercy in the spring with the assistance of the Swank discussion guide. One unique feature of this streaming service is the ability for the college to include “ads” at the beginning before the film streams that are unique to CR. Swank will be another way to engage students by advertising upcoming events, reminding students about important campus policies, and hopefully building community through group movie screenings.
• Cyber Skyline NCL Competition is a national competition to train future cyber security professionals. College of the Redwoods placed 39th overall out of all participating universities and community colleges in America. CR Team 1 placed 72nd out of 3926 teams. Congratulations!! Go Woods! Competition — National Cyber League: https://nationalcyberleague.org/competition. Full results available at www.prweb.com/releases/2022/12/prweb19068940.htm
• ASCR Executive Organizational Senator Jessica Lamas and Eureka Campus Senator Lyli Lopez–both concurrently enrolled Academy of the Redwoods student leaders–decorated index cards with encouraging sayings to share with CR students studying in the library at the Eureka campus. They also gave out granola bars and/or chocolate truffles, and the treats and cards were very well received. ASCR is also sponsoring snacks and drinks in the MEC for finals week Tuesday 12/13 and Wednesday 12/14 to help lift students spirits and spread the word about ASCR’s work. ASCR is still recruiting for four more campus senator positions for the 2022-23 school year, focusing on the Del Norte and Klamath-Trinity campuses. We are also gearing up for early spring recruitment efforts for ASCR elections in March, 2023 in preparation for the 2023-24 school year.
• I attended the Chosen Family Celebration at the MEC and enjoyed connecting with students, faculty, and staff through sharing our experiences of chosen family–friendships that have become family. The event included a candle-light vigil to honor the people who lost their lives at the Club Q shooting in Colorado on November 19, 2022.
• ASCR thanks Michelle Haggarty for speaking to ASCR about the advocacy work the CRFO is doing at the state level. ASCR student leaders are invited to bring any student concerns to Michelle prior to January 11, 2023, in order to bring the concerns to Senator Mike McGuire.
• ASCR thanks Dr. Crystal Morse for speaking to ASCR about the breadth of supportive programs overseen by the Office of Student Services and the importance of student safety. We had a robust discussion about CR’s Police department, and ASCR looks forward to inviting Police Chief Michael Perkins to speak to ASCR at one of our meetings in January. Dr. Morse also spoke about how everyone is a leader, and cultivating leadership can be a great force for good.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent's Report: In my written report, I mentioned that I asked Chief Michael Perkins to engage a consultant from the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) to perform a risk assessment to help us determine which measures are, or should be, in place to eliminate or control the risk in the workplace in any potential situation.  Additionally, Chief Perkins will identify an individual to provide active shooter training to staff and faculty.

I congratulated Trustee Elect Lorraine Pedrotti on her election as trustee for Area 1, Trustee Mathews for reelection to represent Area 3 and Trustee Kelley for reelection for Area 2.

I also mentioned that the Program Viability Committee (PVC) forwarded an AP 4021 recommendation for the Drafting Technology, Restaurant and Hospitality Management, and Athletic programs. I agreed with the following PVC recommendations.

Drafting Technology Program: Move the Drafting Technology Program from a “suspension” status to a formal “program discontinuance” status based upon the documentation provided by Executive Dean Mike Haley as a part of the Program Suspension Annual Report process.  Along with the program discontinuance recommendation, pursue the initiation of an Engineering Technology program in alignment with Cal Poly Humboldt via our AP 4020 process.

Restaurant and Hospitality Management Program: Move the Restaurant and Hospitality Management Program from a “suspension” status to a formal “program discontinuance” status based upon the documentation provided by Executive Dean Mike Haley as a part of the Program Suspension Annual Report process.

Athletics Program: Release the Athletics Program from the PVC “revitalization” process based upon the documentation provided by Athletic Director Bob Brown as a part of the Program Revitalization Annual Report process.

In my verbal comments I mentioned that the Life Science and Physical Science buildings are in the process of being demolished. I attached a few pictures of the demolition to this update. I congratulated the Cal Poly Humboldt Rugby team for capturing the 2022 Men’s Small College National championship by defeating Wayne State 20-15. I also thanked Trustee Mathews for the leadership and wisdom she displayed as President of the Board this year.

Interim Vice President of Instruction Report:  Kerry’s written report recognized the latest cohort of CR faculty and associate faculty members who have successfully completed an 8-week micro-credential course focused on "Designing Learner-Centered and Equitable Courses" through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). Again, CR faculty were superstars in posting a 94% completion rate in this program. Congratulations to Amy Berkowitz, Michael Best, Daniel Chick, Ryan Emenaker, Karyn-Lynn Fisette, Trevor Hartman, Erik Kramer, Chris Lancaster, Natalia Margulis, Shannon Mondor, Carolyn Perkins, Abigail Queen, Stephen Quiggle, Robyn Roberson, Sam Savage, Ernest Shull, and Deborah Syrdal.  These faculty were supported in the process by course facilitators, Leigh Dooley and Oli Mohammadi, who offered support and guidance to faculty during the course.

She also touched on the Academic Senate’s recent approval of a set of Guiding Directions that will inform how we will meet the provisions of AB928.  As we work to meet the requirements of AB928, CR will endeavor to do the following: 

• Establish two possible GE pathways for students -- the CR GE Pathway and the CalGETC Pathway
• Endeavor to keep the CR GE pathway to no more than 21 units
• Ensure that the CR GE pathway meets the new Ethnic Studies requirement
• Ensure that each course option in all GE categories included in the CR GE pathway be fully approved in the corresponding area in the CalGETC pathway
• Encourage faculty to audit their program/certificate requirements in an attempt to keep programs to no more than 60 units whenever possible
• Encourage faculty in disciplines where courses in the CR GE pathway carry more units than are required by the Cal GETC GE pattern to re-evaluate their curriculum with the goal of aligning the unit values of these courses to match the units required to meet the CalGETC requirements

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia’s written report noted that we engaged with tBP Architecture, Inc. to assist with updating the Facilities Master Plan. As part of the process, tBP team held several listening sessions with students, faculty, staff, and community members to get a sense of facilities related strengths, needs, and challenges. The team also conducted an in-depth review of the new Education Master Plan (EMP) to ensure the EMP goals informed the direction of the revised FMP. 

An initial draft of the FMP is currently under review by the Facilities Planning Committee (FPC). The draft FMP will be shared with the various constituency groups once the FPC has completed a review of the draft document.  We hope to have the final FMP draft ready for Board approval in March or April 2023.

She also provided an update on the search for the Director of Facilities and Planning and the Manager of Maintenance and Operations positions. The new Director will focus on the high-level facilities planning, including the construction of new facilities. The Manager will to focus on the daily operations and maintenance of existing facilities.

In her verbal comments, Julie informed that the Board that we engaged tBP Architecture to complete a feasibility study for the football field replacement.

Interim Vice President of Student Services Report:  Crystal’s written report included the Veteran Department’s honoring of Doris (Dorie) Miller for his actions performed on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor which he earned the Navy Cross. Admiral Nimitz said of Miller's commendation, "This marks the first time in this conflict that such high tribute has been made in the Pacific Fleet to a member of his race and I'm sure that the future will see others similarly honored for brave acts." Here is a link to the Veteran Departments website that speaks to Miller’s Navy Cross award https://www.redwoods.edu/student-services/Home/Vets/MoH

Crystal’s verbal comments focused on the services provided by the Arcata House.

Executive Director of the Foundation Report: In Marty’s written report, he noted that he received the 2023-24 Finish Line Scholars Program grant for $125,000, he assisted the Athletics Department in promoting the Grizzly Bowl and securing $6,900 in sponsorships. He also wrote that he is working with Dr. Kintay Johnson and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera to explore how the Foundation may support DACA students and students who are undocumented. In his verbal comments, Marty mentioned that the Foundation’s Presidential Innovations Grants Committee awarded grant funds to several academic and economic innovation proposals in the first round of grant applications. The Foundation will send out another call for proposals in February or March of 2023.

Future Informational Agenda Items: The Trustees asked that an informational report on the District's student advising, academic and mental health support services be added to a future agenda.