September 9, 2021 Minutes of Regular Meeting

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, 2021 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Physically Present

Everett J. Solon, Chair

Jay K. McCracken, Vice Chair

Angela M. Stevenson, Secretary

Amy L. Boyles

Jane E. Goetz

William F. Hunt

Maureen O. Rebholz

Members Virtually Present

Madison N. Miranda, Student Trustee

Members Telephonically Present

Members Absent

Others Physically Present

Jerry Corcoran, President

Matthew Seaton, Vice President for Business Services & Finance

Bonnie Campbell, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Leslie Hofer, Director of Human Resources

Kathy Ross, Controller

Walt Zukowski, Attorney

Others Virtually Present

Tracy Lee, Instructor & President AFT Local 1810

Mr. Solon informed of a couple of items: 1) The provisions related to the Open Meetings Act allowing for Board meetings to be virtual continue due to Governor Pritzker’s most recent disaster proclamation and 2) it is the custom and practice of the college to record Board meetings and the meeting was being recorded both audio and video.

The Board of Trustees welcomed Mr. Bill Hunt, newly appointed Trustee for Illinois Valley Community College.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Mr. McCracken to approve the agenda, as presented.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Delores Robinson, Instructor, provided a “spotlight on the classroom” presentation. Ms. Robinson informed that faculty look forward to sharing with the Board of Trustees regular reports of what is happening in our classrooms and highlighting some of the exciting learning communities that our faculty are fostering and to share news about specific projects students are working on. She noted that the pandemic has brought about a sea-change in educational environments. IVCC’s educational technologists train faculty on innovative ways to continue to deliver content while accommodating students’ schedules and home lives. Ms. Robinson then described the HyFlex teaching format that several faculty members are using with great success. By offering flexible attendance options, faculty can ensure that all students can access classroom content whether it is in person, recorded and watched later, or conducted in a virtual space with the aid of the newest video and audio technology.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS

It was moved by Dr. Rebholz and seconded by Ms. Stevenson to approve the consent agenda, as presented.

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of Minutes – August 12, 2021 Board Meeting

Approval of Bills - $1,140,600.62

Education Fund - $779,524.22; Operations & Maintenance Fund - $52,841.55; Operations & Maintenance (Restricted Fund) - $62,722.80; Auxiliary Fund - $127,148.11; Restricted Fund - $48,683.72; Audit Fund - $4,000.00; and Liability, Protection & Settlement Fund - $65,680.22.

Treasurer’s Report

Personnel

Approved stipends for pay periods ending July 31, 2021 and August 14, 2021 & Part-time Faculty and Staff Appointments August 2021.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corcoran reported that as many of you know, the Governor’s Executive Order to have higher education personnel and students receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination or submit to weekly testing requirements has been extended by two weeks with a deadline for compliance being September 19. He noted that everyone realizes what is involved when one considers doing something like this in a short window of time so the extension is much appreciated. Second doses of either two-dose vaccine must be received 30 days after the first dose as directed by vaccine providers. Dr. Corcoran added that getting a program like this up and running with accountability measures has been daunting, however, our friends at ICCB, counterparts at other community colleges, university partners and a number of IVCC folks have come together to make it happen and he is proud of the results. Dr. Corcoran noted that while brainstorming what had to get done and by whom with Dr. Matt Seaton, Bonnie Campbell, Leslie Hofer and Mark Grzybowski two weeks ago, it became apparent that we needed a COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Protocol plan to be rolled out shortly and the IVCC team delivered one that has gone to Walt Zukowski for his input. Dr. Corcoran commended Tracy Lee, faculty president, for reaching out as well and offering to be another key contributor to the Plan as it comes together in the next few days. He noted that overall, students and employees have been understanding and supportive. Dr. Corcoran offered Kudos to all on a job well done. He added that as things change, we will do our best to keep everyone up to date. Dr. Corcoran informed that our 21^st Century Scholars dinner program scheduled for October 6th at Senica’s Oak Ridge Golf Club has been cancelled because of the pandemic. He noted that we sent a notice about this matter to the 39 Society members, and the feedback has been very understanding. Dr. Corcoran informed that instead, we will proceed with plans for a virtual ceremony to be handled expertly by Matthew Klein Films and our great staff in Community Relations and the Foundation. He noted that if there are any more Board members who would like to join the Society, Fran Brolley would love to talk with you. Dr. Corcoran reported that several faculty members, support staff and administrators met this morning with Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) representatives to talk about our dental assisting program and plans for moving forward in the area of Dental Hygiene. Dr. Corcoran noted that feedback was positive, Heather Seghi and Dean Shane Lange do fine work so we are not expecting any surprises when we have our exit interview with our friends tomorrow. Dr. Corcoran informed that one of Dr. Anderson’s top priorities as VP for Academic Affairs before retiring at the end of December was to coordinate the college’s Assurance Argument report to be sent to the Higher Learning Commission. As some of you will recall, we moved from being an AQIP institution to the Open Pathway for accreditation four years ago. Dr. Corcoran noted that the HLC team that reviewed our report offered feedback one week ago with a draft report, then followed that up with a very nice phone call to me yesterday morning from the team chair in which he wanted to be on record as saying overall IVCC is doing fine work and we have much to be proud of. He added that areas in which we need to focus our attention over the next two years are assessment that is aligned with our new institutional learning outcomes, assessment of program outcomes, co-curricular assessment, faculty involvement in the institutional assessment process, and the results of assessment being used for overall program improvement. Dr. Corcoran informed that the team also suggested that we launch a new quality initiative that could have an impact on retention; He noted that Dr. Anderson suggested that we send a team to a training session facilitated by the HLC that could work with us on this objective. Dr. Corcoran informed that we will budget for and plan on going down this road moving forward. He added that this is an area in which we will also prioritize for our new Academic Vice President. Dr. Corcoran advised that the ICCB will be releasing a new version of the Economic Impact Study of Community Colleges on September 29. He noted that for those who have seen these reports in the past, they not only focus on the system overall but also each individual community college across the state, so as soon as he has that in hand he would pass it along. Dr. Corcoran informed that in the interest of community colleges working together, he wanted the Board to know that although the DCEO grant opportunity IVCC pursued a few months ago that would have led to the development of a Manufacturing Academy in partnership with Illinois Central College, Lincoln Land CC, Spoon River CC and IVCC, was not selected, a new consortium of community colleges is moving forward involving Heartland CC, Richland CC, and Parkland CC to the mix as a way of marketing our Central Illinois Region to employers in the area who need what we can deliver, or those who would like to come here and see first-hand our ability to share resources and work together in a number of fields.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

None

TREASURER’S BOND RENEWAL

It was moved by Mr. McCracken and seconded by Dr. Boyles to accept the bond proposal from R. J. Galla for three years at $29,744.

CONTRACT EXTENSION CUMULUS MEDIA CHICAGO

It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Dr. Rebholz to approve the five-month contract extension with Cumulus Media Chicago for $20,000.

STAFF APPOINTMENT – BONNIE CAMPBELL, INTERIM DEAN OF NURSING PROGRAMS

It was moved by Dr. Rebholz and seconded by Ms. Stevenson to approve the appointment of Bonnie Campbell, Interim Dean of Nursing Programs, with additional compensation of $422 per pay period effective August 16, 2021 until a new Dean of Nursing Programs is employed.

Student Advisory Vote: – “Aye” – Ms. Miranda. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes” – Ms. Stevenson, Mr. McCracken, Dr. Rebholz, Dr. Boyles, Ms. Goetz, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Solon. “Nay” – none. Motion carried. Mr. McCracken noted how much we appreciate Ms. Campbell stepping up to take on these added responsibilities during the interim.

ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

Mr. Solon pointed out the information items on pages 32-47 of the Board book.

TRUSTEE COMMENT

Ms. Goetz informed of the ICCTA meeting this coming Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11 in Springfield and noted that she planned to attend on Saturday. Ms. Goetz encouraged Board members who are not already members of the 21^st Century Scholars Society to join that fine group.

Mr. Solon pointed out the handout on the Trustee mandatory training available to the Board through the ICCTA website and by DVD upon request.

CLOSED SESSION

Mr. Solon requested a motion and a roll call vote at 6:48 p.m. to enter into a closed session to discuss: 1) pending or imminent litigation; 2) complaint lodged against an official or employee of the public body; 3) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body; 4) collective negotiations; and 5) closed session minutes. Motion made by Ms. Stevenson and seconded by Dr. Boyles to enter into a closed session.

Student Advisory Vote: – “Aye” – Ms. Miranda. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes”– Ms. Stevenson, Mr. McCracken, Dr. Rebholz, Dr. Boyles Ms. Goetz, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Solon. “Nay” – none. Motion carried. The Board immediately entered closed session at 6:50 p.m.

Motion made by Dr. Boyles and seconded by Ms. Goetz to return to the regular meeting.

Student Advisory Vote: – “Aye” – Ms. Miranda. Roll Call Vote: “Ayes”– Ms. Stevenson, Mr. McCracken, Dr. Rebholz, Dr. Boyles, Ms. Goetz, Mr. Hunt and Mr. Solon. “Nay” – none. Motion carried. The regular meeting resumed at 7:32 p.m.

CLOSED SESSION MINUTES

It was moved by Dr. Rebholz and seconded by Mr. McCracken to approve and retain the closed session minutes of August 12, 2021.

OTHER

None

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Solon declared the meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.