June 2021 Board Report

Dental hygiene was approved as an Associate of Applied Science degree by Illinois Valley Community College trustees Thursday. The program will begin in fall 2023 after students have met prerequisites.

Each year, 10-15 students leave the district to study dental hygiene at neighboring community colleges, said Dental Assisting Program Coordinator Heather Seghi.

“The colleges are located at least an hour from IVCC,” Seghi said. “This program will meet the needs of local dentists while assuring a quality education for those pursuing dental hygiene close to home.”

To qualify, students must first complete IVCC’s dental assisting program or another Illinois American Dental Association-Commission on Dental Accreditation (ADA-CODA) dental assisting program.

The AAS includes courses in nutrition, microbiology, chemistry, periodontology, pain management, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, psychology, oral pathology and more.

In other business, IVCC President Jerry Corcoran revealed the college’s response to the state moving to Phase 5 of the Governor’s Restore Illinois plan including:

  • The return of all student services.
  • Daily sanitizing of high-touch areas and temperature-monitoring will remain through the summer. Contact tracing will be conducted when necessary.
  • Students and staff not fully vaccinated are still expected to wear face masks and practice social distancing.
  • This fall, 74 percent of classes will return to a traditional, in-person format.   

In other business, trustees approved submission of three projects totaling over $13 million to the Community College Capital Resource Allocation Management Program (RAMP):

  • A Library/Student Success Center for $5.5 million; the college’s share would be $1.3 million. The Center would be a one-stop for academic support services such as tutoring, student help desk and the library.
  • A Professional Development Center for $3 million with the college’s share at $770,800. The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Assessment (CETLA) would move into what is now the Learning Commons.
  • A $4.4 million Agriculture Center (with IVCC’s share $1.1 million) to house a classroom and lab. It will be located adjacent to the equipment storage facility south of campus.

The board also approved:

  • Renewal of workers’ compensation insurance with Illinois Counties Risk Management Trust for $67,389, a decrease of $12,669.
  • A three-year contract extension with G4S Secure Solutions.
  • A 2.5 increase in compensation for 246 employees not affected by a labor agreement.
  • Closed session minutes from May 13.
  • Transfer of $539,063 to a Capital Development Board trust account as the college’s share for a 75 percent state-funded exterior maintenance project. The state’s share will be $1.6 million for work to prevent air and moisture infiltration.
  • Authorization to continue payment for standard operating expenditures from July 1 through budget adoption.
  • Contracts for Vice President for Business Services and Finance Cheryl Roelfsema, Vice President for Academic Affairs Deborah Anderson and Vice President for Student Services Mark Grzybowski.

The board learned:

  • Assessment Center coordinator Sarah Trager and custodian Ben Simpson were granted leave of absences.
  • Part-time Computer Aided Design instructor Barbara Bouxsein will retire after 20 years. “I would like to thank (CAD program coordinator) Dorene Data for the opportunity and good guidance through everything,” Bouxsein said.
  • IVCC women’s soccer coach Rey Arteaga resigned after five seasons. Arteaga brought the team from a roster of only eight players in his first season to a winning program.
  • Andrea Sergeant has been hired as accounts receivable specialist/cashier and Bret Rice as a third-shift custodian.
  • A letter from Oglesby Mayor Dominic Rivara revealed the city’s desire to construct a 1-megawatt solar station on 10 acres of college land. IVCC could add 4 additional panels for solar training. If approved, the annexation would allow Oglesby to serve the college with electric, water and sewer services at competitive rates, Rivara said.  
  • This spring across 10 sports, overall GPA of IVCC student athletes was 3.04. Women’s GPA was 3.09, men’s 2.98.
  • Trustee Maureen Rebholz of La Salle was honored June 4 at the Illinois Community College Trustees Association Annual Awards banquet in Normal for being IVCC’s nominee for the statewide Distinguished Alumnus Award.