Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting (OFFICIAL) – March 1, 2023
A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in room TC103A&B in the Hartleb Technology Center at the Haverhill Campus on March 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM. A Zoom Teleconference option was also available.
PRESENT:
Ms. Borislow (Via Zoom)
Ms. Pachano
Ms. Fernandez (Via Zoom)
Ms. Quiles (Via Zoom)
Mr. Hamm
Ms. Sanchez (Via Zoom)
Ms. Paley Nadel
UNABLE TO ATTEND: Mr. Gomez, Ms. O’Rorke, Mr. Silverio, Ms. Worden
ALSO, PRESENT: President Glenn
CALL TO ORDER: Chairwoman Borislow called the meeting to order at 5:05 PM. During the roll call of attendance, two trustees experienced technical difficulties. At 5:10pm, their attendance was confirmed and a quorum present.
CORRESPONDENCE: There was none.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
a) Introduction of Newly Hired Employees (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that there were no new employees to introduce this evening.
EDUCATION REPORT:
a) Student-Athlete Academics and Enrollments with Dan Blair (ADM-3777-030123)
President Glenn introduced Mike McCarthy, Vice President of Administration and Finance/CFO who provides overall support and supervision of the Athletics area and facilities. Mr. McCarthy noted that Dan Blair, Director of Athletics, joined NECC in 2017 and since his arrival has been instrumental in increasing student athlete enrollment, retaining them, and growing the athletic programs. Mr. McCarthy then introduced NECC’s Director of Athletics Dan Blair who provided a report on Student Athletes.
Mr. Blair noted that there has been significant growth in the programs, particularly over the last few years. Retention has also been realized noting that this past semester, NECC did not lose one spring semester athlete. Mr. Blair went on to noted that NECC has the largest roster in the country at its level with baseball carrying over 30 players alone. These numbers don’t include students who tried out, and he noted that teams try to carry as large a roster as possible. Mr. Blair also noted the success in Soccer – the sport that carried the largest roster overall.
Mr. Blair pointed to the successes of the programs and noted that he gives a lot of the credit to Academic Success and Coaching Team led by Ms. Linda Giampa. Ms. Giampa and her team ensured that every student athlete who participates in the coaching program met their academic obligations. Effective Fall 2023, the academic coaching program will be a mandatory requirement for student athletes in order for them to compete.
Mr. Blair also noted that this past Fall, 22 student-athletes attained Region 21 Athletic Director honor roll status earning a 3.2 GPA or higher while enrolled in 12 credits or more. Since 2017, 39 student athletes have been recognized with completing 24 credits with a 3.6 GPA or higher. Prior to 2017, we had only 17 students with this honor, so the program is continuing to grow that recognition as well. In closing, Mr. Blair noted that a lot of the success over the last 24 months can be attributed to the Academic and Athletics coaching at NECC. During Covid-19, the athletic teams were still able to stay engaged, continue in their classes and look forward to their future.
Chairwoman Borislow congratulated Mr. Blair on NECC’s athletics successes. She asked if there is continued growth in interest in athletics and how that impacts admissions. Mr. Blair noted that interest in the programming continues to grow, particularly in men’s sports, and the department is employing new recruitment strategies on the women’s side (basketball and volleyball), to help those programs grow as well.
Trustee Fernandez also asked about how the college markets its athletic programming. Mr. Blair noted that they department does have marketing materials with a fast-growing athletics-specific presence on social media. The department also uses Twitter, Instagram etc. to expand on that marketing while working with the admissions team to get the word out on local media.
President Glenn thanked Mr. Blair for his report.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: With a quorum now present, Chairwoman Borislow asked for a motion to approve the February 1, 2023 meeting minutes.
On a Motion presented by Trustee Paley Nadel and seconded by Trustee Pachano, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the February 1, 2023 minutes as presented.
BOARD CHAIR UPDATE: Chairwoman Borislow provided two brief updates:
1) She reminded trustees that all trustees must complete their online training within 6 months of appointment.
2) Trustee Borislow also noted that she had recently received a copy of the new Presidential Evaluation Guidelines from the Mass. Department of Higher Education. A committee will be formed to conduct President Glenn’s evaluation this spring.
REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES:
a) Audit and Finance Sub-Committee: There was no report.
b) Alumni Advancement Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee Chair Fernandez reported that the committee recently met and is focused on the May 3rd NECC Impact Awards Breakfast which will be held at 8:30AM in TC103. Former Trustee Jeff Linehan will be honored for his philanthropy. Ms. Fernandez also noted that they team is looking for sponsorship outreach help and that Allison Dolan-Wilson will be sending more information on that very soon.
c) Equity Imperative Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee Chair Paley-Nadel noted that the college continues to work on creating a culture of equity and the committee is meeting to develop a robust group for its advisory board which will consist of internal and external people. The committee continues to discuss the structure and expectations of that board as well as thinking about increased opportunities for positive change from learning experiences in understanding individuals, the way we change our implicit biases with intention and attention, and how we gain new views.
d) Nominating Sub-Committee: Sub-Committee Chair Quiles welcomed the boards newest member, Lloyd Hamm to the board.
e) Presidential Evaluation: Chairwoman Borislow noted that she provided the report during her earlier report. The Committee will be meeting within the week to get the work underway.
REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION: President Glenn thanked Committee chairs for their continued support and work, and noted that if committee work/reporting should require more than the 2-3-minute allotment of time for each committee, then he asks that committee Chairs reach out to Cheryl Goodwin so that she can appropriately build that presentation into the board’s agenda/schedule.
Also, President Glenn noted that he attended the Governor’s press conference that morning at Bunker Hill Community College along with the other Community College Presidents. They also met with the Governor’s Workforce Skill Cabinet, and the Lieutenant Governor where the Governor announced her commitment to fund the MassReconnect program which will support Mass. residents who are 25 years or older to start attending community college.
In addition, the Presidents also met with the Governor to discuss a number of important issues including addressing faculty and staff salaries which are way behind other states. The Presidents are hopeful, he noted, that the Governor will support those efforts and get those salaries increased over time. They also talked about the need for funding for career and technical education so that the community colleges can adequately respond to workforce demands in high tech fields and about in-state tuition for undocumented students.
In closing, President Glenn noted that the conversation with the Governor also including discussions around alternative funding and support for additional early college programming.
ACCT National Legislative Summit (Verbal)
– ACCT NLS Schedule (ADM-3778-030123)
– ACCT 2023 Community College Federal Legislative Priorities (ADM-3779-030123)
President Glenn noted that he, Trustee Pachano, Trustee Paley Nadel and Mike McCarthy all recently attended the ACCT National Legislative Summit. He noted that he had provided the NLS Schedule and legislative priorities in the Trustee Packets as well. In closing, Dr. Glenn provided a brief video of Trustee Pachano providing her testimony to the delegation on the importance of support that community colleges provide to the immigrant populations. After the video, the trustees and audience members gave Ms. Pachano a round of applause for her wonderful testimony.
b) Haverhill Promise (Verbal)
President Glenn noted a few years ago, the college wrapped up a brief Promise campaign for Lawrence when it hit its $1Million goal. The college is now focused on doing the same thing for a Haverhill Promise program which will include work around an earmark in the upcoming Senate budget and a matching grant from Covanta which has recently submitted their very generous pledge. The Program also recently received $50K from Pentucket Bank. President Glenn said the college is incredibly grateful to these generous donors, and that these funds will greatly help early college students transition from high school to full college students all while helping to minimize costs to participate.
c) NECC Strategic Plan (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that he will have a strategic plan update next month.
d) Haverhill Campus (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that the UMass/NECC Admissions Agreement signing ceremony with went very well and he extended many thanks to Dr. Paul Beaudin and Michelle Sunday for their extensive work with UML on that agreement. These agreements are a big deal, he noted, and help to break down administrative barriers for students who want to seamlessly transfer those credits.
e) Lawrence Campus (Verbal)
President Glenn noted that members of the Lawrence Partnership recently visited with MassInc and they are working at renewing their once strong relationship.
f) Save-the-Dates (Verbal)
President Glenn noted three very important upcoming events, and ask Trustees to attend as many as possible while strongly encouraging them to attend Commencement on May 13th.
· Tuesday, May 9th, Student Academic Awards Ceremony, 7PM, Sport & Fitness Center, Haverhill Campus
· Thursday, May 11th, Early College Recognition Ceremony, 5:30PM, Haverhill Campus Quad
· Saturday, May 13th, NECC 61st Commencement Exercises, 11AM, Haverhill Campus Quad
NEW BUSINESS:
President Glenn noted that there were two motions regarding fee increases for trustees to approve. As he noted earlier in his report, these increases will only take place if the funding from Governor Healey’s budget does not come through as planned.
a) Motion to Approve FY24 Fee Increase – Regular Courses (ADM-3780-030123)
On a Motion presented by Trustee Fernandez and seconded by Trustee Paley Nadel, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the FY24 Fee Increase of $5 per credit for Regular Courses to $204 per credit.
b) Motion to Approve FY24 Fee Increase – Allied Health Courses (ADM-3781-030123)
On a Motion presented by Trustee Hamm and seconded by Trustee Pachano, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the FY24 Fee Increase of $5 per credit for Allied Health Courses to $284 per credit.
c) Motion to Approve Emeritus Status Recommendations (ADM-3782-030123)
Chairwoman Borislow noted that the college’s Emeritus Status Committee has met and they are providing two (2) Emeriti recommendations for Trustee support and consideration.
On a Motion presented by Trustee Pachano and seconded by Trustee Hamm, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the two (2) emeritus status recommendations as listed in Addendum A.
d) Grants: Chairwoman Borislow noted that there were four (4) grants to approve collectively and asked for a motion to approve the following grants:
1) Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Behavioral Health Workforce Training Grant Program ADM-3783-030123
2) Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Massachusetts Inclusive Higher Education (MAIHE) Quality Enhancement Project (QEP) ADM-3784-030123
3) Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet/Haverhill High School: STEM Tech Career Academy Program ADM-3785-030123
4) National Science Foundation/Northeastern University: S-STEM Student Pathways Opening World Energy Resources (S-POWER) ADM-3786-030123
On a Motion presented by Trustee Fernandez and seconded by Trustee Pachano, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the four (4) grants presented totaling $149,317.
OTHER BUSINESS: While there was no other business, President Glenn noted that everyone received a hard copy of this month’s Communique for college volunteers.
ADJOURNMENT: With no other business, Chairwoman Borislow adjourned the meeting at 6:02PM.
