Meeting Minutes June 2019

Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting (Official) – June 5, 2019

A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in the Hartleb Technology Center at the Haverhill Campus at 5:00 PM.

Present

Mr. Cox
Mr. Forman
Ms. Fernandez
Mr. Guilmette
Mr. Linehan
Ms. Morin
Ms. Paley Nadel

Also Present

President Glenn

Not Present

Ms. Borislow, Ms. Cerasuolo-O’Rorke, Mr. D’Orazio and Ms. Worden

Call to Order

Chairman Linehan called the meeting to order at 5:08 PM.

Approval of Minutes

On a Motion by Trustee Guilmette, seconded by Trustee Paley Nadel, it was voted unanimously to approve the May 8, 2019 minutes as presented.

Correspondence

Letter from the Boston Foundation re: Deval Patrick Prize Award (ADM-3551-060519)

President Glenn noted that Trustees received a copy of the letter from The Boston Foundation in their packets. The congratulatory letter from Paul Grogan, President and CEO is recognizing NECC for being chosen for the Deval Patrick Prize Award for the college’s PIES Latinos program. President Glenn congratulated Dr. Noemi Custodia Lora and her staff for the wonderful work they have done in putting this program together.

Unfinished Business

President Glenn introduced several newly hired employees to the Board. They were: Kelly Chouinard, Financial Aid Counselor, Carian Diaz, Coordinator of Student Activities, Kalyn Ryll, Veteran’s Services Coordinator, Tracey Geary, Staff Associate for Public Safety, Maria Hernandez, Staff Associate and International Student Administrator/SEVIS Coordinator, and Scott Lancaster, Assistant Dean/ Health Professions. The board welcomed all the new employees.

Education Report

1. Sabbatical Report: Researching Open Education Resources (OER) (ADM-3552-060519)

   President Glenn introduced Dr. William Heineman, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs who noted that sabbatical leaves provide faculty with an opportunity to formulate and research questions within their fields. These research reports typically provide the campus with new opportunities for our students. Here to explain her sabbatical research was Dr. Meredith Gunning who research Open Education Resources (OER).

   Dr. Gunning noted that her intention at the onset was to research and develop OER resources for some of her courses in the Philosophy and Global Studies area. What she found was that many of her students rarely encountered some of the thinkers from their own culture and tradition. For example, many of her students are from the Dominican Republic, yet many had not been exposed to philosophers and their writings from the DR. Many of their writings had also not been translated into English which resulted in issues of lack of Identity and lack of diversity in the writings. As a result, one of the key goals for Dr. Gunning’s sabbatical was to make the work of Latin philosophers more available and accessible through OER. In addition, Dr. Gunning is currently writing her own textbook which will also be accessible through OER.

   In closing, Dr. Gunning noted that she is excited to be working with Dr. Noemi Custodia Lora on the Dominican Republic project, and will begin to translate some of the Latin philosopher information into English.

   Chairman Linehan thanked Dr. Gunning for her report.

2. Update on NECC Retention Scholarships (ADM-3553-060519)

   President Glenn noted that when Trustees were reviewing the FY20 budget a few weeks back, questions on budgeted scholarships surfaced, and he agreed to provide Trustees with additional information at a future so that Trustees could better understand how the scholarships work and how students can access them. A number of years ago, Alexis Fishbone, NECC’s then Director of Financial Aid provided Trustees with a short primer on how students access financial aid, and she is here again today to provide an overview of the NECC Retention Scholarships. President Glenn noted that it’s important for the college to be as affordable as it can be, and when Alexis last provided Trustees with a report, we had never turned a student away for inability to pay. Today, Ms. Fishbone notes that she’s “not sure I can say that anymore. We have to remember that we are also a business, and we are less confident today with our funding.” She noted. Ms. Fishbone said that the Retention Scholarships are tools that the college has chosen to invest more in as it becomes necessary to increase student fees to cover operational costs.

   Ms. Fishbone provided Trustees with an explanation of the two funds currently available to students: 1) a Retention Scholarship and 2) an Access Scholarship. Each of the funds have different requirements. The Access Scholarship is built differently than the retention fund whereby it is intended to close a financial gap for new students who have completed fewer than 24 college level credits. The Retention Scholarship has been around for many years, and is intended to provide funding to current students who are struggling financially. This scholarship can be used for tuition and fees, books and supplies, and health insurance offered by NECC. Ms. Fishbone noted that Trustees agreed to increase this fund about 10 years ago and continues to do so to help meet student need.

   The Scholarships are good examples of helping students where and when they need the help the most. Ms. Fishbone noted that there are GPA requirements (2.0), and Retention Scholarships can range from $50 to $2,500 while the average award for Access Scholarships was about $800-900. Last Fall (2018) through Summer 2019, 255 students benefited from the Retention Scholarship accessing close to $230,000. For the same period of time, 116 Access Scholarships were awarded for a total amount of $74,613. While the college does its best to promote the scholarships through the financial aid website, new student orientation, and word of mouth, there is still work to be done to get the word out.

   In closing, Ms. Fishbone noted that parents and students should begin the college planning discussion as early as possible because typically the better families plan, the more funding they typically receive. Dr. Heineman also pointed out that retention rates for students gaining access to these scholarships is typically 20% higher than students who do not receive the funds, so the return on this investment is incredible.

Report of Board Committees

1. Presidential Evaluation Sub-Committee

   1. Presidential Performance Evaluation (ADM-3554-060519)

      Trustee Forman, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, noted that the committee had met a number of times over the last few weeks to conduct President Glenn’s evaluation. He thanked the committee members (Trustees Morin, Paley Nadel, Linehan and Worden) for their work and also Dean of Development Wendy Shaffer and Chief of Staff Cheryl Goodwin for their assistance in scheduling interviews with staff and sifting through and editing the evaluation materials. He noted that this process provides the board and the sub-committee with good information on what is happening on campus as well as a good sense of how the leadership is doing.

      In closing, he noted that President Glenn has done an excellent job in his leadership of the college and asked the full board for their approval of the evaluation.

      On a Motion by Trustee Guilmette, seconded by Trustee Cox, it was voted unanimously to approve the Presidential Performance Evaluation and Compensation Recommendation draft as presented.

      President Glenn thanked the board for their continued steadfast support. He also thanked his leadership team for their continued support.

      Chairman Linehan also thanked the committee for their work on the evaluation.

Report of Administration

President Glenn combined the updates for the next few agenda items (a. LIFT Campaign, b. NECC 2020: Strategic Plan Report, c. Haverhill Campus Report and d. Lawrence Campus Report) and provided the Trustees with a Power Point presentation. Some of the highlights included:

1. NECC Commencement 2019 was a wonderful success. The college graduated approximately 1,100 student in what was an outstanding and celebratory day. Eastern Bank’s Bob Rivers was a terrific and inspiring commencement speaker, as was Student Speaker Yexis Hechavarria. And for the first time in college history, a Social Justice Advocate Award was presented to retired Professor Dr. Paul Saint Amand, and, an NECC Community Partner Award was presented to Bob Rivers for his wonderful work in the community.
2. On Thursday, June 7, Dean of Development Wendy Shaffer and President Glenn will travel to Woburn to accept a $100K toward the LIFT Campaign from the Cummings Center Foundation. The foundation’s “$100 for 100 Annual Campaign” is an exciting opportunity, and NECC is grateful to be a part of this year’s selection. Many thanks to Trustee Mark Forman and Dean Shaffer for their tireless work for contributions toward the LIFT Campaign.
3. Early College Graduation ceremonies were also held in May. So far, the college has had over 3,000 students go through the early college programming saving them and their families approximately $4.5M dollars. The college looks forward to expanding the early college programming in the future. The Cummings funds (noted earlier) will help Northern Essex provide scholarship assistance for Haverhill High School students while donations from the Stevens Family Foundation has been earmarked to assist Lawrence students. President Glenn noted that as the college builds those endowments, those two family foundations, in particular, have provided the seed money and momentum to move forward. In closing, President Glenn noted that Governor Baker would be making an announcement within a week that NECC will receive an Early College designation for the city of Haverhill.
4. The college and Dr. Noemi Custodia Lora were also recently awarded the Boston Foundation’s Deval Patrick Prize for Community College recognizing NECC’s PIES Latinos de NECC Program.
5. NECC’s Culinary Arts building is taking shape and will also be the site of NECC’s MassHire location. The building is on schedule with a move in date slated for early 2020.
6. NECC’s LPN program was named number one (#1) in state of Massachusetts by virtue of test scores. This achievement marks a turn-around from the last several years, and our health professions faculty and staff have worked very hard to right the ship.
7. Student Athletics continue to grow at NECC. Many former and current NECC Athletes recently turned out for the second annual athletics appreciation evening. The college has nearly doubled the number of athletes over the last few years and has recently added golf and soccer programs. NECC is one of the few Mass Community Colleges offering athletic programming which can be used as a student life recruitment tool.
8. Ashley Moore, Director of Career Services and Civic Engagement organized another very successful NECC Networking Night where students and employers gather together and students have an opportunity to practice their networking and introduction skills. The event also provides assistance with resume writing, the 2-minute elevator pitch, and a Bingo game to help students feel more comfortable with mingling and connecting with possible employers.
9. UTEC now has a program in Haverhill. The UTEC Program works with gangs and troubled youth, providing guidance and programming to keep them off the streets. NECC has had a relationship with UTEC in Lowell for about 10 years now, and NECC was a proud partner at yesterday’s grand opening in the Merrimack Valley.
10. A recent, re-energized push for the Lawrence Regional Public Safety Center has been in the works. President Glenn and Mayor Rivera have been meeting with state and local officials and the Governor for this $80 Million project. It is estimated that about half of the project costs would be funded by the state and city, with the hopes of securing additional funding through federal agencies in Washington DC.
11. Amazon is coming to Osgood Landing in North Andover. Many years ago, that same location housed NECC’s tractor trailer truck driver training program. NECC, along with numerous local Merrimack Valley officials and businesses are looking forward to the number of jobs they will bring to the area. Masshire will be involved in this effort as well.
12. The Women of NECC recently held another successful annual June event. For more than 20 years now, the Women of NECC have raised thousands of dollars to fund scholarships for students. The event capped off a wonderful career for Jean Poth who will retire on June 30th after over 40 years of service to NECC. President Glenn thanked Vice President Poth for all of her wonderful work over the years.

e) Board Meeting Dates for 2019-2020 Academic Year (ADM-3555-060519)

President Glenn noted that the schedule for Trustee meetings for Academic Year 2019-20 was contained in the board packets. .

New Business

1. Personnel Actions

   1. New Appointments (ADM-3556-060519)

      President Glenn noted that there were four (4) new appointments for consideration.

      On a Motion by Trustee Forman seconded by Trustee Cox, it was voted unanimously to approve the four (4) new full-time personnel appointment as listed in Addendum A.

2. Delegation of Authority to Appoint New Fulltime Employees to Existing Vacancies During the Summer (ADM-3557-060519)

   President Glenn reminded the Board that at each June meeting, they vote to authorize the President to appoint new fulltime employees during the summer since the Board does not generally meet in July and August. All new appointments will be forwarded to the Board at the September meeting.

   On a Motion by Trustee Paley Nadel seconded by Trustee Forman, it was voted unanimously to delegate to the President of the College the authority to appoint new fulltime employees during the summer months of June, July and August, limited in number to fulltime position vacancies.

3. Appointment of Department Chairpersons and Program Coordinators (ADM-3558-060519)

   President Glenn noted that approval of the college’s department chairpersons and program coordinators is requested every year as part of the MCCC/MTA Collective Bargaining Agreement and is seeking approval.

   On a Motion by Trustee Cox seconded by Trustee Guilmette, it was voted unanimously to approve thirty-three (33) Department Chair/Program Coordinator appointments as listed in Addendum B.

4. Grants

   Chairman Linehan noted that the Trustees generally approve all grants collectively in one vote. All Trustees agreed.

   On a Motion by Trustee Paley Nadel, seconded by Trustee Forman, it was voted unanimously to approve Grant items #8d1 thru #8d13 as noted below.

   1. City of Lawrence/Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment ADM-3559-060519

      Board (MVWIB): MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center

   2. Essex County Sheriff’s Dept. (ECSD) Education Services ADM-3560-060519

      Program

   3. Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care/ ADM-3561-060519

      North Shore Community College: Career Pathways

   4. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary ADM-3562-060519

      Education: Adult Basic Education Grant Projects

   5. Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary and Secondary ADM-3563-060519

      Education: Perkins Postsecondary Allocation

   6. Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Family Sign ADM-3564-060519

      Language Instruction

   7. Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: ADM-3565-060519

      Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative
      (MA ICEI) Program for Students with Disabilities

   8. Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human ADM-3566-060519

      Services/MassHire: Competitive Integrated Employment
      Services (CIES)

   9. Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet: Massachusetts ADM-3567-060519

      Skills

   10. National Science Foundation/Northeastern University: ADM-3568-060519

       S-STEM Student Pathways Opening World Energy
       Resources (S-POWER)

   11. United States Department of Education: Student Support ADM-3569-060519

       Services Program

   12. United States Department of Labor/Mount Wachusett ADM-3570-060519

       Community College: Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing
       Tech Hire Consortium Grant and Supplemental Funds

   13. Pending Proposals for External Funding ADM-3571-060519

Other Business

In closing, President Glenn recognized and introduced Professor Sheila Muller in the audience. Professor Muller is the Chair of the College’s All College Assembly, and he thanked her for her steadfast commitment to the college’s internal governance system.

Adjournment

With no other business, Chairman Linehan adjourned the meeting at 5:59 PM.