Diné College President’s Office 2015 Meeting Agenda/Minutes Diné College Board of Regents Work Session Date: November 13, 2015 Present: Greg H. Bigman, Theresa Hatathlie, Laurence Gishey, Johnson Dennison (10:37am), Dr. Tommy Lewis. Location: Tsaile, AZ Nelson BeGaye( 12:15pm) Board of Regents Conference Room 620-­‐C Absent: Anderson Hoskie Time: 9:00am Agenda Follow-­‐Up Action: Responsible POC: 11/13/15 Work Session Meeting Minutes approved on 12/11/15 Motion: Regent BeGaye, Second: Regent Lewis, Vote: 6/0/0. 1. Call to Order: § By Regent Bigman @ 9:16am 2. Roll Call: § Taken by Regent Lewis 3. Invocation: § Given by Regent Gishey 4. Approval of Agenda: § Regent Lewis motion to approve 11/13/15 Board Work Session agenda, Seconded by Regent Hatathlie, Vote: 4/0/0. 5. Items Approved a. Land Grant • Land Grant consists of five staff members; Benita Litson; Director, Amy Redhouse; Grant Coordinator, Audre Etsitty; Extention Specialist, Felix Nez; Extention Agent, and Bryan Neztsosie; Research Coordinator. • The Land Grant office works closely with students. Some of them went off to receive their BA degrees and are now working with Land grant. • In 1994, Land Grant was established at Diné College to provide support for teaching, extension, and research activities. • On October 26, 1996 resolution NCC-­‐OCT-­‐1421-­‐96 was adopted and approved. • There are four funding sources through Land Grant: Endowment; congress appropriates funding annual based on the previous year’s interest earned and the number of American Natives attendance. Equity; focuses on undergraduate and or graduate studies in the areas of food and agricultural science. Extensions; outreach in the community. Research; meeting the needs of the 1 community and working on community farm plots. • Land Grant generated their own mission and their focus areas are in livestock management, forage and vegetable crops, rangeland management, and research. • Current Funding Sources – Funding proposals are generated by the needs of the community. • Land Grant currently has 10 student interns. They are currently removing salt cider out on the ranch. Eventually, Shiprock farm will be redone. Land Grant also offers multiple workshops. • Some of the challenges land grant faces are proper facilities, proper equipment, and finance discrepancies. The finance discrepancies affect reporting back to USDA. There is always room for improvement. • Land Grant offers extension education and assist to build a relationship with the community. o Regent Bigman requested the college to be more supportive with land grant and their initiatives. o The marketing aspects should be increased. o Range Management degree should be considered and offered at Diné College. o A global event may be held in May 2016. Experts and plants will be brought to this event to be shared. Land Grant will work with Diné Policy Institute and the food policy to present at this event. • An MOA should be drafted if this event should take place. • Research based should go before the NN Review Board. b. Charter and Bylaws § Daryl Begay gave the proposed bylaws and charter updates. Ron Haven sent the college a draft version of the charter. It was sent out to be edited by a professional editor. The edits were completed and sent back to the college. Nena Chester from the Navajo Nation President’s office requests the new Administration to review the charter. There was also a request from Daryl to Nena to meet with the Administration and go over the recommended changes. There were some recommendations by the Higher Learning commission that has not been included. There was a request from Regent Hatathlie to hold off on the recommended changes by the Higher Learning Commission until the final report from HLC was received. § The Higher Learning Recommendation were: The Land Grant Director will need to be assisted to fix the finance discrepancies. Dr. Martin Ahumada Benita Litson Cheryl Thompson The email from the Higher Learning Commission on the recommendation will be summarized and sent to all Regents. Daryl Begay 2 §
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• The Board of Regents election. • The Board is responsible for fundraising for the college. • Faculty and Board interaction. Goals for Diné College Mr. Haven and Dr. Lewis briefly spoke on the recommended changes to the 1995 recommendation of removing representative of the Superintendent of Schools and the Health Education Human Services Committee. Dr. Lewis indicated it is important to keep both representatives on the board. Honorable Amber Crotty is considering drafting legislation to merge NTU and Diné College board. The qualification to be appointed a board member is high. There was also strong recommendation a diverse and highly experienced individual be appointed a board. Each appointed member is mandated to attend the Ethics and Rules training. Daryl request there be a work session with the oversight committee to work on the proposed changes and recommendations. Public hearing to hear public comments have not been completed and should be when all recommendations from each entity and administration are completed. The revision on the charter will go through all the Navajo Nation committees; budget & finance, naa bik’iyati’, etc. This will also go before the full council. Regent Hatathlie agreed the Superintendent of Schools and HEHSC representatives are valuable positions and should be kept on the board. It closes the gap between K-­‐12 and higher Education. There is a huge concern with remedial education and it is a priority to address and communicate with the Superintendent of Schools. The two positions are also important when it comes to lobbying between the college and the council. There was also recommendation by Vice President Clinton Jim to bring non-­‐native representation and other industries to the board. Regent Hatathlie requested for clarification to seating a regent and the qualifications to appointing a regent be discussed. There also needs to be a timeline in place for appointing and searching for a new regent to replace the outgoing regent. An advertisement should be put in place when there is a vacant position. The College Board did address the six-­‐year staggered terms and Daryl was to put the chart together. The board should initiate a meeting with key people from the Navajo Nation to discuss processes, conflict of interests, budget, board terms, and board representatives. The roles of higher education can also be discussed. A higher education agenda and road map needs to be put in place. Advocate for Higher Produce a spreadsheet of all the proposed changes. The Legislative changes should be shared with the board. Request to Daryl to take a look at how funding will impact emerging the two boards; NTU and Diné college. Take a look at how DC and NTU differentiate and are aligned. Daryl Begay Dr. Ahumada Daryl Begay 3 §
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Education Policy. NTU students utilize the Diné College library in Crownpoint. NTU also recruits DC staff and they also hire DC faculty. Diné studies degrees are offered at NTU; they should be offered here at Diné College. Formation and establishment of subcommittees for Board of Regents The goal is to streamline at the board level. Three things that need to be addressed; compliance, improving student quality, student growth, student internships, and the SNBH concept. Regent Bigman met with some technology companies to consider how technology can help revitalize the culture. The Investment Committee needs to be updated and the compliance be revised. Regent Bigman indicated the compliance portion could be structured in a way that proposals can be submitted to a sub committee. When a proposal reaches the board, most of the framework will be completed. When submitting any type of proposals or resolutions, all supporting documents should be attached. A compliance officer will ensure that the bidding process was completed and the hiring process was completed in compliance. The board is responsible to make sure the college is in compliance with all the areas aforementioned. A facilities master plan was put in place, adopted, and approved; this should address the lighting for the campus. A compliance officer will be important to the board because the board does not know everything that goes on at the college. The compliance officer will be vital when it comes to the hiring and the firing processes. The compliance officer will also be vital in the areas of class offering and meeting the needs of graduation requirements for students. Currently some classes are not offered to students who need a certain class to graduate; therefore the students withdraws from Diné College and transfers to another college that offers the class they need. The subcommittee members will be able to meet with Administrators. It will help the board to define the processes. Overseeing the board and the institution to make it accountable and making individuals responsible. The selection of the subcommittee will need to be decided by the board. The goal is to spend less time meeting and more time giving back to the institution. This will also allow the board to be more knowledgeable of the institution. The Investment Committee needs to establish goals and put funds in place. Investment Committee 4 •
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Some things to consider when establishing subcommittees: How the college should address the needs of the Navajo Nation and how should it be aligned. Being cognizant of his or her authority of micro managing. There is a fine line when board members meet with faculty and staff. There is suggestion to stagger a board meeting one month and a subcommittee the next month. The Navajo language is on the fine line of extinction. There should be a discussion on how the language will be preserved. The programs with language and culture should all be aligned with the college’s mission, vision, and philosophy. The goal for SNBH is to create students who are warriors. Learn their strength and weaknesses and apply the SNBH is their daily learning. Other discussion: o Mr. Bitok met with 170 students and changes were made to open the cafeteria longer hours and extend the snack bar hours. o A reminder to have the Diné College basket and Jiish present when there is a meeting. The ceremonies that were suggested by Wilson need to be completed. This will allow the college to move forward with growth, rejuvenation, and putting things back in balance. o The grading system will also need to be addressed. Some students are eligible to graduate, but are later told they need to complete a course or two in order to receive their diploma. c. Organizational Structure § Directing more resources to students. Funds should be used towards teaching students and offering services to students. § The team is looking at a model that will consist of three Vice Presidents. The three Vice Presidents will be VP of Finance and Accounting, VP of Academics, and VP of Student Services. § There will be two key officers who report to the President. There will also be middle level administrators who have minimal authority and accountability for the work of the institution. There is a huge need for a Capital Project Director. This college is looking at different kinds of organizational structures and this is work in progress. 6. Next Meeting § The next Board of Regents meeting will be November 13, 2015 in the NHC Board of Regents Conference room, at 1:00pm in Tsaile, AZ. 7. Adjournment § Motion: Regent Lewis, Seconded: Regent Dennison, Vote: 5/0/0 @ 12:18pm. Diné College Board of Regents Work Session Meeting Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Ms. Anjeanette P. Lang 5 6