GRAYS HARBOR COLLEGE
Aberdeen, Washington
Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
April 21, 2015
Members Present:
Mr. Art Blauvelt, Dr. Harry Carthum, Ms. Rebecca Chaffee, Ms. Denise Portmann
Members Absent:
Ms. Fawn Sharp
Others:
Ms. Kristy Anderson, Dr. Ed Brewster, Dr. Darby Cavin, Ms. Laurie Clary,
Ms. Cheryl Fambles, Mr. Forest Gonzales, Mr. Jason Hoseney, Mr. Darin Jones,
Mr. Justin Kjolseth, Ms. Julie Skokan, Ms. Gail Winkelman, Ms. Sandy Zelasko
1. Call to Order
2. Agenda changes
None
3. Approval of Minutes
It was moved and seconded to adopt the minutes from the March 17, 2015 Board meeting.
Motion carried.
4. Public Comments
None
5. Community Linkages (Ms. Cheryl Fambles)
Dr. Brewster introduced Ms. Cheryl Fambles, Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Mountain
Workforce Development Council. She said the goal of the WDC is to be an integral community
asset, noting that community colleges are their primary training partner. There are twelve
Workforce Development Councils in Washington. We are in the Pacific Mountain WDC which is a
five county region. Each council has a board of directors that consists of community leaders.
Dr. Brewster is a board member. She said she meets with business community and industry leaders
on a regular basis to ascertain community needs. Partners include industry, labor and business,
post-secondary training, youth advocates, economic development agencies, state advocates and
service providers. One of their main focuses is placing people into the labor market with
meaningful career opportunities based on the workforce demand. They also focus on serving the
underserved who have the greatest obstacles in the job search arena. They offer job search
assistance, access to current job openings, career development and assistance, training and skill
development and information and resource referral. Their services are available to incumbent
workers, dislocated workers, adults, youth, and existing and new businesses.
6. Board Development (Ms. Laurie Clary)
Ms. Clary presented the instruction annual report. She stated that instruction is central to the mission of
the college. She reviewed the objectives developed for each of the college’s core themes which are
academic transfer, workforce preparation, basic skills, and service to community. She reviewed the
progress on indicators of achievement for each core theme. Other highlights of her report included:
•
•
Approximately 44% of the college’s 2014-15 operating budget is dedicated to instruction. Additional
funds are received from grants and contracts.
Instruction partners with all other college units to ensure students are successful in meeting their
educational goals.
•
Challenges and improvements in the following areas were reviewed:
Library
Bachelors of applied science degrees
On-line courses
Continuing education
Customized training
Short-term training
Pacific County Education Centers
7. College Input (Reports)
a. Trustees’ Report
1) ACT Conference – Ms. Portmann, Mr. Blauvelt, Dr. Carthum and Dr. Brewster will attend
the ACT conference in Spokane May 14 – 15, 2015.
2) May Board Meeting – The Board will hold their May 19 meeting at the Riverview
Education Center in Raymond. Local area K-12 superintendents and school board
members are invited to the meeting.
3) End-of-the-Year Events – Board members were asked to indicate which end-of-the-year
events they could attend.
b. ASGHC President Report (Mr. Forrest Gonzalez)
Mr. Gonzalez reported the following:
• Several student government officers attended the legislative academy May 8th and 9th at
Clark College.
• Budget requests from student groups are due later this week.
• Plans are underway for this year’s Choker Fest.
• New student leaders will be appointed in May.
c. Classified Staff (Ms. Gail Winkelman)
Ms. Winkelman reported the following:
The classified staff quarterly award was presented to Ms. Chelcie Bailey who works in the
Business office.
There was a rally recently in Olympia to inform legislators of higher ed needs and to request
negotiated salary increases for classified staff.
d. Faculty Report (Dr. Darby Cavin)
Dr. Cavin reported every Monday on campus is “Bow Tie Monday.” Each Monday employees
are asked to wear a bow tie or scarf and donate to the specific charity that is featured that week,
i.e., this week’s charity was Doctors Without Borders. To date, $575.00 has been raised for
various causes.
e. President’s Report (Dr. Ed Brewster)
1) WACTC Report - Dr. Brewster reviewed highlights from the recent presidents’ meeting
which were included in backup materials received prior to the meeting. He stated that the
state budget is in a holding pattern and it is expected the Governor will call a special
session that will need to be finished by the end of June. If the legislature has not finalized
its budget by that time, some government agencies will need to plan for a shut-down. The
college would be able to function temporarily relying on tuition collections.
2) Items of Interest
The college has made a proposal to Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. to assume responsibility for
their leadership program. It is a year-long program where participants meet once a month
to develop their leadership skills.
The college oversees a fund that was given to the college many years ago from the Bishop
Foundation that provides scholarships for students who are pursuing a four-year degree.
There was a finding from the auditor’s office that the college was not dealing with this fund
in the right way and needs to move it from the Bank of America because it is considered a
public fund and the Bank of American cannot manage it any longer. The plan is to move
management of the fund to TIAA/CREF. Mr. Kjoseth added that in order to move forward
with transferring the funds the college needs to develop an investment policy statement
which the Board will need to approve.
f.
Vice President for Instruction (Ms. Laurie Clary)
1) Bachelor of Applied Sciences Degree – Ms. Clary reported our bachelor of applied science
in organizational management, and bachelor of applied science in forestry resource
management have been forwarded to the State Board for Community and Technical
Colleges for approval at their May meeting. If approved, it will be necessary to change the
college’s mission from an AA institution to an AA and BAS institution. In addition, GHC
has partnered with Centralia College to begin development of a BAS in teacher education
degree.
2) Operational Policy 301, Degrees and Graduation Requirements – Ms. Clary asked the
Board to consider adoption of revised OP 301 which would authorize GHC to offer BAS
degrees. It was moved and seconded to adopt revised OP 301, Degrees and Graduation
Requirements. Motion carried.
g. Vice President for Student Services (Mr. Jason Hoseney)
1) Enrollment – Mr. Hoseney reported academic transfer FTE is still down from this time last
year. ABE is up 86, occupational up 8.23. He noted that ABE registration is in flux. Dr.
Brewster stated that workforce and academic transfer numbers don’t change much
throughout the quarter but basic skills constantly changes because students register
throughout the quarter.
2) Student Success - Mr. Hoseney introduced Ms. Julie Skokan, director of TRiO. She
presented information about a project she oversees called “Food for Thought.” Noting that
many of our students are hungry, the TRiO office created a food drawer where students
could come to the office and get food to help them through their day. Last year they served
272 students. This year time they have already served 386 students. This year the
offerings have been expanded to having food in several other areas. The project is funded
in various ways, including fund raisers and donations.
h. Vice President for Administrative Services (Ms. Barbara McCullough)
Ms. McCullough provided a capital projects update. The Schermer Building is scheduled for
completion on July 17.
8. Executive Session
The Board entered into executive session at 3:14 p.m. for approximately fifteen minutes for the
purpose of discussing the sale of real estate.
The meeting was reconvened at 3:27 p.m.
9. Action Items as a Result of Executive Session
It was moved and seconded to authorize the college to move forward with efforts to relinquish their
interest in the real estate at the Whiteside Center. Motion carried.
Before the meeting was adjourned there was discussion regarding the following:
o Dr. Carthum suggested adding an agenda item titled “Good of the order for Board members”
which would allow Board members to ask for discussion on matters of interest.
o
Dr. Carthum asked how our students do academically when they transfer to a four-year
institution. Dr. Brewster responded that studies show that community college students on the
average do as well or better than students who started at the university.
o
It was moved and seconded to donate $100.00 a quarter to the “Food for Thought Project.”
Motion carried.
10. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
__________________________
Edward J. Brewster, Secretary
_____________________________
Rebecca Chaffee, Chair