HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of August 27, 2014
The 332nd meeting of the Holyoke Community College Board of Trustees was held on Tuesday,
August 27, 2014, in the John T. Hickey Conference Room, Chair Caulton-Harris presiding.
MEMBERS
PRESENT
Helen Caulton-Harris
Julie Pokela
James Lavelle
Lucien Dalton
John Driscoll
Jack Ferriter
Robert Gilbert
Suzanne Parker
John Vaccaro
MEMBERS NOT
PRESENT
Yolanda Johnson
Lucy Perez
ALSO
PRESENT
Bill Fogarty, Idelia Smith, Linda Szalenkewicz, Ed Murch, Keith McKittrick,
Marcia Mitchell, Tony Sbalbi, John O’Rourke, Joanne Rome, Yanina Vargas,
Karen DesJeans, Pam Baran, Kate Mailiotesi, Amy Dopp, Matt Reed, Jennifer
Adams, Kathy Hankel, Michelle Sneizek, Jeff Hayden, Marcia Rosbury-Henne,
Veena Dahnker, Dan Campbell, Karin Mayano-Camihort, Monica Perez,
Joanna Brown, Bill Messner, Colleen Cameron
CALL TO
ORDER
Chair Caulton-Harris called the meeting to order at 8:05a.m.
APPROVAL OF THE
MINUTES
On a motion by Trustee Parker and seconded by Trustee Lavelle, it was
VOTED to approve the minutes of the June 2014 meeting as presented.
APPROVAL OF
PERSONNEL ACTIONS
On a motion by Trustee Ferriter and seconded by Trustee Gilbert it was
VOTED to approve the personnel actions as presented.
On a motion by Trustee Vaccaro and seconded by Trustee Pokela it was
VOTED to accept the Work Area/Department chairs as presented.
On a motion by Trustee Parker and seconded by Trustee Gilbert, it was
VOTED to empower the President of the College to approve all personnel
actions prior to the next meeting.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR
The Chair encouraged the board to attend the upcoming trustee conference
planned for September 23.
The Committee assignments for the 2014/15 year will be discussed at the
September board meeting.
August 2014
REPORT OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL
EVALUATION
COMMITTEE
The Committee was directed to prepare a comprehensive presidential evaluation
this year. The major difference in this report is that it will include input from
faculty, staff and students. Over 100 questionnaires have gone out to campus
individuals, and should be returned by September 15. After all input is
received, a report will be presented to the entire board, and then the report will
be sent to the Commissioner of Higher Education
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The Presidents report included:
Enrollment Update – We currently are seeing a 5% decline in enrollment. New
student enrollment is about even with last year. In May our graduate candidate
numbers were up about 15%. This reflects the big increase in enrollment we
saw a few years ago. Final enrollment numbers will be available for the
October meeting.
Online Enrollment: On line enrollment is up about 15%.
New Marketing Campaign: We are working with a new marketing firm to get a
better sense of our marketplace. We are developing a new ad campaign using
the marketing firm’s ideas and our own graphic design people. We are moving
from print to a wider range of advertising media to including several social
media platforms.
Culinary & Hospitality: The President informed the board that the college is
currently exploring the possibility of moving the culinary/hospitality program to
downtown Holyoke. Discussions have been held with the owners of a series of
buildings on Race Street regarding the possibility of housing both the credit and
non-credit culinary/hospitality programs in buildings they are currently
renovating. A proposal has been submitted to the state to support this
undertaking. More information regarding the feasibility of this effort should be
coming in the near future.
Charter School Update – The Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School is a
new charter high school that has been operating for the past year in Holyoke. It
is in need of a permanent home, and has approached the college concerning the
possibility of having a facility built for it on college Foundation land contiguous
to the campus. The charter school has partnered with an area developer who
has expressed an interest in building such a facility. The matter is currently in
the hands of the charter school board to make a decision how they would like to
proceed. If the charter school board determine they would like to formally
proceed with this matter, both the HCC Board of Trustees and the college
Foundation will need to make a determination in regard to this initiative.
Access Road Update: The new campus access road to Route 202 is largely
complete. Hopefully, the final touches on the road which need approval by the
MA Department of Transportation and the Holyoke Planning Board will be
complete within the next month.
August 2014
TWO update: Our partnership with STCC entitled TWO is growing as the
result of several training initiatives. With funding from the MA Competitive
Partnership, Mass Mutual and Smith and Wesson a new machinist training
program is being offered at STCC and will soon begin at Dean Tech. TWO
hosted three training sessions and will be offering a fourth focusing on
customer service call center training
Financial Success Center – This effort will commence on October 15. This
effort will initially target STRIVE and ABE students. The focus is to simplify
the process for accessing state benefits and other financial support for students.
Sustainability: Kate Maliotesi presented information on the Sustainability
Studies program at HCC Our program received a second grant of $800,000
from the National Science Foundation to aid in funding this effort. This grant
money will be used to support faculty and program development as well as
equipment purchases.
We are collaborating with UMass-Amherst and
Hampshire College. This will create a pathway for our students to advance to
these and other colleges.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:58am
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Pokela, Secretary
Board of Trustees
/c
Approved:
__________________________________________________
Helen Caulton-Harris, Chair, Board of Trustees, September 23, 2014
August 2014