MINUTES:
February 17, 2009
MEETING:
NORTH FLORIDA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MADISON, FLORIDA
TRUSTEES PRESENT:
Mr. John Maultsby, Chair
Mr. John Grosskopf, President
Dr. Bill Brothers
Ms. Linda Gibson
Mr. Brantly Helvenston
Ms. Verna Hodge
Mr. Lester Padgett
Mr. Mike Williams
ABSENT:
Mr. Albert Thomas
STAFF PRESENT:
Ms. Denise Bell
Mr. Doug Brown
Dr. Sharon Erle
Ms. Laura Gallagher
Ms. Patricia Garner
Ms. Cindy Gaylard, Recording Secretary
Mr. Scott Hubert, Audio Visual Technician
Mr. Bill Hunter
Ms. Bonnie Littlefield
Ms. Amelia Mulkey
Ms. Bobbie O’Hara
Ms. Gina Rutherford
Ms. Kim Scarboro
Ms. Mary Anne Wheeler
Mr. Terry Zimmerman
Mr. Bruce A. Leinback, Board Attorney
VISITORS:
Mr. Greg Bruton, SGA President
Ms. Rachel Frey, SGA Vice President
Ms. Bonnie Littlefield
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Maultsby, who led the group in the pledge of
allegiance to the flag, and Ms. Gibson gave the opening prayer.
MOTION: (Ms. Gibson/Mr. Padgett) That the District Board of Trustees approves to have the
following included in the minutes of the January 20, 2009 Board meeting:
Dr. Brothers moved to include in the President’s contract an incentive for obtaining his doctoral degree, but
the motion died for the lack of a second.
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 2
After discussion, the motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: (Mr. Williams/Mr. Helvenston) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
minutes of the January 20, 2009 Board meeting as amended. The motion carried unanimously.
SGA President Greg Bruton reported that the February Valentine’s Day Red and White Ball
sponsored by AASU was well attended.
Ms. Bobbie O’Hara reported the following:
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The NFCC Brain Bowl team, under the leadership of Dr. Tony DeLia, has performed
well in tournaments over a period of several months, and based on its performance at
the Tallahassee NAQT Sectional, the National Academic Quiz Tournament has invited
NFCC to its first national tournament. At the Tallahassee sectional, NFCC was the
second place school behind Chipola who went undefeated. The national tournament
will be held at Valencia Community College on February 27-28 and will host a field of
24 teams from across the U.S. and Canada.
This past weekend our Brain Bowl team participated in the FCCAA Panhandle and
won for the first time by defeating Chipola’s “A” Team, the team considered by many
to be the best team in the country. The Sentinels won by a convincing score of 525 to
445 in the championship round. NFCC is the only two-year school to have defeated
Chipola’s first team and will proceed to the state championship tournament at Brevard
Community College in March. The President’s Office has prepared certificates for the
following students on the NFCC Brain Bowl team:
o Jessica Collins
o Tony Fluriach
o Matthew Smith
o Adrian Peters
o Tiffanie Colvin
o John Marinacci
o Michael Harris
o Damon Fico
o Sabrina Herring
Science Professor Terry Zimmerman reported that the Rocket Club held its first rocket
research conference with approximately 25 in attendance. He said it was advertised at no cost
to NFCC in ROCKETS Magazine, which is read throughout the country. The keynote speaker
was Jimmy Yawn, Career Counseling, Santa Fe Community College, who sidelines as a rocket
scientist and is well known in the field of sugar rocketry (making fuels from sugar). He said
they did some research with some sugar fuels and looked at some problems they have had and
tried to improve on the catalyst to boost the power. He showed a video and explained some of
the research that they did and the reactions of the rockets. He said the preliminary indications
are that they developed a catalyst, as well as a more powerful fuel, which may be adopted by
other student organizations and rocketeers. He said they should be able to write a publication
on this and submit it to ROCKET Magazine. He said they have scheduled a trip to Florida
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 3
State University’s new advanced aerospace and propulsion lab where they will fire up a jet and
show how they make up supersonic and transonic pressure and temperature measurements.
Ms. Gallagher presented a legislative update and mentioned the following:
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She, along with President Grosskopf and Mr. Maultsby attended the Trustee
Legislative Conference on February 2-3 and heard from the legislative leadership and
some of our local legislators. Representative Vasilinda spoke to the entire group and
did a great job. They met in the House Chambers and attended a reception at the
Governor’s Mansion. They also met with Commissioner of Agriculture Charles
Bronson and will be working toward having him at the College. There were no
surprises regarding the budget. They are working toward funding those things that are
critical to the state’s core mission. They are assuming that the state will have no new
revenue strings next year and have invited the community colleges to identify ways
that costs can be reduced. The lobbyist group will be meeting every week to begin that
dialogue, and she will be working with President Grosskopf and the College regarding
this.
We continue to monitor legislation as it is filed. There are many bills, and they are
combing through the bills for any impact on the College that would increase our cost,
i.e. green bill filed by a legislator that would increase our cost in terms of how we do
business. She said it is good to be part of a group that lobbies against those types of
things that would increase our costs. In addition to lobbying with them on items of
interest to us, we are working together on bills that the community college presidents
are supporting with respect to fire safety inspections, protecting student records, etc.
Senator Dean and some of our other legislators will be on campus for a legislative
delegation meeting on February 25, at 4:00 p.m.
The legislative staff has asked us as community college lobbyists to make sure that if
there are two or more trustees that go to speak to a legislator that the meeting be
noticed beforehand.
Ms. Bonnie Littlefield gave a PowerPoint presentation on NFCC’s Quality Enhancement Plan
(QEP) and mentioned the following:
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The QEP is a component of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ (SACS)
process of reaffirmation of college accreditation. The institution must identify a topic
or issue that is directly related to the enhancement of student learning outcomes.
Institutional support for the QEP must demonstrate the following:
o Knowledge by all persons across campus of the topic addressed by the QEP
o Review of best practices
o Financial resources to develop, implement, and support the QEP
o Clear implementation strategies
o Clear strategies for evaluation and assessment
What is NFCC’s QEP and how was it chosen?
o The project idea came as a recommendation from the 2004 QEP Team
following the SACS Review Team visit in November 2004.
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 4
o NFCC’s QEP focus is on reading because on placement tests administered to
entering NFCC freshman between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004, 66% of
students tested into a developmental reading course.
 The QEP Team determined that learning communities meet goals in both academic and
non-academic areas through faculty collaboration, student interaction, course
integration, and student services.
 The QEP Mission Statement: The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) seeks to
transform instruction and student learning outcomes across the curriculum by
engaging, encouraging, and enabling faculty to investigate and apply innovative
instructional techniques that support reading comprehension in the classroom.
 NFCC’s QEP Slogan – Reading: Join our community! Inspiring campus-wide
learning
o This project should impact almost all NFCC students at one point in their
academic careers since reading comprehension is a major component in all
disciplines and in the core curriculum. She discussed QEP goals and outcomes
for each year.
Ms. Patricia Garner presented an update regarding Green Industries Institute. She mentioned
the following:
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We have served approximately 250 people at a variety of public meetings held on the
GII site.
o Jefferson County Commission Retreat
o Division of Forestry has conducted training for firefighters.
o Two extension programs are held there in the evenings.
We signed the 50-year sublease with Jefferson County.
We have purchased Smart Board technology for use in the classroom.
We have revised and resubmitted a grant to the Natural Resources Conservation
Service for approximately $283,000. It was rewritten to address the agricultural
science and natural resource conservation offerings.
She has met with the Jefferson County School Board and Superintendent Dyal.
We are working with the extension agents and with Jefferson County Commission.
NFCC’s Susan Taylor currently teaches an English class one night a week at Green
Industries Institute with 16-18 students attending.
She is working to detail the curriculum and is putting some of the focus on AAS, as
well as some certificate programs and community education. She hopes to have that
prepared by March 15.
We are doing some workforce training and preparing to offer some Dual Enrollment
classes.
She is planning to conduct a survey of users in Jefferson and Taylor Counties, as well
as other areas, to try to determine the needs of the students in those areas.
We will be looking into having some summer camps in Jefferson County. We are also
planning to offer basic math and English classes that will allow students to take the
CPT at the end of the classes.
We hope to have a full program offering in June and then all of the sequence courses to
start in the fall.
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 5
 We are currently working on a master plan for the property and will set up an advisory
board.
 She is working with Kim Scarboro on marketing strategies for community outreach.
 She extended an invitation to the Trustees to visit the Green Industries site.
Ms. Mulkey presented a construction update and mentioned the following:
Student Center
The new concrete floor finally dried enough to lay the tile, but the job is unsatisfactory and
will be redone.
Gym Remodel and Addition
Representatives of the architectural and construction management firms are currently
reviewing plans and negotiating costs in an attempt to bring this project within the budget
allowed by the level of PECO funding available. Architects are tentatively planning to meet
with college staff later this week to give a status report.
Sublease of Jefferson County Property
Thanks to the efforts of Green Industries Institute Director Patricia Garner, this sublease has
been approved by the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners.
Remodel of Audio Visual Building to Conference Center
The construction management firm of Peter Brown Construction, Inc. is currently advertising
for bids from sub-contractors as part of the process of presenting to NFCC a Guaranteed
Maximum Price for this project.
Contract with Clemons, Rutherford & Associates, Inc.
MOTION: (Mr. Padgett/Ms. Gibson) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement between NFCC and CRA, Inc. as
presented at the meeting. Ms. Mulkey advised that the College has been under contract with
this firm since June 2002 for architectural and construction oversight services on minor
projects. She said this contract allows for professional service fees as outlined by Department
of Management Services Rules, or as an alternative, included a schedule of current hourly
rates. After an overview by Ms. Mulkey, the motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: (Ms. Gibson/Ms. Hodge) That the District Board of Trustees approves to advertise
an addition to the Policy Manual for the following policy as presented at the meeting:
 #4.17
Notification of Social Security Number Collection and Use for
Employees
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 6
After an overview by Mr. Hunter and discussion by the Board and Attorney Leinback, the
motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: (Mr. Helvenston/Dr. Brothers) That the District Board of Trustees approves
the resignation of Dr. Jessica Webb, Executive Director of Research and Technology, last date
of employment being February 27, 2009. After an overview by Mr. Hunter, the motion carried
unanimously.
MOTION: (Mr. Helvenston/Mr. Williams) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
2009-2010 academic calendar for North Florida Community College. After an overview by
Ms. Wheeler and discussion by the Board, the motion carried unanimously.
MOTION: (Ms. Gibson/Ms. Hodge) That the District Board of Trustees approves to advertise
an addition to the Policy Manual for the following Student Affairs policy as presented at the
meeting:
 #5.29 – Notification of Social Security Number Collection and Use
After an overview by Ms. Wheeler and discussion by the Board, the motion carried
unanimously.
MOTION: (Ms. Gibson/Dr. Brothers) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
following requests to seek grant funding through the Southern Arts Federation to support
performances of the 2009-2010 NFCC Artist Series season:
 SOUTHERN ARTS FEDERATON GRANT for The Vanaver Caravan’s Earthbeat –
traditional and original dances from around the world on September 12, 2009.
The performance fee is $10,000 of which the SAF Grant would pay $5,000. The
group will perform educational outreach activities and an evening performance for the
NFCC Artist Series.
 SOUTHERN ARTS FEDERATION GRANT for Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues
performance and educational outreach activity on January 22, 2010. The performance
fee is $6,000 of which the SAF Grant would pay $3,000. The group will perform
educational outreach activities and an evening performance for the NFCC Artist
Series.
After an overview by Ms. Scarboro and discussion by the Board, the motion carried
unanimously.
MOTION: (Mr. Padgett/Ms. Hodge) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
Dr. Philip Benjamin Matching Program request for private contributions received by the
NFCC Foundation Office from February 2, 2008 through February 1, 2009. Ms. Rutherford
advised that this will allow the Foundation to receive the requested funds from the State upon
appropriations and apply the funds to the accounts for which the dollars were donated or
raised. She advised that all scholarship donations are requested at a 100% match and all
donations that are programmatic are requested at a 60% match. After an overview by
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 7
Ms. Rutherford and discussion by the Board, the motion carried unanimously.
(Ms. Rutherford advised that several events are being scheduled that will assist the Foundation
in fundraising, i.e. dinner and theater production during Down Home Days; Clay Shoot;
possibly a murder mystery dinner theater; sports equipment sale; etc. She asked that Board
members let her know if they have other ideas for fundraising.)
MOTION: (Mr. Padgett/Ms. Gibson) That the District Board of Trustees approves the warrant
list for January 2009. After an overview by Ms. Mulkey, the motion carried unanimously.
The Revenue and Expenditure Report for January 2009 was presented as an information item,
as was the Statement of Account.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
1/22
1/23
1/27
1/30
2/2
2/3-2/4
2/5
2/5
2/6
2/9
2/9
2/10
2/10
2/12
2/13
Artist Series - American Portrait
Science Summit
Met with Hamilton County Superintendent Martha Butler
Budget Retreat at Green Industries Institute
Met with Lafayette County Superintendent Tom Lashley
Trustee Legislative Conference with Mr. Maultsby in Tallahassee
Council of Presidents Business Meeting and Policy & Advocacy Group Meeting
Madison County Teacher of the Year Banquet
Met with Jefferson County Superintendent Bill Brumfield
Met with Representative Leonard Bembry
Met with Suwannee County Superintendent Jerry Scarborough
Met with Madison County Superintendent Lou Miller
Madison County Foundation for Excellence in Education Board Meeting
Met with David Abercrombie and Jim Sale re: hospital support partnership
Met with Taylor County Superintendent Paul Dyal
ATTORNEY TIME
 Attorney Leinback presented the employment contract for President John Grosskopf,
which he advised had been previously emailed to the Trustees for their review. He
said the contract reflects the discussion of the Trustees at the January 20, 2009 Board
meeting and that President Grosskopf is in agreement with the terms, which have been
reviewed by Mr. Maultsby. Attorney Leinback said the contract reflects the annual
salary that was discussed by the Board and the use of a College vehicle for College
business. He said the one change was the addition of a smart phone for the benefit of
the College while President Grosskopf is away from the campus at meetings, etc. The
duration of the contract will be until June 30, 2010. Contract renewal must be initiated
by the Board, and President Grosskopf must be notified of the Board’s intention at
least 90 days prior to the end of the contract term. He will receive the same other
benefits, i.e. insurance, etc. as other College employees. The Board does reserve the
right to terminate during the term of the contract with or without cause. If the Board
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 8
should choose to terminate without cause, then it would pay Mr. Grosskopf for the
remainder of the contract term.
MOTION: (Dr. Brothers/Mr. Helvenston) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
employment contract with President John Grosskopf as presented at the meeting by Attorney
Leinback. After an overview by Attorney Leinback, the motion carried unanimously.
 Attorney Leinback distributed copies of the cumulative evaluations of the President
and the Institution.
MOTION: (Mr. Padgett/Ms. Hodge) That the District Board of Trustees approves the
cumulative evaluations of the President and the Institution. The motion carried unanimously.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
 Mr. Williams inquired about the location of the upcoming meeting with the school
superintendents, and President Grosskopf commented that he wants to move away
from sitting around the conference table to a more informal setting.
 Dr. Brothers requested that the numerical vote be reflected in the minutes when the
vote is not unanimous.
 Dr. Brothers commented that the Board has heard his concerns about processes and the
way the Board functions. He said things that happen on the Board exude throughout
the rest of the organization and that the Board sets the example by developing policy to
help the President to fulfill the mission of the College. He asked that the Board reevaluate some of the past practices with respect to decisions and hiring and the
communication between Board members and the President and the College as a whole.
He said his comments are not addressed in a negative light toward Mr. Grosskopf for a
decision or an attempt to find a solution in the best way that he saw fit based upon past
practice within the organization. He said there is a situation where another position
was not advertised, and when he combed back through the policies, he found that the
President was within his rights to make the announcement regarding the naming of the
Chief Academic Officer in a fully vested capacity. Dr. Brothers said that on
August 19, which was his first Board meeting, he recalled that the Board approved a
faculty leave of absence in order for an individual to fill in as the Acting Dean of
Academic Affairs. He said that is what the minutes reflect and that there was no
timeframe given. (Mr. Hunter responded that he believes the timeframe was listed as a
part of the information that went to the Board.) Dr. Brothers said he would like to ask
that if there is a timeframe that is listed, that the Board have that information so that
the Board knows exactly what it is that the Board is approving and for what duration.
He said that in Mr. Hunter’s defense, the outcome of the presidential search was not
known at that time. He said that in reviewing policy, he found that the President is
given the ability to do an emergency hire, and the policy says that for this type of hire,
the normal search committee process will not be used. Dr. Brothers said there is clear
evidence that whoever wrote this policy, or the Board of Trustees at that time,
respected the search committee process, and that there was a reason for that. He said
that Policy #4.63 states that in an emergency, the President is authorized to employ
fulltime instructional, professional, and administrative personnel on an interim basis,
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 9
which he said he believes is what the Board actually did in the case of the Chief
Academic Officer that we currently have. He referenced policies pertaining to internal
job posting and equal employment opportunities. He referenced the Equity Report that
was presented to the Board at the January 20 meeting, and he said that equity is more
than about what the folks within the ranks look like. He said it’s about processes that
are in place to make sure that these opportunities are valued and that everyone is given
equal opportunity. He said it is not the product but the process that is a concern to him
and that he would personally appreciate that if the President is going to exercise his
rights within this policy, that at least the Board be notified before that announcement is
made so that there is some communication and dialogue.
 Mr. Maultsby commented that he appreciates Dr. Brothers’ input but that the Board has
selected a President and that the President has selected various people in levels under
him. He said it has been done and that for now it is over, so let’s let it stay over.
 Dr. Brothers asked what action the Board has taken, and what action the Board needs
to take.
 Mr. Maultsby said he does not know that the Board needs to do anything. He said that
we have a President until June 30, 2010 and in a 90-day period prior to that, the Board
can exercise anything it wants at that particular time.
 Dr. Brothers asked if it is true, then, that if the President exercises his option not to hire
a position, then he would bring that item to the next Board meeting.
 Attorney Leinback responded that, customarily, the Board sets policy and that if the
President is acting within the scope of the policy, then that is something the Board
would not involve itself in.
 Dr. Brothers asked if a recommendation for a contract or anything to that degree is
brought to the Board.
 Attorney Leinback replied that when it is time for a contract, a recommendation would
come before the Board for all hires.
 Mr. Padgett suggested that perhaps the President could call and advise the Trustees
prior to making an announcement of this type.
 Attorney Leinback said that would be a matter of courtesy to the Board.
 Dr. Brothers commented that if we are going to have a process that has a search
committee or a screening committee and an application process and that we promote
providing opportunities for advancement with equal opportunity for all, why would we
not advertise positions and, whenever possible, model that behavior on the
administrative level the same as we would expect for all ranks within the faculty and
staff here at the College. He said he does not see why there would be a different
treatment in those positions versus others and that he believes it breeds a culture of
distrust.
 Mr. Maultsby commented that he has been involved with the Board for seven years as
Board Chair and five – ten years as a Board member and that, most of the time, the
President appointed those staff positions. He said that one of the worst experiences in
his recollection with the College has been when we advertised externally for a vice
president.
 Dr. Brothers said that it is not about trying to go out and find the golden child because
we have them right here, and when we communicate that we’re trying to promote
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 10
within, and we offer professional development opportunities and opportunities for
growth, and we value that opportunity – and we provide it throughout all job positions.
 Mr. Hunter advised that the position was advertised verbally within the College.
 Dr. Brothers said that Mr. Grosskopf had shared that with him, but verbally advertising
versus posting it on an internal job vacancy are two different things, and he said he
believes he could get his feelings hurt real quickly if he was a teacher over here and
didn’t have that personal visit by someone who was doing the verbal advertising.
 Mr. Grosskopf advised that when the Board first named him Acting President and he
had to find a replacement for Acting Chief Academic Officer, he sent an email to all
faculty asking all who were interested in taking over his role to speak to him and find
out what the requirements and obligations of the job were and to let him know if they
were interested. Four people expressed an interest, and all four met with him one-onone. Two said they were not interested in pursuing it further, and he interviewed the
two who said they were interested, and he chose what he believed to be the superior of
the two candidates. Then when the Board decided to remove “Acting” from his
designation and fully vest him, he had a situation that he believed had to be responded
to immediately for two reasons – (1) the “Acting” designation on him as Acting
President created a little hesitancy of other community college presidents because they
do not want to make a hand shake on the deal if they think you’re not going to be there
next week. He said he was seeing something similar happening in relationships with
the Acting Chief Academic Officer and articulations and agreements with high school
guidance counselors and meetings with superintendents and also a repeating situation
on campus where one or more faculty members were really not respecting the ability
of the Chief Academic Officer to make decisions and set procedures by throwing the
term “Acting” back in her face. It was hindering our ability to do business. (2) In
trying to get NFCC into the correct thinking model for how we need to move ahead in
these difficult budget times, our Chief Academic Officer was formerly in a high paid
math position. While she is the Chief Academic Officer, we do not have to renew that
math position, which is a savings to the institution of over $80,000. If we had decided
to bring someone else in, we would have to push her back into the math position and
fund that position again, while continuing to fund the Chief Academic Officer
position. He said that we cannot function without the Chief Academic Officer
position, so it was advertised, and he said he feels, ethically, that we gave everyone
who was interested in the position a chance to speak up and express his or her interest
in that position. Mr. Grosskopf said that his interpretation of what the Board did was
that they gave Dr. Erle a one-year leave from her faculty contract to take on an
administrative position. He said what that administrative position was, was not
defined in the sheet that the Board voted to approve, and that allowed him to make a
decision that he thought was in the best interest of the College, and it would really
force people who were resistant to the new initiatives in Academic Affairs to have to
accept the will and authority of the Chief Academic Officer.
 Dr. Brothers said he wants to thank Dr. Erle for what she has done because, obviously,
there is a risk factor involved with that, but that again, it comes back to process and
product.
 Mr. Maultsby commented that the election is over, so let’s let it be over.
 Mr. Maultsby commented that he went to the Trustee legislative meeting and picked up
some literature, copies of which he distributed to the Trustees. He said that all of the
District Board of Trustees Minutes
February 17, 2009
Page 11
presenters were from the Legislature and all said the same thing – that we don’t have
any money. He said, however, that he was pleasantly surprised at how capable the
current legislative leaders are. He said another thing that pleased him was that he had
the opportunity to personally meet the Chancellor and several of the community
college presidents, and they congratulated the NFCC Board on selecting Mr.
Grosskopf as President, and they all expressed confidence in him. He said he was also
pleased to see our legislative liaison, Ms. Gallagher, in action, as she knew everyone
and knew her way around very well. He said he left there being very disappointed
about the budget situation but that he was very pleased with the leadership that we are
getting.
Mr. Maultsby advised that the next meeting will be held at the College on March 17, 2009, at
5:30 p.m.
MOTION: (Mr. Padgett/Ms. Hodge) That the District Board of Trustees approves to adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. upon unanimous consent.
Respectfully submitted,
John Grosskopf
President
/cmg
John Maultsby, Jr.
Chair