February 2, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes


The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, February 2, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. in the Magnolia Building. Joe Brumit, Chair, presided.

The following members of the Board were present: Chair Joe Brumit, Mike Fryar, William Hart, Don Locke, Kaye Myers, Frances Ramsey, Nathan Ramsey, Mary Ann Rice, Ray Spells, Mandy Stone, David Wyatt, and Brandon Priester, Ex-Officio.

Others present for the meeting included: Dennis King, President; Kaye Waugh, Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Development; Shelley White, Vice President for Economic and Workforce Development/Continuing Education; Terry Brasier, Vice President for Student Services; Kerri Glover, Executive Director, Community Relations and Marketing; Gene Loflin, Associate Vice President Instructional Services; David White, Executive Director of Research and Planning; Rhonda Devan, Vice President Business and Finance, CFO; Brian Willis, Vice President, Information Systems Technology; Chris Campbell, College attorney; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.

 

Call To Order

Mr. Brumit read the ethics statement; no conflicts of interest were reported. Ms. Rice called roll. A quorum was present.

The Board welcomed and Judge Calvin Hill swore in new Trustee Nathan Ramsey and the new President of the Student Government Association, Brandon Priester.

Chair Brumit presented outgoing Trustee Wilma Sherrill with a plaque thanking Mrs. Sherrill for her contribution to A-B Tech.

 

Consent Agenda

Mr. Spells moved to approve the Consent Agenda: 1. A. Closed Session Minutes of October 6, 2014; 1. B. Minutes of November 3, 2014; 1. C. Closed Session Minutes of January 16, 2015; 1. D. Personnel Actions; 1. E. Budget Resolution Amendment; 1. F. State Funds Budget Transfers; 1. G. Schedule of Investments; 1. H. Approval of New and Revised Policies and Procedures; 1. I. Approval of Policies for Deletion and 1. J. Board Priorities for 2015-2016.

The motion was seconded by Ms. Stone and was approved unanimously by the Board.

 

Resolution/Action Items

2. A. Approval of November 6, 2014, Executive Committee Closed Session Minutes. Dr. Locke inquired why only the members of the Executive Committee were allowed to vote on the approval of the minutes. Mr. Campbell informed the Board that the November 6, 2014 meeting was regarding an employee issue, and only the members of the Executive Committee that attended were allowed to vote on the minutes. The employee had the opportunity to appeal the Executive Committee’s decision to the full Board but chose not to.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Ms. Stone, the Board unanimously approved the November 6, 2014, Executive Committee Closed Session Minutes.

2. B. Dr. King discussed adding a new Cardiovascular Sonography AAS Program to the College. Dr. Gene Loflin and Dr. Dolly Horton explained to the Board that Cardiovascular Sonography would be an expansion of the College’s existing medical program. Students accepted into the program will leave with the knowledge and skills to acquire, process, and evaluate the human heart and vascular structures. The program is in demand and will increase enrollment; however, a new faculty member would not be needed at this time. There is a market demand for employees with good income potential.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Dr. Locke, the Board unanimously approved the Cardiovascular Sonography AAS Program.

 

2. C. Mr. Jim Sullivan presented the proposed Environmental Engineering Technology AAS Program to the Board. The program is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to modify, test, and operate equipment and devices used in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental problems and the development of environmental remediation devices. Mr. Sullivan informed the Board that graduates should qualify for employment opportunities with civil and environmental engineering firms, environmental testing and remediation firms, local, regional, and state agencies, and local and regional non-profit agencies.

On a motion by Dr. Locke, seconded by Mr. Spells, the Board unanimously approved the Environmental Engineering Technology AAS Program.

 

Trustee Business

3. A. Dr. Locke will chair the Presidential Evaluation Committee. Ms. Stone and Mr. Ramsey will also serve on the committee. The Presidential evaluation is due to the NCCCS office by June 30, 2015.

3. B. Chair Brumit appointed Mr. Hart as chair of the nominating committee for Board officers for 2015-2016. Mr. Spells and Mrs. Myers will be on the committee as well. New Board officers begin their appointment in August 2015.

On a motion by Ms. Stone, seconded by Mr. Fryar, the Board unanimously approved the committee selections.

 

President’s Report

Dr. King shared the following news:

  • Duke Energy has given the College a grant for the purchase of advanced technology equipment, and the ground floor of the Maple Building will be converted into an advanced technology facilities center.
  • The federal financial aid audit is still ongoing. The College is satisfied with the law firm being used, and the final figure should be considerably less than what was first anticipated. Measures have been put in place to prevent this situation from recurring.
  • The City of Asheville has agreed to place a traffic light at the intersection of Victoria and the road by the Coman building, which will help with the traffic flow from the new multipurpose building. Jim Sullivan’s engineering students will design the traffic light as a class project.
  • Michael Dempsey, Stephen Maag, and Todd Oldenburg are in charge of high school recruiting and through their great efforts, the College’s high school enrollment has increased by 19 percent. The Career and College Promise Program has allowed students to take college courses during their junior and senior years of high school.
  • The Dr. Joseph B. Roberson Sr. building plaque has been hung at the Roberson building, and the Board’s resolution is hanging as well. The Roberson family is very appreciative and has started a scholarship in Dr. Roberson’s name.
  • A-B Tech and UNC Asheville have signed a memorandum of understanding to share a CORE scholarship of $100,000. A student accepted into A-B Tech who plans to transfer to UNC Asheville will receive a $2,000 scholarship per year. If and when that student is accepted to UNC Asheville, the scholarship will follow the student to UNC Asheville.
  • Overall enrollment is down slightly from last year. The majority of the losses in enrollment numbers involve transfer students. As the economy continues to improve, more students are enrolling in four-year colleges. Allied Health programs are highly competitive and enrollment is capped due to the availability of clinical spaces. More than 40 out of the 58 community colleges in North Carolina are experiencing a downturn in enrollment.
  • Mr. Tom Tveidt, a consultant with Syneva Economics, will present and provide an economic forecast on our service district to the Board at the next meeting on March 2, 2015.
  • Rhonda Devan is implementing a base budget development approach for the College for next year, and work continues on the budget for 2015-2016.
  • A-B Tech’s Community Relations and Marketing recently won a record 12 national awards from the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations. They included 5 Gold Awards, 4 Silver Awards, and 3 Bronze Awards. A list of the awards was shared with the Board.
  • The College has had another student accepted as a NASA scholar. Ahmed Ellesy will spend a week at NASA headquarters studying with NASA engineers. A-B Tech is one of the few schools in the nation to have multiple NASA scholars.
  • The College continues to grow a partnership with Green Opportunities. For the past three years, the College has been working with students in the “Go Kitchen Ready” program, providing short-term development skills to help students with their job performance. Adult education is available at the Eddington Center as well.

 

Sga Report

SGA President, Brandon Priester told the Board he was honored to serve and reported the following:

  • The SGA holiday party had 110 head start students in attendance and was very successful.
  • The President’s List and Dean’s list Awards Ceremony will be held on February 17.
  • Earth Day Celebration planning is underway.
  • The SGA thanked Jayne English for her service on the Board.

 

Adjourn

On a motion by Dr. Locke, seconded by Ms. Stone, the meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary