The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees met for their annual Board Retreat on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. at the Western Governor’s Residence in Asheville.
The following members of the Board were present: Tom Alexander, Troy Ball, Joe Brumit, Mary Ruth Fowler, Don Locke, Kaye Myers, Carol Peterson, Mandy Stone, David Wyatt, Chair Richard Hurley, Vice-Chair Ray Spells, and Jayne English, SGA President. Bill Hart arrived at approximately 1:20 for the continuation of the closed session from the June Board meeting.
Others present for the meeting included: Hank Dunn, President; Judy Futch, meeting facilitator; Martha Shanks, Secretary to the Board; and Chris Campbell, College attorney.
Communication
Trustees agreed that they would like to formulate an “elevator speech” for A-B Tech by the end of the meeting.
To that end, they utilized a couple of group exercises to achieve consensus on guiding principles and a foundation for communication with the public. As part of this discussion, trustees shared the primary reason they individually serve on the Board of Trustees, including:
- To promote the excellence of A-B Tech, with a goal of exceeding student expectations;
- To increase the number of students coming from Asheville High School to the College;
- To promote A-B Tech as a foundation of the community, and as such, larger than the individuals serving it;
- To serve as a liaison to the student body to promote a deeper experience at the College;
- To serve as an advocate for public education, and broaden the push for free public college education;
- To advance technology used to accommodate instructional needs;
- To promote A-B Tech as an opportunity for folks who never thought they would go to college;
- To increase workforce development efforts to provide training leading to jobs;
- To serve people within the region with diverse backgrounds;
- To empower people through education; and
- To promote A-B Tech as an “anchor institution”.
Trustees identified critical values most important to them as related to the College. Coming out of this exercise were three inclusive statements relating to values:
- We value honesty and believe that the truth is essential in the formation of excellence.
- We value our Vision and Mission and believe it is necessary to be strategic, innovative, and attentive to be successful and achieve our dreams.
- We value inclusion and believe that the A-B Tech Board of Trustees fulfills its mission through engagement, openness, and self-expression, ultimately working as a team.
Board Meetings & Committees
Trustees discussed the structure of Board meetings, what is included on the agenda, and the timing of material covered in the meeting. The Board wants to drive the meetings and has more say in the way materials are brought to them. Coming out of the discussion was a decision to create five committees to interface with top administrators at the College in the following areas, with Trustees assigned to committees based on their areas of experience and expertise:
- Finance: Ray Spells, Mandy Stone
- Student Services and Instructional Services: Don Locke, Mary Ruth Fowler, John Parham, Wayne Brigman
- Human Resources and Administration: Richard Hurley, Joe Brumit, Kaye Myers, Troy Ball
- Workforce and Community Development: Bill Hart, Carol Peterson
- Facilities: Tom Alexander, David Wyatt
Meetings will be coordinated by the College’s Executive Team member/s in each category; meetings will be held monthly in time to allow Trustees to prepare their reports for the subsequent Board meeting. Reports will tie achievements to strategic plan outcomes. These meetings will be noticed publicly, as is required by state law. Trustees stressed that their goal is to build relationships with the staff and understand more intimately what is being accomplished towards their strategic plan goals, not to micro-manage the department affairs.
The Board will formally approve the committees and committee members at the August 5 Board meeting.
President's Annual Review
Trustees discussed the mechanism and methodology of conducting the President’s annual review. They agreed that utilizing a 360 evaluation, a method of assessment that typically includes direct feedback from an employee's subordinates, peers, and supervisor(s), as well as a self-evaluation, is worth looking at as an alternative to the current review method. This will be discussed at the August 5 Board meeting, perhaps with a presentation by an expert on the topic, Greg Mayo, to help explain the process and benefits. A formal decision will be made at the meeting on whether to move to this type of evaluation for the President’s 2013-2014 evaluation.
Due Process - Chris Campbell
Board attorney, Chris Campbell, gave an overview of due process, defining it as the right to be heard before something is taken away from you. He explained that College staff with contracts has due process rights, and students also have due process rights that are slightly less than those of employees. The Board’s Constitution is important in governing the College but does not have the force of law, which supersedes any conflict in the Board Constitution.
Coming out of this discussion was a request by the Trustees that the College’s policy and procedure manual be placed on A-B Tech’s public-facing website.
Trustees concluded the business portion of the Board Retreat at noon for lunch and informal conversation.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha L. Shanks
Board Secretary