HIGHLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT 9

MINUTES OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES’ MEETING

February 14, 2008

STUDY SESSION

Executive Session

Executive Session was held from 8:05 am to 9:20 am for the purposes of discussion of the performance of a public employee. The Executive Session continued at 9:20 am for the purpose of discussion of the performance of public employees with regard to Tenure and also for the purpose of discussion of real estate. Executive Session adjourned at 10:02 a.m.

Study Session adjourned at 10:02 a.m.

MEETING

Call to Order

Karen Vander Ark, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.

Roll Call

Members Present: Karen Vander Ark

Rita Creighton

Elizabeth Chen

Ed Davila

Mike Regeimbal

Attorney General Representative: Derek Edwards

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees on January 17, 2008 were approved.

Correspondence

Jack Bermingham announced that Highline Community College will have the privilege of hosting the Washington State Supreme Court here at Highline on May 5, 2008. The Court will host sessions on campus and there will be a luncheon that day and also a reception with the Court Justices later in the afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The Trustees were invited to both the luncheon and the reception and Dr. Bermingham encouraged the members of the Board to try to attend both events. He said that this visit was quite an honor for the campus and based in large part, as a showing of respect for our paralegal program. Joy Smucker, Division Chair, Business/Paralegal Program, has played a key role in organizing this event. Dr. Bermingham expressed his enthusiasm not only for the honor it brings to our campus, but for the tremendous opportunity it brings for students to participate in this experience. Marie Zimmermann added that Highline has actually established a class this quarter focused on the Supreme Court and the Justices will be meeting with the students of that class.

Dr. Bermingham spoke of the press conference held in White Center on February 13^th in which the National Center for Family Literacy and the Toyota Foundation announced their grant to the Highline School District. Highline Community College was invited as we, along with Para Los Niños are key partners in this grant for a three year period and $100,000 which will support a family literacy program three elementary schools in Burien and White Center. Only five sites were selected and one of the spokespersons said that initial applicants totaled over 200. One of the speakers was a Highline student who gave a delightful presentation in discussing how this type of program was one that could provide a better life for her daughter and she emphasized the focus on the family. Our partnership with Para Los Niños is also highlighted in a document that is being produced by United Way about best practices in partnerships with larger institutions such a college and smaller organizations such as a community based organization. Congratulations were given to Jeff Wagnitz who was instrumental in writing this proposal and also to Steve Washburn in the ABE program and to Bevin Taylor as well acknowledgements to the efforts of several other faculty and support personnel. Mike Regeimbal asked what Highline’s role would be in this program, and Dr. Bermingham explained our faculty would be holding classes at the elementary schools and other resources would be provided for family members at those sites. Congratulations were also offered to the Highline School District by Dr. Bermingham for their work on the Literacy Grant and the partnership this program offered for Highline Community College and the local School District.

Standing Reports

Associated Students of Highline Community College

Student Body President, Steven Simpkins reported.

• Steve said the caucus program continues to be strong and is now in its second year. Just to offer an idea of the type of programs that are discussed, recently there was a presentation by a student who is a registered sex offender. It was an interesting discussion as the individual discussed what it was like to be labeled as a sex offender and the students were very interested in what he had to say. Another discussion was focused on “Internal Race Wars: Black versus Brown” and another one coming up soon will be “Individual Rights versus Public Safety.”
• A great turnout of about 25 students came for the International Leadership Summit in which the Indonesian students were highlighted. Next month South African students will be honored.
• Steven Simpkins was enthusiastic that the decision was approved for $103,000 in funding for the remodeling of the Tutoring Center which was very well received.
• Recent events at Highline featured several speakers including a former student of the Nursing Program who came back to Highline to talk about her experiences, Laura Manning, a Faculty member, gave a presentation on her trip to China, and Sam Green, Washington State’s first Poet Laureate also spoke on campus.
• Steve reminded everyone of the upcoming musical events, performance artists and student panel discussions that would be held during the Hip Hop Summit of February 26 and 27.
• The Volunteer Fair is coming up and also the Boat Cruise this spring which is like Highline’s student prom.
• Steve was proud to announce that Highline Community College has retained the Valley Cup in a rousing six to four game score of hoops over Green River Community College.
• The Black Student Union is also hosting several events this week as part of Black History Month including a presentation from author Sophia Stewart, a poetry slam and several musical events.

Washington Public Employees Association

Lydia Bracco reported.

• The Highline WPEA Chapter meeting will be held this month on February 20.
• Lynn King, Mark Wynn and I met with the Classified Staff on January 31^st to inform them of the Presidential Search Process. There was good attendance and positive feedback.
• Lydia was pleased to announce that 15 members of the WPEA participated during Lobby Day in Olympia held on Monday, January 21^st. They spent the morning discussing the Legislative process and Legislative priorities for 2008 were identified at the annual meeting in Ellensburg. In the afternoon they met with different Legislators in small groups and attended a Higher Education Committee Meeting.

Highline College Education Association

Ruth Windhover reported.

Ruth began her report by saying she had served as a faculty member at Highline for 21 years, so it had now been18 years ago that she had received Tenure. She said that in that time, she and many others who have been here for a long period of time, have seen a major change at Highline. She said Highline has gone from an average community college to an outstanding community college both within the state, and nationally. She went on to say that Highline has an exceptional faculty due to a very aggressive recruitment of diverse faculty. She said Highline also has an exceptional administration. Five years ago the accreditation committee gave Highline an outstanding evaluation which noted Highline’s spirit. Ruth said she feels this spirit is a result of a high level of collegiality and cooperation between the faculty and the administration. From her contact with faculty throughout the state and nationally, she said the level of communication between faculty and administration both through formal negotiation and more importantly through informal discussion is unusual if not unique. She said faculty feel they have a voice in decision making and their contributions and values are understood. So when administrators have different views from faculty, and their decisions reflect those different views, the faculty nevertheless supports them, because their voices have been heard.

Ruth expressed the faculty’s disappointment in the Board’s decision regarding the Presidential Search Process. They were disappointed that constituent groups’ representatives will not have the opportunity to sit on the interview committee or to discuss finalists with the Board after the finalists’ visits. She said this is a significant departure from the Board’s previous presidential search process. At that time, the constituent group representatives participated in the interviews, site visits, and discussions with the Board before the Board made their decisions. She said it was also a departure from the process that the State Board itself used when hiring its executive director. In that process, finalists were interviewed by a committee that included not only Board members, but a college president, college trustees and a faculty member. Ruth said she happened to be that faculty member. She disagreed with the decision that was made but supported it because she had had her voice heard, and had an opportunity for face to face discussion with Board members concerning the candidates and the process. Ruth explained that as she had expressed in her email communication to the Board, a great deal of additional information will be developed through references and background checks, interviews, and constituent meetings. She said differences between finalists will become much clearer, and the constituent groups will have a unique perspective on this information and their representatives need to be able to articulate their constituency’s assessments of each candidate to the Board. She hopes that the Board will see their desire for representatives to have face to face conversations with the Board prior to making their final decision as a valuable asset and also as a means of continuing the relationship that has made Highline so strong and so effective as a community college.

Faculty Senate

Ruth Frickle reported.

• Ruth Frickle said she had attended the statewide association meeting in Bremerton last week, at Olympic college.
• Barbara Clinton attended the recent meeting of the Faculty Senate and helped them understand the various levels of honors that are available to students including honors options, honors scholars, and high scholastic achievement and also described basic guidelines for projects for faculty who agree to offer honors options for students in their classes. It was very informative they appreciated the time she spent in making that presentation.

Action Item on Recommendations for the Tenure Track Process:

Trustee Mike Regeimbal introduced the following motion:

Having given due consideration to the recommendations of the Tenure Review Committee and the College President, Mike Regeimbal moved to recommend the following candidates for Tenure after 3 years of Probation:

Oussama (Sam) Alkhalili – Business Information Technology

Sherri Chun – Business Information Technology

Ché Dawson – Paralegal

Marie Esch-Radtke – Nursing

Tommy Kim – Writing

Jessica Neilson – Paralegal

Jeff Owens – Chemistry

James Peyton – Economics

Ben Thomas – Music

Teresa Trillo – Nursing

The motion continued to recommend the following candidates from second year to third year Tenure track probation:

Kat Chappell – Medical Assisting

Patricia McDonald - Education

Matt Schwisow - Writing

Lonnie Somer - Anthropology

The motion again continued to recommend the following candidates from first year to second year Tenure track probation:

Shawna Allen – Math

Teri Balkenende – History

Rich Bankhead – Engineering

Dan Drischel – Human Services

Monica LeMoine – Writing

Kris Mason – ABE/ESL

Anthony Newton – Accounting

Bevin Taylor – ABE/ESL

Rita Creighton seconded the motion.

The Motion passed unanimously.

Update on Presidential Search Process

Karen Vander Ark asked Rita Creighton to give an update on the presidential search process.

Rita Creighton submitted the following report:

The Committee met on Monday, February 11, 2008 with Dr. Don Cameron of the search firm. Dr. Don Hunter was unable to attend due to a family emergency. The search process continues to be on schedule and as agreed to in the process plan.

The committee met to discuss the search process and review the roles of PSAC members, the consultant, staff facilitator and the Board of Trustees.

All PSAC members signed confidentiality agreements and reviewed the work plan for initial reduction of applications.

Twenty-six applications have been received and screened for completeness and verification that all applicants met the stated requirements. All applicants have doctoral degrees.

• 9 of the twenty-six have Washington State work experience
• 5 have presidential experience
• 9 are vice-presidents
• Others include a regional chancellor, a chancellor, a vice-chancellor, directors, associate vice-presidents and a chief academic officer.

Rita explained the field was varied.

PSAC members have begun review of the applications and will meet on February 21 to reduce the applicant pool to twelve for the next sate of the process.

Candidate videos will be developed for PSAC review between March 7^th and 17^th.

Details for candidate interviews and site visits still need to be developed.

Rita added that she hoped that this would address some of the concerns expressed by Ruth Windhover.

Report on Human Services

Employment Professional Certificate Program and partnership with

Highline Community College and collaborations with W.i.S.e.,

O’Neill and Associates and local County Development Disability Divisions

Alice Madsen began the report with an apology for the technical difficulties with the PowerPoint presentation, but explained that this time allowed her the opportunity to acknowledge several key people whose efforts have made this program a possibility. They included Joyce Duran, Project Manager, employed by King County (who was unable to attend during this time as she was traveling in Thailand), Dan Drischel and Judy Perry, both of Highline, and also Teri Johnson (the first instructor with the Employment Professional Certificate Program), who works with O’Neill and Associates. Alice referred to the development of this program as a highly collaborative process. She said the key players had worked for the better part of a year with the State of Washington Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and with employers of persons with disabilities along with the College.

Alice described the program as a 15-credit certificate aimed at people currently working in the field with people who have developmental disabilities. Their aim is to assist in preparing these individuals as they transition to a level in which they may obtain employment. This program can also be a pathway to the Human Services Program, leading to an Associate of Arts degree if the student so wishes. Many of the current students have Masters Degrees but still see this as a viable certificate to improve their working knowledge. Alice reported 23 students in the current program who will be participating in coursework for the entire year, working in 6 different areas. She explained that one of the students commutes every Friday from Colville, WA, near Spokane which shows the intensity of interest and the importance of this program.

She explained that one very interesting statistic was that the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities nationwide is about 70%, and for the State of Washington, is about 45-50%. Alice explained this revealed a huge group of people who could be contributing to our economic base. As Highline has always promoted a core value of inclusiveness, this program fits well with Highline’s goals and could truly be a model nationwide. She added that employers are paying tuition for students in this program and all of the students are working full time.

Teri Johnson continued this report with a PowerPoint presentation highlighting these areas:

• The Program was developed through a partnership in planning, curriculum development and replication with DSHS, County contributions, the Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Vancouver School District, the State Of Oregon DHS, and the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment
• The purpose is for preparation for employment professionals to meet the needs of a diverse workforce citing RCW 71A which states, “All individuals, regardless of the challenge of their disability, will be afforded an opportunity to pursue competitive employment”
• Fall Quarter emphasizes historical perspective, systematic instruction, individualized planning, and supporting positive behavior in the workforce
• Winter Quarter emphasizes customized employment, networking and community involvement, developing personal profiles, and corporate marketing
• Spring Quarter emphasizes preparing the individual and the business, developing support plans, training for independence and customer follow-along services to business
• The Presentation also highlighted the feedback received from students in the program and their successes in the field

Judy Perry added that to her knowledge, there was no other State who was currently involved in this level of training, as many four-year programs do not have the concentration of resources available for this type of program. She also added that students in these programs all work for non-profit agencies.

AREA REPORTS

General Administration

Larry Yok reported.

• Larry said that the Executive Staff recently toured the work that has been completed at the MaST and it is very impressive.
• The Emergency Generator has been installed and a test run has been scheduled for February 18^th.
• The preliminary ratings were received on the submissions to the State for Capital Projects and Larry expressed his regrets in informing the Board that Highline did not make the cut in this cycle. He said he would be meeting with the State Board and Tom Henderson to go over the screening. The process continues, as these recommendations will then be forwarded to the Presidents, and a task force will review them prior to sending their rankings to the State Board.
• Dr. Bermingham underscored Larry’s remarks that even though Highline feels that replacement and remodeling funding is a huge need for this campus, that there are many older colleges in the State who are perhaps even more in need.

Student Services

Toni Castro reported.

• Toni wished to thank Steve Simpkins again and the students for the contribution of over $100,000 for the remodeling of the Tutoring Center.

• Registration and advising for Spring quarter is now underway. Spring Quarter begins March 31.
• Highline is over 16% of where it was two years ago at this time.
• A college fair was held on February 6^th and Siew Lai Lilley did a great job in keeping up with this.
• In Athletics, one of our wrestlers, Pano Dreves, won a regional championship, 3 of our basketball players are all-academic athletes.
• Toni wished to highlight Michelle St. Clair this month as a student success story. Michelle is a non-traditional re-entry student who is wheelchair bound after an auto accident. Michelle has a 3.76 GPA and wishes to purse her bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration at UW Tacoma.

Instruction

Marie Zimmerman reported.

• Marie also expressed her enthusiasm for the use of student program funding to support the remodeling of the Tutoring Center. She said that when it was relocated several years ago, temporary walls were put up for better use of the space and it was impressive to see how the area was functioning. She said that to have the students step up to offer funding for this purpose is a real testimony to the work that is being done there.
• Marie wished to highlight the new personal fitness program. The first classes in this area started Winter Quarter. The fitness center is open to the faculty and staff of the college as well.
• Tammy Hilton, Interior Design Instructor, and Rich Bankhead, Engineering Faculty, are both taking classes in CAD at Green River CC. They were both interested to see how more involvement in CAD could assist our programs at HCC.

Institutional Advancement

Lisa Skari reported.

• Lisa reminded everyone that Highline had been selected as part of a PBS special. The producers have been in contact with Highline and are now looking at a date in April for the filming.
• Last Friday, more than 10,000 students participated in a High School Leadership Conference.
• The latest campaign report has been released from the Collins Group. The overall capital Campaign for the MaST has reached $1.65 million. The campus campaign has raised over $35,000.
• The Federal Way paper has run one and a half pages featuring the MaST in Des Moines, and Rod Stephenson is already getting a lot of emails in response to the article.
• Lisa also explained that Highline is in the process of tailoring its funding requests. There is a concerted effort toward corporate and foundation gifts. To date, there are pending requests at more than $662,000.

Karen Vander Ark remarked that the Board of Trustees has also received reports from the State and they are hearing of the success in this regard.

President’s Remarks

Dr. Bermingham was pleased to report that the American Council for Education had picked up the article from the Des Moines paper on the MaST and allowed Highline more national attention.

Dr. Bermingham wished to express his congratulations to the faculty who received Tenure through the Action of the Board of Trustees at this meeting. These individuals contribute to what makes Highline an engaging campus and why it continues to have an impact on the broader campus of the educational climate here. He added his thanks to Dan Drischel who was already playing a leadership role on our campus but was also an influence across the State in the Human Services Program. He extended his congratulations to Judy Perry and her program’s success.

Lastly, Dr. Bermingham wished to thank the Trustees for their role in the advocacy of the College. He wished to specifically thank Karen and Elizabeth for their efforts in January in meetings with Legislators and other groups.

A special thanks was extended to Larry Yok by Dr. Bermingham for his extended efforts on the arduous task of putting together the documentation to forward to the State for an approval to move forward on the Federal Way Lease. He expressed that Larry’s willingness to go above and beyond his current duties with this effort was no small task, and very much appreciated.

Unscheduled business

None.

New Business

None.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 11:26 a.m.

Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting of the Board of Trustees

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees will be on March 13, 2008.

Karen Vander Ark, Chair Jack Bermingham, Interim Secretary