NORTHERN ESSEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF MEETING (OFFICIAL) – June 5, 2024
A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in TC103A and via Zoom on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
Ms. Borislow
Mr. Cousins (Via Zoom)
Ms. Fernandez
Mr. Gomez
Mr. Hamm
Ms. Hatem-Roy
Ms. O’Rorke
Mr. Silverio
Not Present: Ms. Quiles, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Vasquez
Also Present: President Glenn (Via Zoom)
CALL TO ORDER: With a roll call of attendance and a quorum present, Chairwoman Borislow called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM. Chairwoman Borislow opened the meeting by introducing two new Trustees. Ms. Joan Hatem-Roy, CEO of AgeSpan of the Merrimack Valley and former Essex County Sheriff, Frank G. Cousins, Jr. were welcomed to the Board.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chairwoman Borislow asked for a motion to approve the May 1, 2024 minutes.
On a Motion presented by Trustee O’Rorke and seconded by Trustee Hamm, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the May 1, 2024 minutes as presented.
CORRESPONDENCE: President Glenn noted that the Board received a copy of a letter sent to them by the Chair of the Student Affairs Committee of the college’s All College Assembly. The letter was in regards to student food insecurity. President Glenn noted that he had in the past provided the board with updates on food and housing services for students and also shared what the college is doing to help address basic student needs. He noted that he has also responded back to the committee and has recommended that, in the future, the committee work in consultation with the full All College Assembly to help address any concerns.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
a) Introduction of Newly Hired Employees (Verbal) President Glenn introduced three new employees: Ian Antoniou and Yanilo Duran were both recently hired as Fulltime Recruitment Counselors in the Enrollment Services department. Also, Winne, NECC’s new comfort dog and her handler Lt. Keith Walker were introduced. Dr. Glenn noted that Winnie had recently graduated from puppy school and has made appearances at several events on-campus (like Spring Jam and Commencement) to learn more about the campus and to meet faculty, staff, and students. Welcome gifts were presented to each new employee as the Board welcomed them to NECC.
EDUCATION REPORT:
a) Honors Program Expansion (ADM-3868-060524) President Lane Glenn introduced Sharon McDermot, Assistant Provost in Academic and Student Affairs and Professor Ginger Hurajt who is the Commonwealth Honors Program Coordinator. Ms. McDermot and Ms. Hurajt provided an overview of the expansion of NECC’s Honor’s program which has been active for many years and is affiliated with UMass.
Ms. McDermot and Ms. Hurajt noted that they have been working on program expansion for a few years now, and she directed the Trustees attention to a post card of benefits for the program including expanded offerings for the fall semester. She noted that as of the Fall 2021, NECC offered only two honors classes in Haverhill, and they were low-enrolled. Beginning in the Fall 2022 semester, NECC offered Honors classes at both campuses with five (5) classes across both campuses and a total of 56 students enrolled. In the Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 semesters, the expansion and growth of offerings continued showing a total enrollment 129 students. In the Fall 2024, there will be eleven (11) classes offered.
Due to this expansion, the college has also developed a faculty support system for Honors classes which includes two (2) meetings each semester to support them including tutoring and access to library services.
In addition, they noted that the Commonwealth Honors Program recently completed a successful site visit, and the accrediting team was very impressed with the work that was done and approved accreditation through 20xx. As a result of the input from the site visit, the college will be erecting an honors lounge at the Lawrence so that students have a dedicated space to work on Honors projects.
Ms. Hurajt provided some pictures of current Honors students, and spoke briefly about the Honors seminar class which teaches students about research methods and requires a minimum 3.2 GPA. What makes an honors course, she noted, is research and presentation. There are also statewide opportunities at UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell, and 2024 marks the 30th anniversary at the UMass Amherst campus. Once students complete two (2) courses, they graduate as a Commonwealth Honors Scholar, and they can continue onto UMass Amherst. The hope is to double or triple the number of Honors graduates over the next two years.
Lastly, she noted that the college had a lot of students that don’t physically come to either campus, so an online section was also created to accommodate those students. NECC does offer ten (10), $1,000 honor scholarships (funded by the Institutional Advancement office) each year to assist students financially.
In closing, President Glenn thanked Ms. McDermot and Ms. Hurajt for their report on the Honors programming.
BOARD CHAIR REPORT: Chairwoman Borislow noted a few items under her report. They were:
a) She thanked the two new Trustees for joining the board and noted that she was looking forward to meeting with them over the summer for an orientation.
b) Ms. Borislow also noted that over the summer months, she will be reviewing board committee composition and reaching out to Trustees for committee appointments for the 2024-25 academic year. She will be in touch with Trustees individually about appointments.
c) She congratulated the college staff for another wonderful Commencement ceremony.
d) In closing, Chair Borislow congratulated fellow Trustee Evan Silverio and his family for being the recipients of this year’s 2024 Eartha Dengler History Award on June 20th.
REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES:
a) Audit and Finance Sub-Committee (Verbal)
There was no report.
b) Alumni Advancement Sub-Committee (Verbal)
There was no report.
c) Equity Imperative Sub-Committee
There was no report.
d) Nominating Sub-Committee
There was no report.
e) Presidential Evaluation Committee
1) Motion to Approve 2023-24 Presidential Performance Evaluation (ADM-3869-060524)
Chairman of the Presidential Performance Evaluation Committee Jouel Gomez noted that the board packets included a motion and the attached evaluation for review and approval. He noted that the committee met several times in the Spring and also spent considerable time interviewing state and local community leaders to provide input into the evaluation. The committee, he noted, also met with President Glenn to review the evaluation. Chair Gomez asked for the full board’s support in approving this evaluation and submission to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
On a Motion presented by Trustee Fernandez and seconded by Trustee Hamm, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the 2023-24 Presidential Performance Evaluation as presented.
In closing, Chairwoman Borislow thanked the committee for their work and expressed her full appreciation for President Glenn’s leadership. President Glenn thanked the Trustees for their continued support.
REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION:
a) Whittier Tech/NECC Shared Campus Project Update (Verbal) President Glenn noted that the stakeholders’ group is engaging with the UMass Donahue Institute as the consultant for the first phase of this study/project. He also noted that there are a number of thinking/analytical groups like Jobs for the Future who can help explore innovative ways to drive cost efficiencies, expand credentials, etc. This project is more than a sum of its parts, and the Donahue Institute will take about 4–6-months to conduct its work.
b) Campus Updates (Verbal) President Glenn again thanked everyone for their participation in another successful Commencement. It was a terrific day for the graduates and their families. It was also wonderful to be able to introduce and welcome Winnie on stage.
c) Communique (Verbal) President Glenn noted that this month’s Communique contained information about Commencement, the RFP for the Health and Wellness Center, Higher Education Innovation Fund Grants and the Knight’s athletics.
d) NECC Boards End-of-Year Celebration, Thursday, June 27, 4-7PM at the Home of Sally & Vinny O’Rorke, 400 Chadwick Road, Bradford, MA (ADM-3871-060524) President Glenn reminded Trustee about the end-of-year celebration on June 27th and offered many thanks to Trustee O’Rorke for hosting the event.
e) Board Meeting Dates for Academic Year 2024-25 (ADM-3872-060524) President Glenn noted that the Board meeting dates for academic year 2024-2025 were included on this list for next year, and he noted that the December 2024 meeting has been pushed out to the second Wednesday due to a conflict with the NECHE annual conference.
NEW BUSINESS:
a) Personnel Actions:
1) Motion to Approve Sabbaticals for Spring 2025 (ADM-3873-060524) President Glenn noted that from time to time, eligible faculty and staff apply for a sabbatical to pursue some kind of research project that, upon their return, will benefit both them professional and NECC as an institution. Trustees are being asked to approve two (2) sabbatical leaves for the Spring 2025 semester as noted in Attachment A.
On a Motion by Trustee Hamm, seconded by Trustee O’Rorke, by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve the two (2) sabbatical requests for the Spring 2025 semester as listed in Attachment A.
2) Motion to Approve MCCC/MTA Reappointments (ADM-3874-060524) President Glenn noted that there are ninety-eight (98) MCCC/MTA Reappointments slated for approval as listed in Attachment A of the motion. These personnel actions are driven by Article XI of the MCCC/MTA Collective Bargaining Agreement as noted in Attachment B.
On a Motion by Trustee Fernandez, seconded by Trustee Gomez, by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve the reappointments of ninety-eight (98) faculty and professional staff as listed in Attachment A of the motion.
3) Motion to Approve Appointments of Department Chairpersons and Program Coordinators (ADM-3875-060524) President Glenn noted that there are thirty-seven (37) Department Chairpersons/ Program Coordinator appointments slated for approval and as listed in Attachment A in the motion. [He noted that this is the corrected motion as there was an error in the original packet sent on Friday morning.] This appointment process for Department Chairpersons and Program Coordinators is driven by Article XX of the MCCC/MTA Collective Bargaining Agreement as noted in Attachment B of the motion.
On a Motion by Trustee O’Rorke, seconded by Trustee Hamm, by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve the appointments of thirty-seven (37) Department Chairpersons/Program Coordinators as listed in Attachment A of the motion.
b) Grants:
Proposals/Agenda Items 9b1 thru 9b13 (ADM-3876-060524 thru ADM-3888-060524) President Glenn noted that the twelve (12) grants, totaling $9,514,994, listed below are slated for approval, along with a Pending Proposal for external funding which would approve the implementation of grant-funded proposals awarded to the college over the summer months and scheduled to commence prior to the September Board meeting:
1. City of Lawrence/Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board (MVWIB): MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center
$5,000,000
2. Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care: Career Pathways
$632,132
3. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Adult Basic Education Grant Projects
$762,658
4. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education/Essex County Sheriff’s Department (ECSD) Education Services Program
$1,319,691
5. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Perkins Postsecondary Allocation
$159,910
6. Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Early College Allocation Funding
$531,342
7. Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Education (MAICEI) Program for Students with Disabilities
$165,000
8. Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Family Sign Language Instruction
$105,000
9. Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet: Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant Program
$307,701
10. United States Department of Education: Student Support Services Program
$435,639
11. United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence/University of New Hampshire: New England Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence
$18,572
12. United States Department of Labor/ Massachusetts Community College Consortium/ Bunker Hill Community College: Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant
$77,349
13. Pending Proposals for External Funding
On a Motion by Trustee Hamm, seconded by Trustee Fernandez by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve Grant Items and Pending Proposals for External Funding as listed in Agenda Items #9b1 – #9b13 totaling $9,514,994.
OTHER BUSINESS: In closing, Chairwoman Borislow noted that this was Cheryl Goodwin’s last meeting as the liaison to the Board of Trustees at NECC. Ms. Goodwin plans to retire in January 2025, and Chris Sicuranza, NECC’s new Chief of Staff, will be the boards liaison when they reconvene in September. Ms. Borislow thanked Ms. Goodwin for her many years of service and presented her with a gift from the board. Ms. Goodwin noted that it was an honor and a privilege to serve as NECC’s board liaison, and she looks forward to her retirement in January. She thanked the board for their unwavering support over the last 15 years.
ADJOURNMENT: With no other business, Chairwoman Borislow adjourned the meeting at 5:45 PM.
