Meeting Minutes March 2017

Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees
Minutes of Meeting (Official) – March 1, 2017

A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in the Hartleb Technology Center at the Haverhill Campus at 5:00PM.

Ms. Acosta
Mr. Cox
Mr. Forman
Mr. Guilmette
Ms. Daly O’Brien
Mr. D’Orazio
Ms. Estrella
Mr. Linehan
Ms. Paley Nadel

Also Present: President Glenn

Absent: Ms. Cerasuolo-O’Rorke, Mr. Garcia

CALL TO ORDER:

Chairman Linehan called the meeting to order at 5:07 PM.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

On a Motion by Trustee D’Orazio seconded by Trustee Forman, it was voted unanimously to approve the February 1, 2017 minutes as presented.

CORRESPONDENCE:

There was none.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

President Glenn introduced three (3) new employees this month.
Michelle Tremblay is NECC‘s new Comptroller/Budget Director. Ms. Tremblay is an NECC Alumni and a native of Groveland. Mr. Todd Higgin, NECC’s new Director of Gallaudet University Regional Center was appointed to replace Cathy Vesey. President Glenn noted that NECC has a long standing partnership with Gallaudet University which allows the college to offer programming for students in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing area. And lastly, the President introduced Ms. Shana Stratton, NECC’s new administrative assistant in the Human Resources office.
The Board welcomed all three new employees to the college.

EDUCATION REPORT:

1. The Allied Health Clinical Research Certificate (ADM-3380-030117)

President Glenn introduced Dr. William Heineman, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs who then introduced Professor Emily Gonzalez who is also the Coordinator of the Clinical Research Program. Dr. Heineman noted that the college always pays close attention to job market and workforce needs of the community. One example of a recent need is the Clinical Research Certificate program which was developed in collaboration with Active Med. Professor Gonzalez then provided a brief presentation on the new program.
Professor Gonzalez noted that the program provides training for a person to conduct a clinical research trial in a hospital or clinical organization. A Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) can run the day-to-day research by seeing patients and collecting data in accordance with FDA guidelines and under the direction of a principal investigator. Essentially, she noted, this program is geared toward students who already have a degree in biology or other health-related field and would like to make a career change.
Professor Gonzalez noted that the program name was changed from Clinical Research Coordinator Certificate to Clinical Research Coordinator Advanced Certificate as the name better reflects the level of students coming into the program with prior degrees in health areas. The program consists of 6 courses in total (5 online) and includes a practicum which is conducted over the summer (after taking fall and spring curriculum). Ms. Gonzalez noted that the program is currently being promoted to students and employers via radio and the college’s traditional promotional areas (NECC Newsroom, Admissions/Recruitment Staff and also via Active Med’s Website news). An Advisory board, which includes staff from affiliated hospitals, has been a critical aspect of the program’s development and Employer Program Sheets (similar to Student Program Sheets) have been developed to provide an overview of the program for future employers noting the work that graduates can do. The Student Program Sheet provides students with program courses, costs, workforce data, etc., and the college is looking forward to growing this program in the very near future.
President Glenn noted that the college is very proud of this venture with Active Med, and the college looks forward to gaining students/enrollment as the program fills a local workforce need.

REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES:

There were none.

REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION:

Prior to starting his report, President Glenn wanted to thank Student Trustee Klinbert Garcia for his participation in the Advocacy Day at the State House. Klinbert spent the day representing NECC’s students and President Glenn wanted to thank him for doing so.

1. NECC 2020: Strategic Plan Progress Update (Verbal)

President Glenn noted that Dr. Kelly Saretsky has been leading the Strategic Planning process at NECC. One of the goal teams has been focused on developing a comprehensive Student Career Development Program including opportunities and internships for students. The goal team has established 3 major goals. They are:

1. To increase the percentage of students who find jobs in their field of study
2. To increase the percentage of non-traditional students who pursue careers in STEM and Health care fields; and
3. To embed Career Exploration into the academic program to ensure a smooth transition for students into the job market.

Under the direction of Ashley Moore, Director of Career Services at NECC, President Glenn noted that the team has conducted open forums with students and hosted a student career summit as well. On May 18th, the goal team has planned the college’s 3rd annual Networking Night for students and is also working on the college’s first annual Women in Stem event in late April. President Glenn thanked Dr. Saretsky and the goal teams for their work.

2. Haverhill Campus Update (Verbal)

President Glenn noted that the Spurk renovation is still on time and on budget. The Dimitry building in Lawrence is going to go off line very soon after the Spurk building is complete, and he noted that he had signed off on the specs for the Dimitry project today. During the renovation, the outside of the building will be repaired. With the completion of both buildings, the college’s two largest classroom buildings will be fully renovated.
President Glenn also reported that the graduation for Haverhill High School Early College program was recently held in Tech Center. NECC is really expanding its Early College (EC) work in the fall with the city of Lawrence. He noted one graduate, Isabella Callahan, who will be transferring from Haverhill High School via NECC to UMASS Lowell with 40 college credits already completed. President Glenn noted that local families are learning the significant savings opportunities available through the EC program, and the Departments of Higher and Secondary Education are jointly promoting a statewide program announced by Governor Baker, and the college is happy to be a part of that.

3. Lawrence Campus Update (Verbal)

President Glenn provided a brief update on the Channel 5 “Five for Good Segment” on the work of the Lawrence Partnership and Sal Lupoli of Lupoli Companies around the Revolving Test Kitchen. The segment provided excellent public relations around the joint venture. President Glenn also noted that Lyndon State College will have an arts display up in the Dimitry Atrium to display the work from the visual arts program we/they are offering.

4. FY18 Budget Planning (Verbal)

President Glenn noted that Governor Baker released a proposed budget which included a 1% increase for higher education. That budget actually translates into a decrease as our costs of operation increases and he noted that the Governor’s budget doesn’t include collective bargaining funds. President Glenn noted that the college staff will be working diligently over the next few months to provide trustees with a balanced budget in June. He also noted that the college is taking a slightly different approach to the budget this year and is more closely looking at actual expenses for some areas. The Program Audit process will determine the effectiveness and efficiency of our academic programs and will help staff in making recommendations for programs in terms of growth, expansion, or closure. Dr. Heineman is currently gathering feedback on the audit data, and college’s leadership team will meet next week to determine final decisions. This process will help inform the budget process and decisions for FY18.
President Glenn also noted that at today’s NECC Foundation meeting, the board was provided a presentation on the proposed NECC Capital Campaign. The Foundation Board approved the use of a consultant to develop a feasibly study on whether and how the college might develop a capital campaign. President Glenn noted that NECC is increasingly more like a private college as state funding continues to dwindle downward. NECC currently receives approximately 40% of its funding from the state, but the leadership team anticipates that to hover around 30% by 2020. “We need to be more ‘private-like’ in our thinking which means diversified funding. We’ve been successful in securing funding for buildings, but other items need to be outsourced. Our Athletics programs could be expanded and could be used more successfully as a recruitment tool, but we need better facilities for that. And for a long time, we’ve needed to right-size our library in the basement in Lawrence. We are anticipating that a capital campaign can help us with these issues.” President Glenn noted that the Feasibility Study will take about 6 weeks.
In closing, President Glenn noted that the $500K Capital Skills grant announcement will be made very soon by Governor Baker.

5. Update on Statewide Committee on Police Education and Training (Verbal)

President Glenn noted that this committee is still on track to make recommendations in April. He reminded trustees that there is an emerging desire to recommend a degree requirement for municipal officers in the state as well as credit for prior experience. The committee is disentangling some of the regulation in the state to help that along. Members of the committee are currently meeting with Mayors, town managers, and police chiefs to get input from all areas of the spectrum, and trying to find some middle ground for the state for better educated police force.

6. Reminder: State Ethics Online Training (Verbal)

President Glenn reminded Trustees to complete the online ethics training and return a copy of the completed certificate to Cheryl Goodwin in the President’s Office.

7. Save the Date: Commencement 2017 – Saturday, May 20 (Verbal)

President Glenn reminded Trustees that the college’s Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 20th at 11AM under a large tent on the grassy Quad at the Haverhill Campus. Matt Noyes, NECN Meteorologist is this year’s Commencement speaker. Cheryl Goodwin will be in touch with Trustees in April to confirm attendance.

8. June Board Meeting – Date Change to June 14th

President Glenn reminded Trustees that the June 2017 board meeting date has been changed from June 7th to June 14th.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Personnel Actions:

• New Appointments (ADM-3381-030117) AMENDED

President Glenn noted that there were three (3) new full-time personal actions to approve.
On a Motion by Trustee Cox, seconded by Trustee D’Orazio, it was voted unanimously to approve three (3) fulltime personnel actions as listed in Addendum A.

2. Grants:

President Glenn noted that the college has two grants for board approval. One was from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education in the amount of $137,920, and a second sub-grant in the amount of $6,746 from the United States Department of Labor in collaboration with Massasoit Community College for academic program teams and prior learning assessment work. Chairman Linehan requested that the two grants be considered together for approval by the Board.

1. Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (ADM-3382-030117)
2. United States Dept. of Labor/Massasoit Community College: Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Program (TAA/CCCT): Academic Program Teams and Prior Learning Assessment (ADM-3383-030117)

On a Motion by Trustee Acosta, seconded by Trustee Daly O’Brien, it was voted unanimously to approve the two grants from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education ($137,920) and the United States Department of Labor/Massasoit Community College: Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Program (TAA/CCCT): Academic Program Teams and Prior Learning Assessment ($6,746).

3. NECC Presidential Time and Attendance Policy (ADM-3384-030117) NEW

President Glenn noted the incident at Bridgewater State last year, and noted that the Board of Higher Education has for approved a series of recommendations as a result of that incident. As a result, campuses should have a formal policy on Presidential Time and Attendance so that you are aware of your president’s time and attendance.
On a Motion by Trustee D’Orazio, seconded by Trustee Daly O’Brien, it was voted unanimously to approve the Presidential Time and Attendance Policy.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Recognizing Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read across America Day, President Glenn closed the meeting with a reading of Dr. Seuss’ poem, The Readers Oath.

ADJOURNMENT:

With no other business, Chairman Linehan adjourned the meeting at 5:50PM.