NORTHERN ESSEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF MEETING (OFFICIAL) – June 14, 2023
A meeting of the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees was held in the Dimitry Building, Room L244 at the Lawrence Campus and via Zoom on Wednesday,
June 14, 2023.
Ms. Borislow
Ms. Fernandez
Mr. Gomez
Mr. Hamm
Ms. O’Rorke (Via Zoom)
Ms. Pachano
Ms. Paley Nadel (arrived at 5:09PM)
Ms. Sanchez
Mr. Silverio
Not Present: Ms. Quiles
Also Present: President Glenn
CALL TO ORDER: With a roll call of attendance and a quorum present, Chairwoman Borislow called the meeting to order at 5:04 PM.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Chairwoman Borislow asked for a motion to approve both the April 12, 2023 and May 3, 2023 minutes.
On a Motion presented by Trustee Gomez and seconded by Trustee Silverio, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved both the April 12, 2023 and May 3, 2023 minutes as presented.
CORRESPONDENCE: There was none.
Trustee Paley Nadel arrived at 5:09PM.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
a) Introduction of Newly Hired Employees (Verbal)
President Glenn introduced and welcomed Rowan Blackwood, NECC’s new fulltime Academic Technology Assistant in Library Services. The Board welcomed Rowan to NECC.
EDUCATION REPORT:
a) NECC Open House (Verbal)
Chairwoman Borislow noted that this agenda item would be taken out of order and at the end of the meeting under New Business.
BOARD CHAIR REPORT:
Chair Borislow noted that she had no report.
REPORT OF BOARD COMMITTEES:
a) Audit and Finance Sub-Committee (Verbal)
The A&F Sub-Committee did not meet, and therefore, there was no report.
b) Alumni Advancement Sub-Committee (Verbal)
The Alumni Advancement Sub-Committee did not meet, and therefore, there was no report.
c) Equity Imperative Sub-Committee (Verbal)
The Equity Imperative Sub-Committee did not meet, and therefore, there was no report.
d) Nominating Sub-Committee
In Sub-Committee Chairwoman Quiles’ absence, President Glenn reported that he and Trustee Quiles have spoken about several possible new candidates for the trustee pool. The Nominating Sub-Committee will meet over the summer to discuss possible new members for the future and review board composition.
e) Presidential Evaluation Committee
Sub-Committee Chairwoman O’Rorke noted that the Presidential Evaluation Committee met several times over the last two months and also met with President Glenn regarding the proposed 2022-23 Presidential Performance Evaluation. Eight people were interviewed as part of the comprehensive evaluation process, and the committee members worked collaboratively and provided a favorable response to President Glenn’s performance. Chairwoman Borislow continues to advocate for a higher salary for President Glenn and is in constant contact with the Commissioner regarding appropriate compensation.
In closing, Trustee O’Rorke asked the board to approve the motion as stated in the agenda packets.
1) Motion to Approve 2022-23 Presidential Performance Evaluation (ADM-3795-061423)
On a Motion presented by Trustee Silverio and seconded by Trustee Pachano, by roll call vote, the Board unanimously approved the 2022-23 Presidential Performance Evaluation as presented.
President Glenn thanked Trustee Borislow, Trustee O’Rorke and the entire board for their continued support for him and the college in general.
REPORT OF ADMINISTRATION:
President Glenn noted that he wanted to briefly touch upon the FY24 budget. He noted that the big-ticket items in that budget have mostly been agreed upon by the House, Senate, and the Governor. NECC’s base operational budget, the successful MassReconnect Program, and funding for Early College all appear in their budgets. Support for in-state tuition rates for undocumented students is also well received. He noted that this year’s budget process came together very quickly and efficiently and there is hope that a budget will be passed soon after July 1st.
Trustee Paley Nadel asked if NECC would get reimbursed per student through the MassReconnect program of will the college get a lump sum? Dr. Glenn noted that Provost Beaudin will be working on statewide group to help make those decisions. The community college Presidents held a Zoom meeting last week and provided feedback on a reimbursement process as well as other items.
a) Report on New England Council Event, May 10-11 (Verbal)
Dr. Glenn reported that he and CFO Mike McCarthy attended the New England Council event along with several other higher education and business representatives from various organizations. This event provided a variety of information on a number of perspectives for higher education and community colleges in particular.
b) Federal Reserve Bank of Boston/Fed Listens Event on May 31st – Transitioning to the Post-Pandemic Economy (Verbal)
Dr. Glenn recently met with the Federal Reserve’s new Chairperson (Susan Collins). Research conducted by the Fed several years ago was the reason the Lawrence Partnership was created. How a post-industrial city turned itself around came down to building relationships, he noted, and that roadmap was received through the Fed via Eric Rosenberg (the previous chair) who was extremely helpful during that process.
c) Greater Haverhill Chamber Summit on Smart Manufacturing Resiliency, June 16, NECC Tech Center, 8AM-4PM (Verbal)
President Glenn thanked Vice President of Institutional Advancement Allison Dolan-Wilson for her collaboration with the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce to bring this event to the NECC Campus. NECC is hosting the Summit in collaboration with GHCC and Haverhill City Councilor John Mitchinson. The event has multiple objectives and will showcase the greater Haverhill area with linkages to Cambridge and Boston. Several state-level and local businesses will collaborate to provide several panels focusing on workforce development.
d) The NECC Center for Adult Education Recognition Ceremony, June 28, Haverhill Quad, 5-7PM (Verbal)
President Glenn invited all trustees to attend the Center for Adult Education Recognition Ceremony which will be held on June 28th at the Haverhill Campus from 5-7PM.
e) Lawrence Partnership Annual Meeting, June 29, Riverwalk Properties, 10:30AM-1PM (Verbal)
President Glenn encouraged all trustees to attend the June 29th Lawrence Partnership Annual meeting at which former Mayor of Lawrence Dan Rivera will be receiving the David Tibbets award. Trustee Silverio and other community leaders s are helping the Partnership put together a great panel of Latino leaders in the state for the program.
f) The Communique (ADM-3796-061423)
President Glenn noted that this month’s Communique is in the board packets.
g) Haverhill Campus (Verbal)
In campus reports, President Glenn spoke briefly about the success of NECC’s college-wide Athletics programs and how they cracked into the top 30 programs for their tier of the National Association of two-year athletics. Many thanks to Mike McCarthy and Director of Athletics Dan Blair for lifting NECC athletics to this level.
President Glenn also praised NECC’s Chief Marketing Officer Keith Paul and his staff for successfully rolling out the college’s new website today. The process has provided an opportunity for employees to review the new pages, provide feedback, and report any bugs they may find. Mr. Paul said reports of bugs were minimal, so he was very happy with the rollout overall. Ms. Dolan-Wilson also noted that the redesign and content review was all about the user including a review of what information do users need (content) and how do we get them there. In the end, the website looks a lot cleaner and is much easier to search.
Trustee Pachano asked if it would be translated into Spanish. Mr. Paul noted that the consultants who assisted with the project recommended that we don’t create a full Latino version, but to add sections in Spanish. Ms. Dolan-Wilson noted that this will be a splash page, so brief explanations in Spanish will be available and the “Squire” chat feature speaks Spanish as well.
h) Lawrence Campus (Verbal)
Dr. Noemi Custodia Lora provided a brief report on the Lawrence Campus. She noted that in an effort to better serve our students, the college is shifting the food insecurity initiative and programming with a new system of delivering meals to the home. An initial event was held on May 15th and on May 29th with boxes with dried and fresh foods scheduled for delivery using QR code technology. Each box holds the equivalent of 14 meals and she noted that this will be a great program for students that cannot be on campus.
i) Board Meeting Dates for Academic Year 2023-24 (ADM-3726-060122)
President Glenn noted that the Board meeting dates for academic year 2022-2023 were included on this list for next year.
NEW BUSINESS:
a) Personnel Actions:
1) Motion to Approve MCCC/MTA Reappointments (ADM-3798-061423)
President Glenn noted that these are part-time and non-state supported professional staff reappointments slated for approval as listed on Attachment A.
On a Motion by Trustee Hamm, seconded by Trustee Gomez, by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve the reappointments of forty-eight (48) professional staff as listed in Attachment A.
2) Motion to Approve Appointments of Department Chairpersons and Program Coordinators (ADM-3799-061423)
President Glenn noted that there are thirty-five (35) Department Chairpersons/Program Coordinator appointments slated for approval. This appointment process for Department Chairpersons and Program Coordinators is driven by Article XX of the MCCC/MTA Collective Bargaining Agreement
On a Motion by Trustee Fernandez, seconded by Trustee Paley Nadel, by roll call vote, it was voted unanimously to approve the appointments of thirty-five (35) Department Chairpersons/Program Coordinators as listed in Attachment A.
b) Grants and Proposal (ADM-3800-061423 thru ADM-3812-061423)
President Glenn noted that the twelve (12) grants, totaling $9,208,764 listed below are slated for approval, including 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:
City of Lawrence/Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board (MVWIB): MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center
$5,000,000
Essex County Sheriff’s Department (ECSD) Education Services Program
$1,319,691
Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care: Career Pathways
$619,737
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Adult Basic Education Grant Projects
*$839,466
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Perkins Postsecondary Allocation
*$327,753
Massachusetts Department of Higher Education: Massachusetts Inclusive Higher Education (MA ICEI) Program for Students with Disabilities
*$165,000
Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Family Sign Language Instruction
$105,000
Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet Massachusetts Skills Capital/ Haverhill High School: STEM TECH Career Academy Program
*$100,000
United States Department of Education/Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)/Massachusetts Department of Higher Education/Framingham State University: Career and AI Readiness While Remixing Open Textbooks Through an Equity Lens (CA-ROTEL)
*$186,372
United States Department of Education: Student Support Services Program
$435,639
United States Department of Labor/Massachusetts Community College Consortium/Bunker Hill Community College: Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grant
$75,915
United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence/University of New Hampshire: New England Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence
$34,191
Pending Proposal for External Funding
TBD
On a Motion by Trustee Gomez, seconded by Trustee Pachano 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 $9,208,764.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Chairwoman Borislow noted that she had been in contact with DHE’s Commissioner Ortega regarding a salary equity adjustment for President Glenn based on a number of years of outstanding service to the college and his consistently stellar performance reviews. The goal, she noted, is to elevate President Glenn’s level of compensation so that it more appropriately aligns with his level of seniority and respect of his president peers. With that said, Chairwoman Borislow presented the following motion and asked the full board for their review, support, and approval.
Agenda Item 9c: Approval of a 5% Salary Equity Adjustment for the President of Northern Essex Community College.
Rationale/Background Information:
Based on a comparison of salary of other community college presidents, and with the constraints of the Department of Higher Education’s EY Parthenon Presidential Compensation Study, and with the prior approval of the Commissioner of Higher Education, the Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees approve a 5% equity adjustment to President Glenn’s salary, effective immediately and retroactive to July 1, 2022.
ACTION: At the June 14, 2023 meeting of the NECC Board of Trustees, a recommended motion for a 5% salary equity adjustment for President Glenn, effective immediately and retroactive to July 1, 2022 was presented for consideration to the full Board by Chairwoman Borislow. The Board’s action was as follows:
On a Motion presented by Trustee Fernandez and seconded by Trustee Silverio, it was voted unanimously by roll call vote to approve a 5% salary equity adjustment for President Lane Glenn, effective immediately and retroactive to July 1, 2022.
Chairwoman Borislow thanked fellow trustees for their support of President Glenn. She noted that it was an honor to work with him. President Glenn thanked the board for their continued support.
EDUCATION REPORT:
Provost Paul Beaudin thanked Chairwoman Borislow for agreeing to move this agenda item to the end of the meeting. He noted that there would be no formal report, but instead he invited Trustees to join NECC faculty, staff, and new potential students at the NECC Open House that was being held that evening at the Dimitry lobby. He asked that Trustees spend a few minutes at the tables in lobby as staff work with potential students and their families in hopes that they will attend. He reminded trustees that last Fall, he asked trustees to think about course taking in a different light, and had some good news to share. This year, over 2,000 students are taking summer courses at NECC across three terms, and summer full-time equivalent enrollment is up by 29% from a year ago. Visiting students are coming from all of Massachusetts four-year public institutions as well as many private colleges and universities including William and Mary, Bentley, Loyola Marymount, Pace, Smith, Merrimack, UNH, and many more. He thanked trustees for their continued support and encouraged each of them to chat with the admissions team in the lobby before leaving.
ADJOURNMENT: Before adjourning, President Glenn thanked Student Trustee Sarah Pachano for her year of service on the board. Sarah thanked her fellow trustees noting that it was an honor to work with each of them. She enjoyed the guidance of the board and is very proud of the progress made this year. She thanked the board for always listening and said that she felt confident that the board would continue to prioritize the needs of the students in the future. With no other business, Chairwoman Borislow adjourned the meeting at 5:48 PM.
