Board approves new Wichita location for Cowley College

Cowley College’s Board of Trustees authorized the College to enter into a lease agreement with Brunswick Properties LLC for its new Wichita location, beginning May 1, 2023 and expiring on April 30, 2028. The decision was made during Cowley College’s monthly Board of Trustees meeting held Monday in the McAtee Dining Center.

The property is located West of Ridge Road on Maple and consists of 1,800 square feet. The College is moving from its previous Wichita location on South Market Street, where they have been since 2015.

Also, during the meeting, Board Chair Brett Bazil and Cowley College president Dr. Michelle Schoon provided the Trustees with an overview on their recent attendance at the Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference held in Chicago, IL. Main topics of discussion included Student Mental Health, Leadership, and Employee Turnover.

In other matters:

1. Dr. Schoon provided the Board with a College update. She mentioned the recent Annual Honors and Awards banquet held in the Earle N. Wright Community Room where Arnau Sagrera-Barnet was named the 2022-2023 Cowley College Student of the Year. She also mentioned the KACCT Conference she attended in Junction City, KS. Also, the Cowley College Cheer team were crowned the Coed National Champions while competing in Galveston, TX. Lastly, she informed the Board that the Cowley A Quiz Bowl team placed third as a team at the state meet with Cowley sophomore Zane Hubble placing first individually.
2. Saw Dr. Schoon present a gift to March Student of the Month Maycee Wolfenbarger (absent) and April Student of the Month Lillie Dodge.
3. Jessica Lucas, government affairs liaison, provided a legislative update.
4. Debbie Phelps, executive director of institutional effectiveness (IE), provided the Board with an enrollment, recruitment, and retention update.
5. Roxanna James, Impact/TRiO director, provided a TRiO update. Currently, the program serves 160 first generation college students.
6. David Stanley provided the Board with a Trustee Academic Subcommittee update.
   1. Approved the Software, Security & Development Program (Software Development/Coding Pathway-Cert A, Software Development-Cert B, Networking Pathway-Cert A, Cyber Security Pathway-Cert A, and associated new courses as presented.
7. Bob McGregor provided the Board with a Trustee Finance Subcommittee update.
8. Chairman Brett Bazil provided the Board with a Trustee Policy Subcommittee update.
   1. The Board held first readings on the following policies: (134.00) Campus Conduct; and (138.00) Political Activity.
9. Approved the Consent Agenda:
   1. Board Minutes of the March 13 meeting.
   2. Approved the Financial Reports as presented.
   3. Bills and Claims. Approved fiscal officers of the College to execute payment of all bills and claims as presented.
   4. Administrative Reports.
10. Holly Harper, vice president of finance and administration, provided the Board with a facilities maintenance update. The Bus Barn is complete and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on April 4.
11. Janice Stover, interim vice president of academic affairs, informed the Board that the Cowley Adult Education program received a $10,000 special project grant from the Kansas Board of Regents. This grant is paying for 20 iPads and 5 hotspots along with a full year of internet service for all of the devices through T-Mobile. This grant was a collaboration with T-Mobile and KBOR to help increase connectivity of our students.
12. Paul Erdmann, vice president of information technology, provided an update on projects the information technology staff has worked on over the past month.
13. Debbie Phelps, executive director of institutional effectiveness (IE), informed the Board that she and the Board Chair, President, Tiger Learning Center Educational Navigator, and faculty (Criminal Justice; Social Science) recently attended the annual accreditation conference.
14. Rama Peroo, interim director of athletics, informed the Board that the Tiger men’s and women’s tennis teams continue to dominate, with the Cowley men No. 1 in the national rankings, while the Cowley women are ranked second. The Tiger men are 12-1 on the season, with its lone defeat coming at the hands of Wichita State University. While the Lady Tigers have won nine matches in a row. The Lady Tiger softball team had won 22 of its last 23 games and is in first place in the conference with a record of 10-0. The Tiger baseball team has won 15 of its past 17 games and are 17-3 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tiger men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams continue to get solid results as numerous athletes set personal best marks at the Wichita State University KT Woodman Classic held April 6-8. Cowley’s Tigerette Dance team recently earned the opportunity to compete at the American Dance Team National Championship in Denton, TX, while the Cheer Squad were crowned Coed champions at nationals in Galveston, TX.
15. Julie Rhoads, faculty liaison, provided the Board with updates from several Cowley College instructors.
16. Personnel Transactions
    1. The Board was informed of the resignation of Kurt Mount as custodian, effective March 13; David DeAndre as public safety officer, effective April 5; and Lori Broyles as admissions secretary, effective April 28. The Board was informed of the employment of Justice Circle as head wrestling coach, effective May 1; Jeff Fluty as athletic director, effective June 1; Kasey Copeland as Humanities instructor, effective August 1; and Jonathan Fleig as Social Science instructor, effective August 1.
17. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

Rama Peroo | Director of Institutional Communication
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
rama.peroo@cowley.edu