Board hears of a record-breaking year for the Foundation

Working on a campaign to raise funds for Cowley College’s new Career and Technical Education Center in Arkansas City, Dr. Kori Gregg, Foundation president, informed Cowley College’s Board of Trustees that the Foundation has raised a record amount of funds for a second consecutive year.

With 1,360 gifts received, the Foundation raised just under $1.1 million for the year. A total of $364,070 was used to award 646 Foundation Scholarships.

Working to reach its goal of $8 million, Dr. Gregg has solicited 17 major donors and secured 14 major gifts with three asks on the table. She has also written three grant proposals with one major grant secured and two additional grant applications withstanding.

Working with Cowley College president Dr. Michelle Schoon, Dr. Gregg and the Foundation have secured $6,420,000 out of the eight-million dollar campaign.

“We have been sharing the value of the building and have people see that education is a good investment,” Dr. Schoon said.

A groundbreaking event for the CTE Building was held on June 27. Building foundation work will begin soon.

In other matters:

1. Dr. Schoon provided the Board with a College update. Dr. Schoon informed the Board that Cowley College was recently recognized for its athletic success by finishing fifth in the Daktronics NATYCAA Cup standings. Also, current men’s tennis player and national champion Bruno Nhavene was recently named the Junior College Male Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Greater Wichita Sports Commission Banquet. Dr. Schoon also mentioned the Summer Theatre being conducted at Cowley and the recent success of Seussical the Musical. There was also a Robotics Camp held at the College, while several Cowley employees helped the College have a presence at the Wheat Festival in Wellington, including Sumer Campus Operations Officer Jan Grace. Lastly, Dr. Schoon and Holly Harper, vice president of finance and administration, plan to visit Cloud County Community College to learn more about its Wind Turbine Technology program.
2. Debbie Phelps, executive director of institutional effectiveness (IE), provided the Board with an enrollment, recruitment, and retention update. She also mentioned the relocation celebration currently going on at the new Wichita Center location.
3. Gary Wilson provided the Board with a Trustee Finance Subcommittee update.
4. Dr. Alan Marcotte provided the Board with a Trustee Policy Subcommittee update.
5. The Board of Trustees will conduct a special work session on Thursday, July 27.
6. Approved the Consent Agenda:
   • Board Minutes of the June 20 meeting.
   • Approved the Financial Reports as presented.
   • Bills and Claims. Approved fiscal officers of the College to execute payment of all bills and claims as presented.
   • Administrative Reports.
   • Held first readings on the following policies: (119.00) Acquisition and Disposal of College Property; (165.00) Sick Leave Full-Time Non-Faculty Employees.
   • Personnel Transactions. The Board was informed of the resignation of Manuel Raga as head men’s and women’s tennis coach, effective July 20, and Troy Thrasher as assistant women’s basketball coach.
   • The Board was informed of the employment of Dr. Rachel Bates as vice president of academic affairs, effective August 1; Laura Wollard as Biology instructor, effective August 1; Brittnie Burris as academic department specialist, effective August 1; Cindi Rowe as academic department specialist, effective August 1; Holli Rowe as head cheer and dance coach, effective August 1; and Emily Oesterle as academic department specialist, effective August 1.
7. Holly Harper, vice president of finance and administration, provided the Board with a facilities maintenance update. She mentioned groundbreaking on the new CTE Building was held on June 27, and foundation work is set to begin on the first of August.
8. Janice Stover, interim vice president of academic affairs, informed the Board that the Academic Affairs office has been busy reviewing fall course schedules and enrollment and planning for back-to-school in-service and instructor orientations.
9. Paul Erdmann, vice president of information technology, provided an update on projects the information technology staff has worked on over the past month.
10. Debbie Phelps, executive director of institutional effectiveness (IE), informed the Board that the 2023 academic year collection opened on July 1, 2023. This set of comprehensive data files is one of the primary source of information for the Kansas Board of Region Data, Research and Planning (DRP) staff’s site, KHE Stats, and is used for both state and Perkins Grant funding.
11. Stefani Jones, director of student enrollment and success, provided an enrollment update. She informed the Board that all enrollment locations continue to enroll new students by appointment and walk-ins and continue to reach out to current students for enrollment.
12. Kristi Shaw, executive director of student services, provided a housing update.
13. Jeff Fluty, athletic director, informed the Board that former Cowley baseball players Carlton Perkins (15th Round), Isaac Stebens (16th Round), and Mac McCroskey (20th Round) were recently selected as draft picks in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft. Lastly, Cowley College's Tiger Booster Club is preparing to host the 28th annual Tiger Skins - Brian Groves Memorial Golf Tournament Saturday, August 19, at Ark City Golf & Fitness.
14. Dr. Scott Layton, faculty liaison, informed the Board that 30 full-time faculty are currently teaching 183 credit hours for the summer semester.
15. Approved the contract with Tandem Cyber Operations for cybersecurity operational services for $202,911.03.
16. Approved the purchase of Malwarebytes Endpoint Detection from JR Microsystems for $41,260.
17. Approved the College to continue using Union State Bank, RCB Bank, Sunflower Bank/Wichita, and Carson Bank/Mulvane as official depositories and utilize all qualified institutions in the County for the investment of idle funds.
18. Held a 20-minute executive session for preliminary discussion related to property acquisition.
19. The Board will hold its annual retreat beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 27 at the Cowley Education Center.
20. Trustee Bob McGregor praised the work done by Cowley College instructor David Hays and the individuals helping with the STEM Camp being held this week at the Sumner Campus in Wellington.
21. The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m.

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