August 22, 2023

Board adopts priorities discussed at July work session

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The Cowley College Board of Trustees adopted the 2023-2024 priorities established at the July 27, 2023, work session as presented during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting in the Patrick J. McAtee Dining Center.

Priorities for 2023-2024 consist of the following: increase input from business and industry; support the implementation of the Enrollment Management Plan through monthly updates; seek alternate funding sources for operations and program growth; actively communicate the return on investment that the College provides for students and the community.

In other matters:

  1. Dr. Schoon provided the Board with a College update. She mentioned the welcome back in-service event recently held along with the Tiger Blitz Drive and Tiger Skins golf tournament. Dr. Schoon recently traveled to Cloud County Community College with Holly Harper and Chris Cannon to tour their Wind Tech program. She also joined athletic director Jeff Fluty in attending the Jayhawk Conference/Region VI meetings in Kansas City. The College also had a visible presence at the Cowley County and Sumner County Fairs. Dr. Schoon also mentioned the letter of thanks from Senator Jerry Moran’s office regarding a recent tour of the Tiger Learning Center. She also introduced the Board to Dr. Rachel Bates, Cowley College’s new vice president of academic affairs.
  2. Approved the State Appropriations Budget as shown in the Cowley Courier/Traveler; the Board also authorized the College to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate, set at 17.762.
  3. David Stanley provided the Board with a Trustee Academic Subcommittee update.
  4. Dr. Steve Abrams provided the Board with a Trustee Finance Subcommittee update.
  5. Board Chair Brett Bazil updated the Board with a Trustee Policy Subcommittee.
  6. Approved the Consent Agenda:
    • Board Minutes of the July 17 meeting and the minutes of the July 27 work session.
    • 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: (133.00) Gifts-In-Kind Acceptance; (145.00) Pets/Animals and College Facilities; (453.00) Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.
    • Approved the following policies: (119.00) Acquisition and Disposal of College Property; (165.00) Sick Leave – Full-Time Non-Faculty Employees.
    • Approved the Capital Outlay Mill of 17.944, which is slightly down from last year.
    • Personnel Transactions. The Board was informed of the resignation of Butch Rea as assistant baseball coach/dorm manager, effective August 1.
    • The Board was informed of the employment of Zachary Rozell as carpentry/construction trades instructor; Mason Warren as Biology instructor; Carl Bowman as advanced construction trades instructor; Scott Camien as assistant baseball coach/dorm manager; Lance Jeffers as assistant women’s basketball coach; Eusebio Plaza as assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach; Arianna Raga as head men’s and women’s tennis coach; Katie Ryberg as academic department specialist; Julianna Smarsh as academic outreach/Mulvane Site Coordinator; and Paige Toon as academic department specialist.
  7. Holly Harper, vice president of finance and administration, provided the Board with a facilities maintenance update. Foundation work on the new Career and Technical Education Center has begun, and steelwork will start in September. Renovation work to the McAtee Dining Center was recently completed.
  8. Dr. Rachel Bates, vice president of academic affairs, informed the Board that new faculty orientation was held on August 8. Dr. Bates also told the Board that she is working with faculty and department chairs on scheduling issues.
  9. Paul Erdmann, vice president of information technology, provided an update on projects the information technology staff has worked on over the past month. Tiger Connect was changed to Cowley Connect, and the URL was changed on August 1.
  10. Debbie Phelps, executive director of institutional effectiveness (IE), informed the Board that the SCORE Team met on August 11 to review retention and success dashboards for the College’s Quality Initiative.
  11. Stefani Jones, director of student enrollment and success, provided an enrollment update.
  12. Kristi Shaw, executive director of student services, informed the Board of the College’s successful Dorm Storm event.
  13. Jeff Fluty, athletic director, informed the Board that the recently conducted Tiger Blitz Drive is expected to bring in $80,000 for Tiger Athletic Scholarships. Also, the Tiger Skins/Brian Groves Memorial Golf Tournament on Saturday, August 19, had 27 teams and 41 sponsors.
  14. Dr. Scott Layton, faculty liaison, gave updates from several Cowley College instructors.
  15. Held a 30-minute executive session for preliminary discussion related to property acquisition, pursuant to the exception for discussion related to property acquisition.
  16. The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.

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

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