Lane Home | Search Lane
Website Accessibility

LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES
March 9, 2011

1.  Attendance
Board members present: Bob Ackerman, Pat Albright, Susie Johnston, Roger Hall, Gary LeClair, Tony McCown, and Sharon Stiles. Also present were: President Mary Spilde; Vice President Sonya Christian; Legal Counsel Meg Kieran; Lane Community College Education Association President Jim Salt; and Associated Students of Lane Community College President Mario Parker-Milligan.

A. Chair McCown called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m.

B. President's Report
I want to thank everyone who joined us at the Downtown Campus groundbreaking last Friday. The room overflowed with people and excitement. Thanks to Board Chair Tony McCown for presenting, and to all the board members who attended. We also had former board members in the audience, including Paul Holman and Jay Bozievich. Thanks to ASLCC President Mario Parker Milligan for speaking, and to Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Peter Defazio, Mayor Kitty Piercy, and Governor's Education Advisor Nancy Golden. We had many of our facilities staff and vendors there, lots of media, and supporters from across the community. Thank you to John Watson for arranging the music, Paula Westgate for providing culinary services and catering, and Dick Clark for producing the event. Thanks to Tracy Simms for the Building It Together marketing campaign materials, and most of all, thanks to our event coordinator Brett Rowlett. It was a great event and a wonderful moment in the college's and the community's history.

The evening prior to the groundbreaking we held a neighborhood meeting for people to talk with representatives from Lease Crutcher Lewis about the anticipated impacts of construction.

Let me review for a minute the status of our existing Downtown Center on Willamette Street. We will continue to need those classrooms through at least the 2011-2012 academic year. We are far from reaching final decisions about the use and future of the current facility once the new campus is completed, but we will be building that plan as we go.

The budget process continues in Salem. The Ways and Means Education Committee held public hearings this week on the Student Assistance Commission. Community colleges will be up March 16, 17 and 21. Commissioner Preus is asking permission for her testimony to be divided up on March 16 and 21 so public and student testimony would occur on March 17, and not during spring break. The Oregon Community College Association (OCCA) has adopted an official ask of $425 million for the Community College Support Fund, but we continue to talk to legislators about what additional revenue would allow us to do.

The OCCA Legislative Summit was held February 23 at the Oregon Convention Center in Salem. Susie Johnston, Pat Albright, and Brett Rowlett attended on behalf of the college.

At the federal level, Congress passed a continuing resolution last week to allow itself an additional two weeks to reach a budget compromise. House Republicans have proposed over $60 billion in cuts to discretionary spending for the current fiscal year, which would mean significant cuts on budgets from the Pell Grant, workforce training programs, Senior Companion program, KLCC, and more. President Obama has threatened to veto the proposal, and Senate continues to seek a compromise somewhere in the middle.

The AACC-ACCT National Legislative Summit was February 14-16 in Washington, DC. Tony McCown, Pat Albright, Brett Rowlett, and I attended. We were part of an Oregon delegation of community college representatives, which was able to meet with all members of Oregon's Congressional delegation. The Republicans made their proposal for federal budget cuts just days before we arrived, so it was good timing for us to be on the Hill meeting with our representatives.

Yesterday we kicked off our Visiting Scholars in Islam lecture series with a national scholar and author Carl Ernst. He is a Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a specialist on Islam in West and South Asia. He has written and published more than eight scholarly books. The next lectures are April 7 with Stephen Shoemaker and May 19 with Kambiz GhaneaBassiri. Sonya may share more in her report later this evening.

Lane was selected for the Achieving the Dream project sponsored by the Lumina Foundation. We're one of 30 additional community colleges nationwide that will participate. This supports our efforts to improve student success, close achievement gaps, and increase student retention, persistence, and completion. You've heard me say before that we need to redouble our efforts to assure that students complete their academic and career goals. We expect to learn a lot as an institution as well as contribute to other colleges.

This week I was at the American Council for Education annual meeting in D.C.

Coming up, we're hosting our first intercollegiate track meet since 2005, on Saturday, March 12. Everyone's looking forward to this inauguration of our new track facilities. I hope you get a chance to see the track and to attend the meet. Next week is finals, then spring break March 21 to 25. Note that the AACC Convention will be April 8 to 12 in New Orleans.

2) February Highlights
February highlights at Lane Community College as offered in the board mailing were presented.

3) Personnel
The college's current personnel appointments were presented.

C. Board Agenda Review/Changes
No changes were made to the agenda.

D. Statements from Audience
Jeff Goolsby, faculty coordinator of Media Arts, shared that the program recently received a grant to support the Media Arts Conference to be held in the spring. He also shared his ideas on how to integrate with other programs in campus.

Rosie Pryor, community member, introduced herself as a candidate for the Lane's Board of Education. She currently serves on Lane’s Foundation Board.

Tina Straten, student, expressed appreciation for the Physical Therapist Assistant program.

Derek Moore, OSPIRG student representative, described OSPIRG's programs and how they support social change. He asked the board for support of a $2 increase in the student fee to support OSPIRG.

2. Consent Agenda
A. LeClair moved, and seconded by Albright, to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of:

• The approval of the February 9, 2011 meeting minutes
• Resolution No. 560 to Supplement Financial Aid

Motion passed unanimously.

3. Policy Review
A. Second Reading
1. Chairperson's Role, B.150
Stiles moved, seconded by Johnston, to approve the second reading of board policy B.150, Chair's Role.

Motion passed unanimously.

POLICY NUMBER: B.150
POLICY TYPE: GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE: CHAIRPERSON'S ROLE

The chairperson assures the integrity of the board's process and the only person authorized to speak for the board.

Accordingly,

1. The chairperson shall ensure that the board acts consistently with its own rules and those legitimately imposed upon it from outside the organization.

A. Meeting discussion content will include only those issues which, according to board policy, clearly belong to the board.
B. Deliberation will be timely, fair, orderly, and thorough, but also efficient, limited in duration, and kept to the point.
C. The board's policies concerning individual and group conduct will be enforced appropriately.
D. The chairperson is responsible for setting the board meeting agenda and facilitating the board meeting to ensure that the board remains proactive, forward looking, and value-added in its deliberations.
E. Orientation for new board members will be conducted as stated in B.080.
F. The board chair will explain at the outset of Statements from the Audience that the board may not respond directly to any issues raised but will refer those issues to the president for appropriate action (see B.130 – Agenda Planning).

2. The authority of the chairperson consists of making decisions on behalf of the board consistent with any reasonable interpretation of board policies on Governance Process and on the Board-President Relationship, except where the board specifically delegates portions of this authority to others.

A. The chairperson is empowered to chair board meetings with all the commonly accepted power of that position (e.g., ruling, recognizing).
B. The chairperson has no authority to make decisions about policies created by the board within Ends and Executive Limitations policy areas. Therefore, the chairperson has no individual authority to supervise or direct the president.
C. The chairperson may represent the board to outside parties in announcing board-stated positions and in stating chairperson decisions and interpretations within the area delegated.
D. The chairperson or any four members of the board may call special meetings as required.

3. The vice chairperson will assume responsibilities of the chairperson in the event of the chairperson's absence or inability to serve.

4. The chairperson and vice chairperson of the board will be elected at the annual meeting in July.

ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: May 12, 1999
REVISED: February 11, 2004
REVIEWED: March 12, 2008
REVISED: March 9, 2011

2. Tuition Waiver for Family of Oregon Fallen Service Members, D.140
Albright moved, seconded by LeClair to approve the second reading of board policy D.140, Tuition Waiver for Family of Oregon Fallen Service Members.

Motion passed unanimously.

POLICY NUMBER: D.140
POLICY TYPE: MISCELLANEOUS
POLICY TITLE: Tuition Waiver for Family of Oregon Fallen Service Members

Lane Community College will provide a tuition waiver to the spouse and children (including adoptive and step-children) of members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces or United States Coast Guard who die, or have become 100% permanently disabled, in connection to their service, and who listed Oregon as their permanent residence at the time of death or determination of 100% disability application for a waiver. For purposes of this policy, determination of a permanent, 100% service-connected disability shall be documented by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The tuition waiver is limited to 135 college credits or the completion of an Associate degree, whichever comes first. The waiver does not include required fees and may not be applied to community education programs or distance learning programs for recipients residing out of state. This waiver shall be granted in coordination with other Student Financial Assistance (including VA Benefits) for which the recipient may be eligible, utilizing other grant resources before applying this tuition waiver in order to provide a total benefit not to exceed the total estimated cost of attendance. Continuation of this tuition waiver benefit is contingent upon the student meeting the applicable satisfactory academic progress requirements.

The spouse or domestic partner of the fallen service member must initiate the request for a waiver within ten years of the determination of death or 100% disability. The spouse will lose eligibility upon remarriage. Dependent children must initiate this benefit prior to age 23.

ADOPTED: May 13, 2009

B. First Reading
1. Board Members’ Code of Conduct, B.160
As part of the review of all board policies, the board reviewed the following existing policy. A second reading will be held in April.

The question arose whether there is any overarching state policy or statute that addresses this board policy. Staff and legal council will review and make recommendations for the second reading.

POLICY NUMBER: B.160
POLICY TYPE: GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE: BOARD MEMBERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT

The board commits itself and its members to ethical, professional, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and appropriate decorum when acting as board members.

Accordingly,

1. Board members must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of the citizens of the district. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups and membership on other boards or staffs. This accountability supersedes the personal interest of any board member acting as an individual consumer of the organization’s services.
2. Board members must avoid any conflict of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibility in accordance with Oregon statutes. Should a board member apply for employment by the college, the board member must resign.
3. Board members may not attempt to exercise individual authority over the organization except as explicitly set forth in board policies.

A. Board members’ interaction with the president or with staff must recognize the lack of authority in any individual board member or group of board members except as noted above.
B. Board members’ interaction with the public, press, or other entities must recognize the same limitation and the similar inability of any board member or board members to speak for the board (except for the chairperson, as noted in B.050.2.C).
C. Members will give no consequence or public voice to individual judgments of the president or staff performance, except as that performance is assessed against explicit board policies by the official process.
D. As new issues come before the board, the board will first determine if a policy has been violated. If a policy has been violated, the board will specify monitoring to correct the violation. If no policy has been violated, the board may determine that clarification of an existing policy or creation of a new policy is necessary.

4. Members will respect the confidentiality appropriate to issues of a sensitive nature.

ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: January 13, 1999
REVISED: April 14, 1999
REVISED: February 11, 2004
REVISED: July 27, 2004
REVIEWED: May 14, 2008

2. Board Vacancies, B.170
As part of the review of all board policies, the board reviewed the following existing policy. A second reading will be held in April.

POLICY NUMBER: B.170
POLICY TYPE: GOVERNANCE PROCESS
POLICY TITLE: BOARD VACANCIES

When a vacancy occurs on the board, the remaining members shall meet in regular session and elect a person to fill the vacancy from any of the qualified voters of the geographic boundary from which the vacancy occurs. The board shall request nominations from the public and shall prescribe the format in which the nominations are to be presented. Notification will include: The legal requirements for the position and the period of time for names to be recommended to the board. The members so elected shall serve until the next board election at which time a successor shall be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.

ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVIEWED: February 11, 2004
REVIEWED: April 9, 2008

4. Discussion/Action Items
A. Oregon Community College and Workforce Development (OCCWD)
Cam Preus, OCCWD Commissioner, apprised the board of statewide issues. She distributed a handout showing statistical information on Oregon community colleges and explained how Lane compared to the other colleges. She noted that there is no capital construction funding for community colleges in the governor’s budget.

Brett Rowlett gave an update on HB 242, which has been moved to the Ways and Means Committee. Concerns of community colleges are being included, but there are still some areas that need to be fixed, such as the PERS language on the calculation formula for part-time faculty.

Albright commented on the collection of data on race and ethnicity, wondering why we continue to ask for that information. Some students do not know how to report, especially if they are of mixed races. Albright was concerned that we will never be equal if we continue looking at our differences. Preus responded that some students do not report race or ethnicity, so they are listed as unknown.

C. Web Design One Year Certificate
Mary Brau, Curriculum Coordinator, Rick Williams, Dean of the Arts Division, and Jeff Goolsby, Media Arts instructor, presented information on a new one-year certificate in web design. There is no cost to offer the new certificate; all courses for Web Design are currently being offered.

Hall moved, seconded by Albright, to approve the Web Design One-Year Certificate.

Motion passed unanimously

B. Downtown Campus Update
Last month, the board authorized President Spilde to move forward on bids for mobilization costs for the Downtown Campus. Spilde explained that there has been a slight delay due to weather conditions, and the bid was not opened until yesterday. The bond sale will be moved to April 9, which is good news because it will allow us to move faster with the new market tax credit. The allocatees for the new market tax credits have been identified; they are non-profit organizations rather than larger banks, which means we may need to seek more than one allocation to obtain the $5 million. Seattle Northwest indicates that we will be able to meet that goal.

Spilde met with the onsite construction manager and the architect this morning and discussed the project budget. It appears that we will be able to stay on target. Spilde will meet to discuss housing in two weeks and will report on that at the April meeting.

Spilde requested authorization from the board to approve bid packages for the Downtown Campus project, similar to the process for the Health and Wellness Building. With the Wellness project, the board approved the target price, and the president approved bids that came in as long as they were under budget. The board considered and discussed this option, as the DTC project is higher profile and more complicated. Factors to consider included expediting the project while not exceeding costs.

Hall moved to authorize the president to approve bid packages providing they are on the budget target. LeClair seconded.

Motion passed unanimously.

D. Budget Committee Appointments
Spilde explained that Ron Green, Zone 1, and Marston Morgan, Zone 5, have resigned from the budget committee. Stiles and Albright presented replacements for their budget committee appointees.

Albright moved, seconded by LeClair, to approve the appointment of Jacque Betz, Zone 1; and the appointment of Matt Keating, Zone 5, to the Lane Community College Budget Committee to complete the three-year terms effective immediately and ending June 30, 2012.

Motion passed unanimously.

5. Accountability/Reports
A. Benchmarks
Craig Taylor, Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning director, responded to questions and comments on the following Benchmarks:

• Percent of County Population Enrolled (Age 18 years +)
• Table 16: Headcount by Oregon County of Residence 2008-09
• Oregon Community College Student Success Indicators – A Brief History
• Access and Retention for Oregon High School Graduates
• Test Score Gains for ABE Students
• Ever Earning First 30 College-level Credits (Lower Division)
• Ever Earning First 30 College-level Credits (Career Technical)
• Earned 30 College-level Credits in One Year (Lower Division)
• Earned 30 College-level Credits in One Year (Career Technical)

B. Facilities Update
An update on the status of bond and facility projects was presented.

C. Emergency Presidential Succession Monitoring Report
Spilde answered questions and responded to comments regarding the Emergency Presidential Succession monitoring report.

6. Reports
ASLCC President Mario Parker-Milligan reported that ASLCC will be sending four students to Washington, D.C. for a legislative conference. He noted that ASLCC elections are scheduled for May 2 and 3. Student fee measures on the ballot include support for the Learning Garden, Athletics, the Veteran's Center, and OSPIRG. Parker-Milligan informed the board of House and Senate bills that ASLCC is supporting. ASLCC is recruiting students to attend the Ways and Means committee meetings. Parker-Milligan responded to Albright's earlier comment regarding the collection of data on student ethnicity and gender. It's important to know that not every student identifies as male or female, and that is why there are so many students that don't have a box to check in that formula. It's also important to understand that institutions such as Lane don't ask for race or ethnicity because we want to segregate or oppress them, but rather to better understand the demographics of which we are serving, and to improve the services within the institution, because students of different races, ethnicities, and cultures have different learning, social, and living styles, and instead of students adapting to the institution, the institution should adapt to those students that we serve.

LCCEA President Jim Salt reported that no formal bargaining sessions have been held but tentative dates have been set. He was glad to see OCCA recommending $425 million for the community college support fund. The Oregon Education Association (OEA) did not take a formal position on a number at the recent meeting but did speak in favor of $425 million. They don't want to limit their support to that figure, but will support at least that amount. The College Council Budget Subcommittee agreed to use $410 million and $425 million in budget projections as well as a less optimistic figure than $410 million. The Maintenance of Effort amount still has a real possibility of providing additional funds into either the university or the community college budget. OEA is pushing for the latter and has some support in Salem. Salt was sorry to report that the Senate in Wisconsin met and passed a bill stripping collective bargaining rights. There is a rally scheduled in Eugene on Friday, and Salt will be speaking and inviting others to attend. The current economic situation is allowing some to exploit the crisis and strip away the rights of the people who had nothing to do with the problem. Salt had heard reports that the Mount Hood Community College faculty are extremely close to a strike. This would be the first time that community college faculty have gone on strike in Oregon. This is due mostly to the lack of the college being willing to negotiate with the faculty. Salt hoped that when negotiations begin at Lane that the college will not exploit the situation and the two groups can work collaboratively as they have been able to do in the past.

Vice President Sonya Christian reported that Parker-Milligan's report reminded her of the discussions had when updating the strategic directions. The goal was to empower students, and that is what Parker-Milligan did today. His comments were brilliant. The Respiratory Care program recently completed an accreditation. This was one of the programs that was slated as a possibility to be eliminated during the budget crisis at Lane some years ago. The curriculum was revamped; the program was restabilized and put online. The evaluators gave five commendations and no recommendations. Christian invited the board to the iLane conference on Friday, March 11. The first visiting scholar for the Islam series spoke at Lane on March 8, and Christian reminded the board how that program started. It went from a situation in which Lane received bad press regarding a non credit course to a solid, focused initiative. Christian praised Preus for her work at the state level with community colleges.

Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan reported that for the sixth year in a row the budget office was awarded the GFOA Distinguished Budget Award. There is a federal bill in the Senate and House that would affect public broadcasting. The impact to KLCC would be $250,000, so they are hoping that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will continue.

Board Reports
McCown reported that it has been very busy month. The classical cuisine dinner was wonderful. He commended the Foundation for the addition of the scholarship funds and the faculty endowment. He also addressed the gender and ethnicity data reporting. We measure demographics because the notion of equality occurring when we ignore our differences rather than identifying, celebrating, and incorporating our uniqueness is dangerous, especially in a society where the U.N. has identified violence against women as the #1 health issue facing our mothers and daughters; where minorities are systematically undereducated and incarcerated, and individuals are legally discriminated against across our country for the sexual orientation. We measure these demographics not out of naiveté or ignorance but rather as a way to systematically rectify the systematic oppression that disadvantaged individuals have experienced for hundreds of years in this country. To believe that we would have organically made the social progress we have in this country without the statistics to support that change is short sighted, and the idea that we don't have a lot of work to do disregards the situations that demonstrate the gross inequality in this country. And, frankly, if we are confused as to who we serve and how we serve them with the data in front of us, just imagine where we would be without it.

Albright appreciated Salt's comments regarding the decision in Wisconsin and has wondered if anything like that could happen here in Oregon. Nationally, Americans are confronting a movement dating back to the 1950's. Albright attended the Lane Economic Committee meeting, where a discussion was held regarding economic development issues, including Lane's Small Business Development Center.

Johnston attended the Downtown Campus groundbreaking ceremony and thanked Brett Rowlett and Tracy Simms for all of their work on the event. She congratulated Spilde for the representation at the recent Oregon President's Council meeting. Speaking as a student, Johnston thanked Parker-Milligan for his comments and for making the college a safe place for students to pursue an education.

Ackerman reported that he attended the Downtown Campus groundbreaking ceremony and the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner.

Hall thanked the administration for the way the Islamic issue was handled. Hall attended several college events recently, including the grand opening of the Longhouse and the Downtown Campus groundbreaking ceremony. The common denominator for the Longhouse and the Downtown Campus buildings is cooperation.

Stiles attended the Downtown Campus groundbreaking ceremony, which was seamless. She recently met with the new director of Florence, Mary Jeanne Kuhar. The meeting was great, and the new director is very energetic.

7. Date, Place, and Proposed Agenda Items for the Next Regular Meeting
Wednesday, April 13, 6:30 pm, Boardroom, Building 3, Lane Community College

8. The board meeting unanimously adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

_____________________________		_____________________________
Mary Spilde, President/District Clerk		Tony McCown, Board Chair