Board Report – November 2010

The board just attended the Shining Start event this evening at the Center for Meeting and Learning. It really is a wonderful affirmation of the difference Lane makes in students' lives and of the importance of donor support for scholarships.

With Election Day behind us, we have a slightly clearer picture of what the legislative landscape will look like for us for the next two years. Democrat John Kitzhaber was elected to a record third term as governor. He is fairly well informed about community colleges, and I'll be meeting on Friday with his policy people to talk about his agenda for higher education. Even though Republican Chris Dudley lost, I think he gained a better understanding of community colleges when he visited Lane in late October. Thank you to board members Tony McCown and Pat Albright for joining us, and to Mario Parker-Milligan, his fellow students, and Sheryl Berman and her staff for being part of the visit.

The balance of the Oregon Senate is still in question, but it appears that the makeup will be 16 Democrats and 14 Republicans. The Oregon House is evenly divided with 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans. It is unclear what the power sharing arrangement will be, and it will be some time before the House leadership – including speaker, Ways and Means co-chair, and committee chairs – is decided. Locally, all state legislators running for reelection were victorious, and Lee Beyer was selected to replace retiring State Senator Bill Morrisette.

In Washington, D.C., Republicans regained control of the House, while Democrats maintain a small majority in the Senate. While it's unclear what impact the more than 80 freshman members will have on Congress, Republican leaders in the House have already indicated their intention to suspend earmarks and scale back spending, meaning it is less likely that we will see a second attempt at the American Graduation Initiative or additional stimulus funding in the near future.

Last month I attended the first meeting of the Downtown Campus Community Committee. The meeting was attended by representatives of the City of Eugene, Lane Transit District, the Library, Chamber of Commerce, downtown businesses and neighborhood association, and community members. Jim Robertson and Jill Sherman provided a project overview, and attendees were able to ask questions and give feedback. Thanks to Brett Rowlett for facilitating that. The next meeting is scheduled for November 29.

Some good news on our Downtown Campus: We were notified by the Oregon Business Development Department that we are approved for an additional $9 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond authority from the state, on top of the $7.4 million already sub-allocated to the college from the city. These bonds will support the housing portion of the project. Later in this meeting we will be asking you to adopt this resolution so we can sell those bonds by the end of this year.

Thanks to board members Tony McCown, Susie Johnston, Pat Albright, and Sharon Stiles for joining me at the ACCT Annual Congress in Toronto, Ontario last month, and to Tony McCown, Pat Albright, Bob Ackerman, Susie Johnson, and Brett Rowlett for attending the OCCA conference in Sunriver a couple of weeks ago.

While I was in Washington D.C. for the AACC meeting, I attended an event at the Eisenhower Building with Vice President Joe Biden to announce new federal initiatives on the home energy retrofit industry. The initiatives are expected to create thousands of jobs across the country, and Lane is in a good position to turn out the workforce, thanks to our Energy Management and Sustainability programs.

Last month, Dave Willis, Dennis Carr, Greg Morgan, and I met with Representative Terry Beyer and ODOT staff to discuss issues surrounding 30th Avenue and I-5 traffic, especially at the start of fall term.

Once again we held the Annual OSAA State High School Cross Country Championships on main campus—in fact it was our 40th year of hosting. We had more than 4,000 spectators and athletes with nearly 100 Oregon high schools represented. Special thanks to Meet Director Grady O'Connor and to Athletics, Facilities, Public Safety, Grounds, and all the volunteers.

I presented at the Safeway Women's Group Annual Meeting in Eugene, the League STEMTech conference in Orlando, and the TIAA Cref Leadership Conference on Higher Education in New York. Last week I met with Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of Education, to discuss a follow up to the White House Summit. She indicated that the US Department of Education will continue to focus on access, quality and completion.

I had an article about the value of liberal education published in the Community College Times, and I was quoted in Inside Higher Ed about online learning.

For Profit colleges began an attack campaign against community colleges just prior to the White House Summit. Yesterday a report was released from AACC. They did a really good job of debunking many of the criticisms. One of the stunning things pointed out is that for-profit colleges serve 12% of undergraduates, and they get 25% of the Pell money. So to say that they are not publicly funded when 70% of their revenue comes from public money is a bit ridiculous. Community colleges typically spend 3% of their budget on marketing - we spend a lot less than 3% at Lane - and for-profit colleges spend approximately 20% of their budget on marketing. They are working against the administration's regulations on gainful employment which state that the jobs the students obtain after graduation must pay enough to pay off their student loans. We will be carefully monitoring and responding to these types of attacks.
The college is closed for Thanksgiving on November 25 and 26; nonetheless, many of our faculty and staff will be busy volunteering at the annual Whiteaker Community Dinner, preparing and serving food. Others are working on the annual sleeping bag drive. Special thanks to Bev Farfan, Sue Thompson, Gee McKeegan, Clive Wanstall, Joe McCully, and Brian Kelly for leading Lane's participation.

Speaking of great dinners, I want to thank Janet Anderson and the Foundation for another wonderful Harvest Dinner, our premier annual fundraiser. We raised $189,000 and set a record of $50,000 raised directly for scholarships in "bid cards up." The enthusiasm expressed by everyone in attendance underscored what a strong and growing support base Lane has in this community.

I'd like to close my report by urging you to mark December 3 and 4 on your calendars. December 3, Friday, is the grand opening of the Longhouse, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. The next day is our annual Powwow with grand entries at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. I hope you can attend one or both of these special occasions.