Board Report – October 2007

Report from Lane Community College President Mary Spilde
To the Lane Community College Board of Education
October 10, 2007

Good evening. I am so glad that we are here in Florence this evening. In my seventh year as president, I can say it is always a pleasure to visit our Florence campus and community. Since the Florence community may not always get to hear regularly about the issues facing the college, let me just recap a few things:

• Fiscal sustainability

- We should end this year in a positive position - revenues should exceed expenditures
- Key factors impacting us are contract negotiations, enrollment, state funding, economic trends
- There will be a special legislative session in February, and we are hoping to secure more funding for community colleges; the governor has pledged a 10% increase in the next regular session
- I have recently been appointed by the governor to a Postsecondary Quality Education Commission
- The Opening Doors campaign will be raising funds for scholarships, endowed chairs, innovation, and matching state funds for a health and wellness building on main campus

• Organizational capacity

- Enrollment is up 4.1% for the college
- Florence enrollment is up 8.7%
- Community conversations are being planned by the board to develop a 2020 Vision

• Facilities

- Siltcoos Station has generated over $8,000 in reservations since it reopened. We are grateful to Florence volunteers, donors, businesses and staff who contributed. Congratulations on making the Oregonian's Best of the Oregon Coast list!
- Lane is discussing going back to the voters for a facilities bond; the last one passed in 1995 and will be paid off in 2009. An $80 to $100 million request would maintain taxes at the current rate

• Learning and innovation

- Florence offers a strong Outward Ventures program this fall with tours to Ashland, Eugene, Newport, Charleston, King Estate winery—and of course, Siltcoos Station
- A Memo of Understanding is pending with Southwestern Oregon Community College for a nursing program partnership starting in 2009
- Florence community contributed over $20,000 in scholarships
- Expanded programming for and about senior learners under review
- Regional dental hygiene training rolling out
- New degree in simulation and game programming
- New Career Pathways short-term training certificates in a variety of occupations

We had a good start to the year with a number of activities. Our all staff gathering focused on the idea of Ubuntu, a South African term which is defined as “the art of being human.” We asked everyone to take care of themselves, take care of each other and take care of the place. Work parties under the leadership of classified staff composted and weeded; our wellness activities were over capacity. I have received many positive comments about the morning. I am handing out my speech as it outlines a number of initiatives we will be working on this year.

Classes started with the usual array of challenges, but overall it is great to have students back on campus.

I had the opportunity to attend the American Community College Trustees meeting with Pat Albright and Susie Johnston. I attended a number of good sessions. I also attended the League Board meeting last week in Seattle. There are a number of exciting initiatives going on. One of them is a Sustainability Symposium that we are hosting at Lane starting this weekend. Over 50 faculty and staff members from League board colleges will be joining us in Eugene to share the wealth on sustainability and think about how we can work together to put the League in a leadership role. Jennifer Hayward, our Sustainability Coordinator who you heard from last month, has done a great job in organizing the event.

At the beginning of 2007, the goal was to dry the sludge (aka bio-waste) in all three ponds and dispose of it by the start of fall term. Several unexpected events conspired to prevent reaching that goal. The early start of fall rains has stopped the drying operation. At this point, the sludge in pond one is dry enough to remove from the pond. The sludge in pond two is not and cannot be moved; there is almost no sludge in pond three.

Future course of action:
Option 1: Cover the sludge in pond one through the winter and discharge as much rainwater that enters as possible. Next spring complete drying and testing the sludge in ponds one and two. This is predicted to result in Class A compost. This compost can then be applied on site (Longhouse and athletic fields) or trucked away by one of the local landscape supply firms. Two companies have voiced an interest. This is the least expensive course to take. Option 2: Truck the sludge in pond one to a farmer's fields near Creswell. This option is estimated to cost around $100,000 and would not include the cost of disposing the sludge in pond two. We are planning to adopt Option 1.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council is pleased to announce that Lane Community College has been awarded the ISPQ Accreditation credential for their Renewable Energy Technician Program. The Renewable Energy Technician program is offered by the Energy Management Program Department which is a component of the Science Division at Lane Community College.
We are continuing with our facility planning while we explore a bond measure. We will begin to engage the broader internal community in this work over the next month. Focus groups are being held in the community next week, and we will conduct research after the November election regarding our image and brand in the community.
You are aware that both the cities of Eugene and Springfield have measures on the ballot regarding urban redevelopment. John Tamulonis from the City of Springfield met with the Executive Team to explain the process. In the long run, if the tax base grows, the college will benefit. If nothing is done to stimulate business expansion, we will not benefit as it is less likely the tax base will grow. In the past, we have remained neutral on these issues so I am not asking you to take a position. Here is information on the Springfield initiative if you are interested.
In the next week I will be moving forward with establishing a limited duration committee to develop recommendations on the administrative/management structure. You are aware that we have many vacancies and that it is time to evaluate/amend the structure that the board approved in 2000-01. I will convene a representative committee and will ask them to give me recommendations by mid-January.
You may have seen the outstanding review of King Lear, so you might want to include that in your leisure plans.

Dr. Donna Koechig, who recently moved to lead our Diversity, Community Relations and Professional Development work, is ill. I am in the process of making assignments to cover her work for fall term. I am planning to invite internal faculty or staff to apply for a partial reassignment to lead the diversity and community work for fall term.