Date: October 10, 2022
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: WITCC Campus - Cherokee, Room 301

A Community Reception will be hosted by Western Iowa Tech Community College on Monday, October 10, 2022, at 3:00 pm at the WITCC Campus, 200 Victory Drive, Cherokee, Iowa.

The regular Board of Directors Meeting was held following at 4:00 pm, Room 301

WITCC Mission

We elevate our diverse learners and strengthen our communities through inclusive and innovative education.

Board Members

Russell Wray, President | Tricia Sutherland, Vice President | Neal Adler | Bill Anderson | Linnea Fletcher | Jeremy Ogle | Al Aymar | Derrick Franck

Brenda Wright, Board Secretary

Absent: Blanca Martinez

Administration: Terry Murrell, College President | Juline Albert, VP of Learning | Troy Jasman, VP of Finance and Administrative Services | Darin Moeller, Executive Dean of Instruction | Mike Logan, Dean of Information Technology | Jackie Plendl, Dean of Human Resources | Tawnya Beermann, Dean of Students | Christina Brandon, Interim Dean of Outreach and Information Technology

Presenters: Dr. Erin Volk, Director of Institutional Research and Resource Development | Dr. Darla Struck, Director of Cherokee Campus and Northern Service Area | Matt Pfister, Executive Director of College Development | Carmen Wilson, Associate Dean – Corporate College | Steve Warnstadt, Government Relations and Special Projects Manager | Theresa Umshied, ICCOC | Elle Voss, Student | Caden Thomas, Student | Hayley Heims, Student

Item

The meeting was called to order by Russ Wray at 4:01 pm.

Brenda Wright did a roll call of Directors.

Russ Wray asked for any Oral Communications. No oral communications were brought to the board.

Russ Wray reviewed the Written Communications submitted in the board packet.

Russ Wray asked for any questions or concerns regarding the Consent Items. No questions or feedback received. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve the Consent Items and Neal Adler seconded. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

Administrative Reports

Juline Albert introduced Erin Volk and Darla Struck. Darla then introduced three students that wanted to share their experiences of Western Iowa Tech on the Cherokee Campus. All three students talked about how much they love the campus and the attention that that receive. They receive help from the staff and faculty whenever they need it or have questions. All three students are participating in the Cherokee Promise program and were very appreciative of the funding they have received.

Juline Albert and Erin Volk reviewed the Iowa Department of Education Profile Report. This report shows all the data and how we compare to the other community colleges.

Theresa Umsheid joined our meeting to give an ICCOC Update. There are six community colleges in the consortium. This year we became a legal separate entity. Doing this makes it more secure for each college. We have a new board of directors which consists of the presidents from all six community colleges in the consortium

Erin Volk and Tawnya Beermann reviewed the Graduation Compilation Report. WITCC is the 2nd highest in credentials awarded in the state.

Troy Jasman came forward to introduce Matt Pfister as our new Executive Director of the Foundation. Troy then explained the Foundation Compilation Report results. The board unanimously stated audibly that they accept the compilation report.

Troy Jasman also presented the Contingency Change Order #4 for the Cherokee Nursing Simulation Lab. Linnea Fletcher made a motion to accept the change order and Jeremy Ogle seconded the motion. All in favor and the motion was carried.

Troy Jasman also brought forward a proposal for the Sun Ridge Court Siding Improvement Project. Troy proposed to continue the siding improvements on the Sun Ridge Court dorms. He would like to update two additional buildings. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve the project and Al Aymar seconded the nomination. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Steve Warnstadt reported on the Northwest Iowa Regents Resource Center Operations Report/UNI Partnership. The new partnership with UNI with UNI’s new program, UNI@CommunityCollege, now includes WITCC. We will have a full-time person on our campus. Students can continue their education at UNI from the WITCC campus at the WITCC tuition rate.

Darin Moeller presented an Aviation Agreement. This will continue our work with Dave Poole to assist us with creating curriculum and advising on the Aviation Maintenance program. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Neal Adler. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Darin Moeller and Carmen Wilson presented a renewal of the Commercial Driver’s License Testing Tester Agreement. This agreement allows WITCC to be a tester for CDL licensing. It’s a great service to the community. Tricia Sutherland made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Bill Anderson. All were in favor the and motion was carried.

Darin Moeller presented a proposal to purchase some Lab Vehicles for the Auto Technology. With the growing technology in vehicles, our students need to know how to work on the newer features in vehicles. The request is to purchase up to vehicles spending up to $140,000. Funding for the purchases would be from Perkins funds or 3/6 cent funding. Linnea Fletcher made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Jeremy Ogle. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Jeremy Ogle nominated Derrick Franck to be the Voting Delegate for the ACCT Leadership. Bill Anderson seconded the nomination. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Jackie Plendl did a 2ND Reading Board Policy – 400.42 – Child Abuse Reporting. She reviewed a suggestion from last month that is now included in this revision. Derrick Franck made a motion to approve the board policy changes and Neal Adler seconded. All were in favor and motion was carried.

Jackie also reviewed the 2ND Reading Board Policy – 400.43 – Abuse of Children by College Employees. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve the suggestions and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland. All were in favor and the motion was carried.

Tricia attended the last meeting for the Community Colleges for Iowa and gave her report. She talked about a book that was discussed, So You Want to Talk about Race. She said they had some great respectful conversations. She expressed how Diversity and Inclusion are very prominent now and suggested we purchase some additional copies of the book for our library and encourage our staff and faculty to read the book.

Terry Murrell gave a Presidents Report

  1. Title III Grant Update - We received the grant. The focus of this grant is to improve transfer rate, continue to move inclusion efforts, and sustainability.
  2. State Accreditation Visit, November 9-10
  3. Board Retreat - will be after the November board meeting. We will have dinner and then start the retreat at 5:30 pm.
  4. We are also looking at purchasing a piece of land in Mapleton. It would be just behind the building. We think it will be a great spot for the Ag program. More info to follow.
  5. Athletics - we did get approved in the first step. We meet with NJCAA soon. We should have more info at our next meeting.

Bill Anderson made a motion to adjourn the meeting and it was seconded by Neal Adler. All were in favor and the motion was carried.