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THE OFFICIAL MINUTES

The Big Bend Community College Board of Trustees held a Regular Board meeting Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom Webinar.

  1. Call to Order
    Present: Anna Franz
      Jon Lane
      Amy Parris
      Juanita Richards
  2. New Trustee
    President Tweedy welcomed new Trustee Amy Parris.
  3. Staff Training for Technical and Community Colleges (STTACC) Award
    President Tweedy presented the STTACC Award to Barbi Johnson for her excellent service and outstanding attitude.
  4. Consent Agenda
    a) Approval of September 9, 2021, Board Meeting Minutes (A); b) Accreditation (I); c) Student Success (I); d) Assessment (I); e) Finance & Administration (I); f) Human Resources Report (I); g) ASB Report (I); h) Foundation Report (I).

    Motion 21-40 Trustee Jon Lane moved to approve the consent agenda. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded and the motion passed.
  5. Remarks
    There were no public remarks.
  6. Faculty Updates
    Faculty Association President Dawnne Ernette shared faculty activities and a statement regarding student vaccine impacts. Fran Palkovic, art instructor, received a commission to interview for an arts integration program for educators and students in the North Central School District. It’s eight videos from a forty- minute interview about process and demos and philosophies for making, integrating other fields of study, and creative and practical process.

    Michele Reeves, education instructor, reported students in child development class created infographics. Instructor Reeves also assigned a curation project in her Introduction to Education class; finding and annotating resources about poverty and its implications for educators. After grading, she compiled their links into a wakelet page and then shared that with the entire class.

    Librarian Rhonda Kitchens highlighted the Passion Project Showcase featuring Philosophy Instructor Dr. Dennis Knepp.

    Faculty President Ernette also shared an instructor’s recent experience regarding a COVID exposure:

    “Saturday, October 2, 2:25pm student messages instructor to report they are COVID positive. 3:01pm instructor sees message and emails the "COVID email" to inform school; told them I have a seating chart if needed but it's at the office. Sunday October, 3:, 6:49am Admin 1 emails to ask for seating chart, 8:52am Admin 2 emails to ask student's last attend date, 11:19am Admin 3 text messaged me to ask for seating chart (I hadn't checked my email yet to see the earlier request), 12:22pm instructor makes it to the college to get seating chart out of office and send it to Admin 1 and 2, also respond that last date of class was Wednesday for Admin 2.

    Student was thankfully in the very back row (and the class is not all the way full) so they were only next to 4 students within the 3 feet. One was vaccinated (no quarantine), the other three had to quarantine. Students were able to do replacement online submissions but they were not able to participate in lively class discussions - an integral part of the science class and therefore missed out on some of that content. One of the students was struggling in the class before this and is struggling quite a bit more now that they had missed those days.

    Had the instructor not been actively grading on the weekend to see the student's message to me, or if the Admin hadn't been actively responding to the COVID emails on a Sunday, there might have been an even bigger campus impact. However, the incident at a minimum impacted the instructor, three Admins and 5 students. The instructor had to put lessons online for those that would miss class (and was not prepared with something ahead of time as they had planned for class discussions). Instructor also had to go to the college on a Sunday to get the seating chart. Most instructors do not have a seating chart and therefore the impact would be even greater as they wouldn't know who was sitting next to the positive person.”
  7. ASB President Report
    ASB officers introduced themselves and announced no other officers will be hired this year. ASB is offering food events and partnering with clubs for activities. President Colton Reynolds stated the ASB officers are supportive of the student vaccine mandate. Trustee Jon Lane asked about dorm students and food services. ASB President Colton Reynolds stated VP Linda Schoonmaker has made a big difference in the dorms with new appliances and cookware. She goes above and beyond to accommodate the students for food.
  8. President’s Update
    President Tweedy welcomed new Trustee Amy Parris. She also recognized employees who have been working within the ctcLink pillars for their exemplary service. Faculty and staff not directly involved in ctcLink have been showing care for those involved in ctcLink with food and encouragement. Big Bend is a special place. There are also two new employees Anthony Garcia and Varinder Singh.

    President Tweedy discussed the student vaccine mandate for students accessing on-campus services and courses, contact tracers, and how exposures can bloom. ASB is hosting student forums featuring President Tweedy and two medical providers next week.

    Enrollment and budget information was shared. English as a Second Language (ESL) and adult high school completion courses in Mattawa have high enrollment. A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) course was added for winter quarter based on expressed community need. The budget is on target and our Running Start enrollment is low.

    President Tweedy reported that BBCC is one of 14 colleges in the nation working directly with Microsoft on cyber security. She recognized Dean Daneen Berry Guerrin, Tom Willingham, Microsoft employee Lisa Karstetter for their work in this area.

    At 2:01 p.m., Board Chair Anna Franz announced that the Board would adjourn to executive session for approximately 10 minutes to discuss items provided for in RCW 42.30.110 (1): (g) to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee. The Executive Session ended at 2:11 p.m. with no action taken.
  9. Exceptional Faculty Award (EFA)
    Math Instructor Eric Fleming reported his Exceptional Faculty Award project directly impacts MATH&141 students by providing them with virtually unlimited practice with concepts in MATH&141. Any student who is in a MATH&141 course where the instructor utilizes the WAMAP version of our textbook has access to explanations of concepts that are numerically dynamic and have varying levels of explanation. This provides them with more opportunities to interact with the textbook in ways that were not possible before. The students see an example worked out and are asked to work out a similar example right after. If the student does not manage to complete this example in a configurable number of attempts, then a solution is shown to them. They can then work another copy of the example with different numbers. Homework assignments and test reviews are similarly numerically dynamic.
  10. Vision, Mission, Guiding Principles
    Vision, Mission, Guiding Principles Committee Chair Tammy Napiontek and members Tom Willingham and Sarah Bauer presented the draft new Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles. The committee was made up of a diverse group from across the campus. They performed important work with an iterative process. The heart of Big Bend is students, staff, and faculty. The committee considered who was represented and not represented in the current vision and mission. Important factors for the new vision, mission, and guiding principles included, memorable, relatable, concise, present tense, measurable, flexibility and relevant to all. All campus members engaged in an activity September 13 and created an interactive, real time word cloud resulting in identifying the primary function for Big Bend to “educate all.” There was lots of positive feedback about t-shirts with the mission statement. Trustees Anna Franz and Juanita Richards agreed that the process was reflective and inclusive.

    Vision:
    Be our community's first choice to dream, learn, and succeed.

    Mission:
    Big Bend Community College
    Serve as a Bridge
    Stand as a Leader
    Support for Success

    Guiding Principles:
    Honor our Role as a Hispanic-Serving Institution
    Advocate for Equity, Inclusion, & Diversity
    Embrace our Workplace Norms
    Innovate Proactively
    Model Integrity
    Educate All

    Motion 21-41 Trustee Juanita Richards moved to approve the Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles as presented. Trustee Jon Lane seconded and the motion passed.
  11. President’s Contract
    Motion 21-42 Trustee Anna Franz moved to extend the president’s contact by one year. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded and the motion passed.
  12. BP3020 Administrative and Exempt Contract
    Motion 21-43 Trustee Jon Lane moved to approve BP3020 as presented. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded and the motion passed.
  13. BP7700 Safety, Security and Emergency Management
    Motion 21-44 Trustee Juanita Richards moved to approve BP7700 as presented. Trustee Amy Parris seconded and the motion passed.
  14. WAC 132R-190-035 Availability of Directory Information
    Motion 21-45 Trustee Juanita Richards moved to approve WAC 132R-190-035 Availability of Directory Information as presented. Trustee Jon Lane seconded and the motion passed.
  15. ACT Transforming Lives Nomination
    President Tweedy reported that employee feedback has led to a change in the ACT Transforming Lives nomination process to focus on the resources and skills of the nominees over their barriers and trauma.

    There are fewer nominees this year. The call for nominations was delayed due to changing the process for the better for the students and online classes may have also contributed to fewer nominees. Trustee Juanita Richards joined the statewide ACT Transforming Lives Committee.

    Motion 21-46 Trustee Juanita Richards moved to nominate Zackery Zyskowski as Big Bend’s Transforming Lives nominee. Trustee Jon Lane seconded and the motion passed.

    Both nominees, Zackery Zyskowski and Lee Dreyer, will be honored locally.
  16. Assessment of Board Activity
    Trustee Jon Lane reported he met with Representative Tom Dent twice, he also attended the Special Board meeting, and the ACT Board meeting. Trustee Lane attended the ACCT Conference featuring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The conference focused on COVID responses, a nimble workforce, students who are also parents, and leadership changes with presidents. The Washington State ACT shared an onboarding presentation using resources developed by Trustee Thomas Stredwick. Applied baccalaureates are more commonly offered by community colleges.

    As the Transforming Lives Liaison, Trustee Juanita Richards encouraged trustees to gather sponsorships for the local Transforming Lives event. She attended the September 13 In-Service, Special Board meeting, ACT meeting, Local Transforming Lives meeting and a Foundation meeting. Trustee Richards met with Dr. Tweedy and attended Trustee Emeritus Paul Hirai’s memorial service. As the Foundation Board Liaison, Trustee Richards reported Executive Director of the Foundation LeAnne Parton is doing a lot to attract donations and former trustee Stephen McFadden is the Foundation Board Special Events Committee Chair.

    Trustee Amy Parris reported she has participated in onboarding activities and enjoyed lunch with Trustee Anna Franz and Dr. Tweedy. She also met with VP Bryce Humpherys in her role with the Othello School District where she also works with the Dean of Workforce Education Daneen Berry-Guerin, Workforce Education Coordinator Tom Willingham, and CBIS Director Beth Laszlo.

    Trustee Anna Franz met with Trustee Amy Parris and Dr. Tweedy and she attended the Special Board meeting.
  17. Next Regularly Scheduled Board Meeting
    The next board meeting is scheduled on December 9, 2021.
  18. 2022 Board Meeting Schedule
    Motion 21-47 Trustee Jon Lane moved to approve the 2022 Board meeting schedule as presented. Trustee Amy Parris seconded and the motion passed.
  19. Miscellaneous
    Board Chair Anna Franz reported the adoption of two additional standing items in board agenda, the annual cyclical calendar and Workplace Norms.

    Trustee Jon Lane stated his board appointment expired and this may be his last meeting depending on when the Governor appoints a new trustee. He stated it has been an honor to serve on the board of trustees. He enjoys working closely with other trustees. He loves Big Bend and remembers that his brother was the first registered student and athletic winner at Big Bend. Many of Trustee Lane’s family members have attended and graduated from Big Bend. Trustee Lane was a national wrestler during his time as a Big Bend student and ASB member; it helped prepare him for a four-year university. Trustee Lane shared that he also worked at Big Bend as a recreation technician, and then a tenure track faculty member. He did not earn tenure and he appreciates the important tenure process. His time serving 32 years in public education, and as a Moses Lake City council member prepared him well for being a Big Bend Trustee. Big Bend transforms lives and meeting challenges, Trustees working with ACT as a resource, keeping students first, and life-long learning at the state and national level is part of Big Bend’s success.

anna fanz signature

Anna Franz, Chair

ATTEST:

sara tweedy signature

Sara Tweedy, Secretary