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THE OFFICIAL MINUTES (3-15-23)

The Big Bend Community College Board of Trustees held a Regular Board meeting Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. in person.

Present: Anna Franz, Bethany Martinez, Amy Parris, Juanita Richards

2. Mission Moments
Board Chair Anna Franz thanked Probationary/Tenure Review Committee Members for participating in the faculty evaluation process.

14. Exceptional Faculty Award Report
Dr. David Holliway reported about his attendance at the American Anthropological Association conference in Seattle. He learned about other anthropologists and the importance of storytelling and human conditioning. He stated his students often tell their stories and contribute to their fellow students’ understanding important sociological concepts. Dr. Holliway stated some teachings are being challenged across the country and teaching thoughtfully and freely without fear is important. He thanked the Trustees for their support.

New employees were introduced: Custodial Services Supervisor, Ty Manning; Workforce Education Services staff Giselle Gudino, Karla Alva, Cynthia Razo,
Tara White, and Veronica Pelayo; and Director of Campus Safety & Compliance Juan Loera.

3. Educational Presentation
Dr. Bryce Humpherys shared about accreditation. Big Bend is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. The accreditations are a requirement of federal funding including financial aid for students. Accreditation uses a peer-evaluation model and focuses on stability, sustainability, reputation, effectiveness, mission-focus, and continuous improvement. Big Bend is part of the NWCCU’s seven-year accreditation cycle; at year three in the cycle a report is due and an evaluation visit is scheduled October 23-24 to ensure we are on track for the year-seven accreditation visit. A full written report is submitted in year six along with other annual reports. The NWCCU has a board that gives commendations, recommendations, and sanctions. In 2020, Big Bend received commendations on data efforts, library services, closing the achieving gap, and focusing on student success. We also received a recommendation around mission and institutional planning.

Significant changes in the institution require seeking permission from NWCCU for changes such as offering a Bachelor’s degree. Our Bachelor’s degree was approved in January 2021 and a visit was scheduled in 2023. The in-person visit was cancelled due to the thoroughness of the report; shout out to BAS
Coordinator Anne Ghinazzi who helped write and submit the ad hoc report.

4. Public comment
There was no public comment.

5. Consent Agenda
Motion 23-07 Trustee Juanita Richards moved to approve the consent agenda. Trustee Bethany Martinez seconded and the motion passed.

6. Faculty Updates
Faculty Association President Dawnne Ernette reported faculty activities. English faculty Allison Palumbo has been booked to be the first professional
speaker for Scarecrow Video’s Zeitgeist Academy. They did their presentation in February on Reframing the Hollywood Victim Narrative, which provided a historical look at the role victimization plays in establishing female identities onscreen. They ended by discussing the changing representations of rape in a heroine’s story and the way current representations in movies like The Woman King and She Said challenge older representations in terms of progressive sexual politics. They are also building a new class on Kick Ass Women in Popular Culture for fall.

New Student Club: The Chess Club has submitted a complete application for status as an official ASB club!!! The seed of this great news started from the
efforts of one student (Andrew Fairbanks, now club president) and English associate faculty Scott Woodham. The group has grown to 12 members, and they meet each week in the former cafeteria. Everyone is welcome, even if they’ve never played before! They love spreading their passion for the game/sport/art/science of chess! The club advisors are Scott Woodham and math faculty David Mayhugh.

Faculty librarian Rhonda Kitchens shares that the library completed it's quarterly webinar series. The Plagiarism webinar was adopted as extra credit by some Faculty. Feedback from the webinar included: "I learned that you have to cite things that are not common knowledge. I learned that people are starting to use AI sites like ChatGPT to write their essays and that there is a program that can detect when AI has been used. I learned that different instructors or courses may have different levels of acceptability for the percent [of borrowed text] your work gets on the plagiarism detection software."

Communications faculty Dr. Barbara Bush is helping students start an Environmental Club. Their first meeting will be the first week of Spring quarter, after which they will file an application for club standing. Some of the projects they have up for review include a community garden on campus (they will be looking for approval for one of the lava rocked filled areas) with a compost, getting a recycling program into the dorms, and starting a carpooling program toreduce carbon emissions, and increase a sense of community, and help students get to campus from outlying areas. Sara Hupp is the president of the club.

BEdA instructor Melissa Heaps had her students in Contemporary World History complete a week-long study on the crisis in Ukraine. Students focused on
regional geography, history, and even created their own political cartoons.

Mark Geary, Head Wrestling Coach, shares that the Big Bend Women's Wrestling team finished third in the nation in the NCWA division. They were led
by Samantha Meyer, who won her first national title by pinning all of her opponents through the entire tournament after having been seeded #4. Also placing for the Vikings was Anna Rodriguez (3rd) and Academic All-American Sitlaly Macias (4th). Sitlaly overcame a 9-0 deficient with a last-minute lateral drop that enabled her to pin her cross-state rival from Gray's Harbor, and brought her into the consolation finals.

The wrestling tournament was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico this year, due to the addition of eight new college wrestling programs in Puerto Rico.

Welding faculty Shawn McDaniel shares that he held a welding competition Jan 3 in the welding facility. Students from Moses Lake High School, CBtech, and a Spokane Valley school attended. The Spokane Valley students won the competition. Each team fabricated a cart for a welding machine that included a cylinder rack from a weld drawing. They also hosted an FFA competition last Friday with several schools competing.

World Languages instructor Jen McCarthy says her French students have worked all quarter on speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension.
She has two students who are planning trips to France in the near future, including BBCC's very own Lindsay Groce, who will be in Europe starting next
week! They have been practicing telling time in French at the request of Lindsay and to the benefit of all the students.

BEDA celebrated Pi day and there was pizza and fruit pie shared to promote community.

7. ASB Updates
ASB President Ambra Hacker shared ASB news including that the number of attendees attending ASB events has doubled this year over last year. There
has been increased outreach efforts by the ASB officers and live entertainment events. Mental health is a priority for students per a student survey. DJ bingo was a popular event including ESL students. Many repeat students brought their friends and they stayed and socialized at the February 9 Pizza event. Sailish Hypnotist was enjoyed by many student groups. Dinner with the dating doctor David Coleman event for students include a lot of student interaction. The Harriet Tubman movie was shown for Black History month with English subtitles for ESL students and their families. The Whitney Houston movie was shown for Women’s History month. It was a successful winter quarter focused on student engagement.

8. President’s Update
Dr. Tweedy shared growth in areas of WES, M&O, Outreach, Workforce Ed, and CBIS. Promotion Vanessa Pruneda Outreach Director. Winter enrollment is strong with increases in all areas. Tuition collection is holding steady. VP Linda Schoonmaker and Executive Director Charlene Rios had foresight to retain CAREs funding to help Big Bend through this academic year.

President Tweedy discussed outreach efforts throughout the service district and BEdA, ELA, and High School Completion classes is our service district communities. She also reported legislative visits with Representatives Bruce Chandler, Bryan Sandlin, Tom Dent, and Alex Ybarra and Senators Judy Warnick and Nikki Torres.

Dr. Tweedy discussed the DEI Strategic Plan in support of Ends Statement and meeting legislative mandates around DEI plans. The Big Bend Strategic
Plan plan has five goals: A. Culturally appropriate student outreach program; B. Supporting academic success for students; C. Recruitment, hiring, retention of diverse faculty and staff; D. People and leader development; E. Inclusive campus community. During Winter In-Service employees provided feedback, student feedback was added, and CEID members also provided feedback.

At 2:21 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 2:31 p.m. No actions were taken during the Executive session. A 5-minute break was announced. Meeting reconvened at 2:36 p.m.

9. WAC 132R-04-015, 132R-04-017, 132R-04-057, 132R-04-061
Motion 23-08 Trustee Amy Parris moved to approve revisions to WAC 132R-04-015, 132R-04-017, 132R-04-057, 132R-04-061. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded and the motion passed.

10. ACT Award Nominations
Motion 23-09 Trustee Bethany Martinez moved to approve Dawnne Ernette for ACT Faculty Award and Kathleen Duvall for ACT Professional Staff Award with Chair Anna Franz finalizing required documents. Trustee Amy Parris seconded and the motion passed.

11. Math/Science
Lindsay Groce and Dr. Dori Miller shared about their STEM Transfer Partnership Projects with Community College Research Initiatives and Central Washington University (CWU) and Eastern Washington University. They are focused on increasing the number of low-income STEM transfer students from Big Bend to CWU and the number of low-income engineering transfer students from Big Bend to EWU. Grants totaling $50,000 fund activities to increase interest in STEM programs and connect students to universities.

Instructor Groce and Dr. Miller thanked their university coaches and Big Bend administrators, Deans Kathleen Duvall and Valerie Parton and Vice President Bryce Humpherys.

12. Assessment of Board Activity
Board Chair Anna Franz attended an agenda building meeting with President Tweedy.

Trustee Juanita Richards reported her activities: ACT conference, Transforming lives meeting, Foundation meeting, meeting with Sara, and a Trustee Tuesday.

13. Next Regularly Scheduled Board Meeting
The next board meeting was confirmed from May 4. The location of the October 12 board meeting will moving to the WEC building due to a large event on campus that date.

14. Exceptional Faculty Award Report
Dr. Hannah Leaf provided information about finishing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree funded in part by Exceptional Faculty Award funding. Her
capstone project was completed virtually and focused on change in the workplace and will be used in her teaching practice with students.
At 2:50 Board Chair Anna Franz announced an executive session for 20 minutes, following a 5-minute break, 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. At 3:15 the executive session was extended by 10 minutes. At 3:25 the executive session was extended by another 10 minutes. At 3:35 the meeting reconvened.

15. Probationary Tenure Review
Board Chair Anna Franz stated she would entertain a motion that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys deny tenure to Reza Sharifi effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Reza Sharifi as soon as possible of this decision.

Motion 23-10 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys deny tenure to Reza Sharifi effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Reza Sharifi as soon as possible of this decision. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-11 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys grant tenure to Dr. Suzanne Reilly effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Dr. Reilly as soon as possible of this decision. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the
motion carried.

Board Chair Anna Franz shared a student message about Dr. Reilly from student surveys, “This class often touches on sensitive topics and Professor Reilly handles this with extreme care and tact. Her classroom is a safe space for students to share relevant personal perspectives without fear of ridicule. Something not to take for granted in an educational setting.”

Motion 23-12 Trustee Amy Parris moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys grant tenure to Dr. John Owens effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Dr. Owens as soon as possible of this decision. Trustee Bethany Martinez seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Board Chair Anna Franz shared a student message about Dr. Owens from student surveys, “I appreciate how encouraging he is. He gives lots of praise and encouragement that makes you want to try harder.”

Motion 23-13 Trustee Bethany Martinez moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys grant tenure to Dr. Hannah Leaf effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Dr. Leaf as soon as possible of this decision. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Board Chair Anna Franz shared a student message about Dr. Leaf from student surveys, “Hannah always has an explanation as to why the skill is done in a specific way. She also has a real life story about how the skill is done in the real world, which helps me to better understand the teaching. She is always prepared and helps students to feel comfortable so they can do their best.”

Motion 23-14 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys grant tenure to Dr. Barbara Bush effective September 11, 2023. She further moved that
the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Dr. Bush as soon as possible of this decision. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Board Chair Anna Franz shared a student message about Dr. Bush from student surveys. “She really cares about her students and the material she teaches and she makes sure that those who reach out to her get the help they need. She also reaches out to her students to make sure they are doing well and she really connects the material to how it applies to our lives. I have had her for many classes now and I would strongly suggest to any student they take at least one of her classes.”

Motion 23-15 Trustee Amy Parris moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Rosemary Parsons. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Rosemary Parsons as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Bethany Martinez seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-16 Trustee Bethany Martinez moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Dustin Regul. She further moved that the Board
of Trustees direct the President to notify Dustin Regul as,soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-17 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Dr. Aaron Mahoney. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Dr. Mahoney as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-18 Trustee Amy Parris moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Kaja Englund. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Kaja Englund as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-19 Trustee Bethany Martinez moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Emily Eidson. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Emily Eidson as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-20 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Chris Dinges. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Chris Dinges as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-21 Trustee Amy Parris moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Ching Jim Lin. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Ching Jim Lin as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Bethany Martinez seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-22 Trustee Bethany Martinez moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Octaviano Gutierrez. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Octaviano Gutierrez as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Juanita Richards seconded the motion and the motion carried.

Motion 23-23 Trustee Juanita Richards moved that the Board of Trustees, after having given reasonable consideration to the recommendations of the Probationary Review Committee, Dr. Tweedy and Dr. Humpherys renew the probationary contract of Eric Fleming. She further moved that the Board of Trustees direct the President to notify Eric Fleming as soon as possible of this decision for the academic year of 2023-24, effective September 11, 2023. Trustee Amy Parris seconded the motion and the motion carried.

16. Miscellaneous
The ACT Conference is scheduled for May 15-16. The Big Bend Foundation Cellarbration for Education gourmet dinner and auction is set on Saturday, May 20. The local Big Bend Transforming Lives event is scheduled for Thursday, March 16.

Adjournment 3:51