March 08, 2010
Cabinet Members:
President Mike Richards
John Bearce, Interim Director of Institutional Research
K.C. Brekken, Communications Manager
Thomas Brown, Chief Campus Administrator, Cheyenne
Art Byrd, Vice President, Student Affairs
Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President for Finance & Facilities
Darren Divine, Interim Vice President, Academic Affairs
Richard Hinckley, General Counsel
Bill Kerney, Faculty Senate Chair-Elect
Penny McCollum, Campus Site Administrator, Henderson Campus
Joan McGee, Chief Campus Administrator, Charleston Campus
Larry Mason, Interim Vice President, Diversity & Cultural Affairs
Jacque Matthews, Executive Director, Foundation
Dave Morgan, Chair, Administrative Faculty Assembly
Mark Rauls, Faculty Senate Chair
Cat Maihen, President, Classified Council
Mugunth Vaithylingam, Chief Information Officer – absent
Nathaniel Waugh, Student Government President
Anne Zemek de Dominguez, General Counsel
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richards at 9 a.m.
The notes of the February 8, 2010 cabinet meeting were approved.
Dr. Richards reminded the group of Spring Break, March 15-21, and the Legacy of Achievement Gala on April 24 at the M Resort. Jacque Matthews told everyone that so far, the Gala planning and table sales are progressing as expected, but there are plenty of tables and seats still available for purchase.
Dr. Richards recapped the Board of Regents meeting that took place on CSN‘s Charleston campus March 4 & 5. Most notably, the Governor gave a speech outlining ―sweeping changes‖ he would like to propose for Nevada‘s System of Higher Education. Some of the changes he proposed include measures that CSN constituents have been suggesting to legislators since before he took office. A proposal to help balance the state‘s budget with four ten-hour workdays and an additional 2-hours of furlough per month is still not well-understood as far as it concerns CSN. Patty Charlton told the cabinet members that Human Resources will be meeting this week to discuss the various issues in implementing that type of work schedule.
The Board of Regents and Legislators will need to vet out the details as well, and decide if it is even feasible for NSHE institutions to participate. The earliest any change in classified employees‘ work schedules would take effect – if, in fact, it does change – would be July 1. Dr. Richards, Patty Charlton and Human Resources will keep the College updated as the issues are considered.
The Board of Regents wants a report from each institution on the progress of their Diversity initiatives at the June Board meeting.
Patty Charlton said the budget cut of 6.9% for the current fiscal year would mean $2M for CSN, and the plans to address the cut have already been put in place. The next fiscal year that begins July 1 will involve about $5.7M, and may require more if a mid-year (December) additional cut is applied. Any speculation about changes in classified work schedules, additional furloughs, Grant-in-Aid reductions, etc. is all very premature. The legislators need to discuss the situation and vote before any definite course of action can be planned.
Dr. Richards distributed a copy of Chancellor Klaich‘s notes from a recent visit to the University System of Maryland. The System has in place an effectiveness and efficiency initiative brought about by the state‘s lack of confidence concerning costs incurred by the system.
John Bearce told the cabinet members about the March 15 census date, and the IPEDs reports due next month will be sent to the Federal Government. John distributed an iNtegrate project update, which indicates that the Pilot schools are going live on the new registration system in April. CSN goes live along with the other ‗copilot‘ schools in October. The first phase of the Admissions IDP takes effect this week. Cedar Crestone consultants who are on campus now occasionally, will be here more often and more permanently in April or May to ensure smooth transition to the live system.
K.C. Brekken reminded everyone of the Science Technology Expo on the Cheyenne campus. The event has a good turn out each year, and this year Senator Reid may be in attendance. The SciTech Expo is scheduled for April 9. K.C. is also working on this year‘s Report to the People. To save money on printing and improve efficiency, the new report will be an electronic version. The new format will allow for more frequent updates at a minimal cost.
Thomas Brown gave an update on Affirmative Action plans and training, and on events at the Cheyenne campus. He thanked Nate Waugh for his invitation to the Student Government meeting to meet the new senators. Black History month brought several events to the Cheyenne campus that were well-attended. There are several ongoing employee grievance investigations, and sexual harassment training implementation has greatly reduced the number of grievances to date. Thomas also reminded everyone that Russell‘s Restaurant is open for business and is a great bargain.
Dr. Richards reminded the cabinet members that CSN‘s full-time to part-time ratio is approximately 50-50. The reason CSN is hiring for some positions is to improve that ratio.
At the June Board of Regents meeting, we will present our Affirmative Action plan in hiring and retaining faculty. We have a solid plan, but Dr. Richards emphasized the need for its communication—especially to supervisors, deans and department chairs. Everyone in a supervisory position should be familiar with the AA Plan and the compliance status of his or her department.
Dr. Byrd reviewed the status of the departments in Student Affairs. There were almost 8,000 students on the Dean‘s Honor List for Fall 2009. Student Affairs in collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Cultural Affairs prepared a report on CSN‘s initiatives and efforts to improve recruitment, retention and graduation of students from diverse backgrounds. The report was presented to the Cultural Diversity Committee of the NSHE Board of Regents at the March 4-5 Meeting. Financial Services reported a record increase in Federal Pell Grant recipients. During the spring semester, recruitment staff will host Specialty Career Days for high school sophomores and juniors attending magnet schools. The Specialty Career Days allow participating students to attend 90-minute seminars designed to increase their knowledge of opportunities in various industries, and familiarize them with the academic rigors of the CTE/Technical fields. Specialty Career Days will be offered with the assistance of Perkins funds and the collaboration of Academic Affairs‘ Professors Dr. Warren Hioki and Dr. Mike Spangler and will focus on the following fields this year:
Alternative Fuels, Diesel Technology, Auto Body
Biomedical, Mechanical, and Electronic Engineering
Media Game and Graphic Design
Travel & Tourism
Forensic Science
Culinary Arts
Student Affairs has a new Online New Student Orientation Program designed to increase accessibility to students and reduce costs to CSN. Dr. Byrd says it is ready for implementation. CSN‘s Tutorial Services Program earned national recognition and certification from the College Reading and Language Certification Program. Veterans services will relocate to Charleston D-204 effective Fall 2010.
Dave Morgan highlighted news from the Administrative Faculty Assembly beginning with announcing the new AFA Chair-Elect, Vartouhi Asherian. Vartouhi officially begins her term in September at the AFA‘s first meeting for the new academic year. The AFA Employee of the month for March is Linda Chapman. There is a new representative from Student Affairs, Wayne Schultz. He replaces Iluminada Dioquino who retired. All bylaws changes were ratified at the December meeting and are now posted online at this link: http://www.csn.edu/PDFFiles/Administration/AFA/Files/AFABylawsRevisedJanuary2010.pdf
Dave also solicited feedback for legal counsel on the proposed 4/10 workweek and furlough/holiday issues being considered by the legislature. He will summarize the comments and questions. Patty Charlton reminded everyone that there is much to vet out and the final guidance will come from John Mueller when the issues particular to CSN are resolved. The next AFA General Meeting is Friday, March 26 at 1:00 pm in H-105 (Charleston campus).
Dr. Richards reminded everyone that any changes to the work schedules, benefits, etc. not only need much more review, but also require legislative action. He asked the group to wait for facts and not fuel any rumors of action.
Larry Mason announced Women‘s History Month is this month through April 2.
Meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m.
Next meeting scheduled April 12, 2010.