November Cabinet Notes

November 08, 2010

Cabinet Members:
President Mike Richards
Vartouhi Asherian, Chair, Administrative Faculty Assembly
John Bearce, Director of Institutional Research – absent
K.C. Brekken, Communications Director
Thomas Brown, Chief Campus Administrator, Cheyenne
Art Byrd, Vice President, Student Affairs – absent  
Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President for Finance & Facilities
Chemene Crawford, Interim Vice President for Administration  
J.T. Creedon, Student Government President – absent  
Darren Divine, Vice President, Academic Affairs
Richard Hinckley, General Counsel
Bill Kerney, Faculty Senate Chair                                           
Cat Maihen, President, Classified Council
Larry Mason, Chief Diversity Officer – absent
Jacque Matthews, Executive Director, Foundation
Penny McCollum, Campus Site Administrator, Henderson Campus
Joan McGee, Chief Campus Administrator, Charleston Campus
Dan Morris, Executive Director, Business Operations – absent  
Tracy Sherman, Faculty Senate Chair-Elect – absent
Mugunth Vaithylingam, Chief Information Officer  

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richards at 9 a.m.

The notes of the October 11, 2010 cabinet meeting were approved and upcoming calendar events were reviewed. Among the events is the CSN Holiday Party at the Texas Station on December 9. Dr. Richards encouraged everyone to attend and bring non-perishable food donations for Three Square Food Bank.

Jacque Matthews thanked the Police Department, K.C. Brekken, Penny McCollum, Joan McGee, and Chemene Crawford for all the help with the Fun Fest. She had no final report on financials from the event yet. She said the wind was very problematic, but they are grateful for the experience and know what to do differently. Almost all of the vendors would return for another event next year. She also noted that there were many families at the Fun Fest, and lots of children.

Jacque gave a brief report on the Foundation Executive Board meeting. The Board has a strategic plan integrated into CSN’s strategic plan. SunGard provided the facilitator, Bob Wheeler, who did a great job. There are three major areas of focus:

  1. New buildings, expansions, capital projects
  2. Scholarships
  3. Institutional Support – faculty endowments, program endowments, etc.

The next step will be trustees meeting with college staff to gather information and recommendations to bring to the Board in January. Dr. Richards had very favorable comments about the Foundation Board of Trustees and told the group that Robbie Graham would be presenting at the Board of Regents meeting in December.

Annette Lord read an update on the iNtegrate project provided by John Bearce, and distributed the Fall 2010 Headcount and FTE comparisons as of October 15. The iNtegrate planned tasks are right on target for implementation. As CSN moves closer to full implementation there will be an increasing workload on the project team and Student Affairs staff, with emphasis on testing and validating conversion data and modifications to the system.

Patty Charlton told the group that Bart Patterson would be at CSN facilitating an Efficiency and Effectiveness Review on November 17. The review would focus on the administrative structure of CSN, streamlining operations, and HR/Payroll processes. The meeting will most likely last all day as there are around 40 discussion items.

Richard Hinckley encouraged the cabinet members to communicate with all 63 legislators for Nevada with concerns, ideas for solutions, and thanks for their work. He asked cabinet members to suggest that same course of action to their departments as well. He reminded everyone there would be a lot of pressure on the legislature to reduce benefit costs and services; and the elected representatives need to know where we stand. Dr. Richards confirmed that the PEBP issues deserve a lot of attention. Carolyn Collins is representing CSN on the task force. He will send an “all” e-mail to touch on 3 topics that are on the forefront of current CSN business: PEBP, CSN Work Climate Survey, and Intercollegiate Athletics.

Penny McCollum reported on happenings at the Henderson Campus and Boulder City Center. She is meeting with with Academic Affairs and Facilities this month to designate a central location for Henderson Tutorial Services. She welcomed Stephanie Hill to the Henderson Campus as Interim Director of Student Affairs. Solar lighting was installed in the parking lot behind the C Building. Penny is working with Facilities to get additional RTC Club ride parking spots installed in each parking lot. Penny continues to work with the campus food service vendor, Sodexo, to match campus community needs for variety, fresh and healthy items, along with an espresso machine. Henderson Campus will celebrate Native American Heritage Month with a Native American Film Festival, Food Festival, and Poetry Reading. The Boulder City Center hosted a large community event: 31er’s Boulder Dam Community Educational Outreach and Luncheon in October. The event celebrated 75 years of the Dam and the workers who built it.

Joan McGee distributed topics of interest regarding the Charleston Campus, and told everyone about a group that may tour the new Engelstad Health Sciences Building in December. The group will consist of Respiratory Therapists who will be attending the American Association for Respiratory Care Conference in Las Vegas. Joan also gave an update on the Strategic Plan. She reported that CSN’s Strategic Plan reminders are currently being sent by the software program. Responsible parties would receive a communication for each goal assigned to them when a due date approaches. The reminder emails are generated 90 days, 60 days and 30 days prior to the due date, with additional reminders the day before, day of, and day after if not completed. Joan will be attending a conference of the Society for College and University Planning in January, as part 2 of the three-part training program begun in Minneapolis last summer. Other topics of interest listed in Joan’s report included:

  • Finalization of the site coordinator job description that will be used for all professional employees in that position
  • Completion of inventories at the learning centers
  • Completion of the Campus Administration Policy and Procedures Handbook for all campuses
  • Thanking of all volunteers for the Fall Fun Fest
  • Assistance in coordination of Leadership Las Vegas/Leadership Henderson Education Day classes planned for January and February 2011

Dr. Richards said a Statewide Education Summit may take place at a Las Vegas Hotel in January. The Chancellor, new Governor, Superintendents, and Legislators will be invited to attend.

Mugunth Vaithylingam gave an update on OTS matters. The VOIP project is moving forward. The phones have been purchased and the infrastructure is almost complete. A large refresh is planned for 2011 for classroom computers. November is Cyber Security Awareness Month. Students and Staff can see tips for improving security by reading the Get Connected Newsletter/Blog at this link: http://blog.csn.edu/ots  The 4th Annual CSN Tech Connection event will be held January 19 at the Henderson campus, presented by OTS and CAPE. The event aims to introduce new, existing, and emerging technologies as an interactive and educational experience. Mugunth is also trying to convince Lenovo to bring their annual Think Tank Conference to CSN. The conference would give CSN National recognition and grant money is available to institutions and students who participate.

Dr. Richards reminded everyone to look for the Climate Survey email link on November 16. The results of the survey will be reviewed by a committee – not by Administration. The committee will make recommendations based on the results. He also reminded everyone to keep current with the PEBP meetings and encouraged solution-oriented feedback from all.

Meeting adjourned at 9:45 a.m.

Next meeting scheduled December 13, 2010.

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