Cabinet Notes
April 18, 2011
Cabinet Members:
President Mike Richards
Vartouhi Asherian, Chair, Administrative Faculty Assembly – absent – Shellie Keller, proxy
John Bearce, Director of Institutional Research
K.C. Brekken, Communications Director – absent
Thomas Brown, Chief Campus Administrator, Cheyenne
Art Byrd, Vice President, Student Affairs
Patty Charlton, Senior Vice President for Finance & Facilities
Chemene Crawford, Interim Vice President for Administration
J.T. Creedon, Student Government President
Darren Divine, Vice President, Academic Affairs
Richard Hinckley, General Counsel – absent
Bill Kerney, Faculty Senate Chair
Cat Maihen, President, Classified Council
Larry Mason, Chief Diversity Officer
Jacque Matthews, Executive Director, Foundation
Penny McCollum, Campus Site Administrator, Henderson Campus
Joan McGee, Chief Campus Administrator, Charleston Campus – absent
Dan Morris, Executive Director, Business Operations – absent
Tracy Sherman, Faculty Senate Chair-Elect
Mugunth Vaithylingam, Chief Information Officer – absent
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richards at 9 a.m. He began with announcing the passing of UNR President Milton Glick over the weekend, and asked the cabinet members to honor Dr. Glick with a moment of silence.
The March cabinet meeting was canceled due to Dr. Richards’ evaluation and postponed further due to the American Association of Community Colleges Conference. The notes of the February 14, 2011 cabinet meeting were approved. Dr. Richards mentioned several upcoming events including the Legacy of Achievement Gala on April 30, Commencement Ceremony May 23, some tentative special Board of Regents meetings on May 6 and May 27, and the regular Board of Regents meeting in Reno, June 16-17. The regular session of the Legislature ends June 7.
Jacque Matthews spoke a bit about the Gala and was pleased that there have been 50 tables sold so far. She said there would be some special honorees at the event which commemorates CSN’s 40 years of service to Southern Nevada. Some of the honorees include Thomas Brown and John Rosich, who have been with CSN all 40 years, and CSN’s first President, Stephen Nicholson. Jacque reminded everyone about the celebrity golf tournament set to take place at the Badlands Golf Course June 2. The Foundation is still looking for 10 more teams to play, so she asked the cabinet members to tell all their friends and anyone who might enjoy a day of golf with celebrity sports figures.
J.T. Creedon gave an update on Student Government. He said the constituents were mostly involved in advocacy activities, continuing their push in the legislature. Other goings-on include Club Ride (in progress), new furniture in Charleston’s B Building Lobby and Cheyenne’s June Whitley Student Center, and a $56,000 donation for solar panels at the Cheyenne Campus. On April 15 there was a no-tax rally that had a turnout of about 200 people; the protest rally from CSN had about 1500 participants. J.T. was proud to report that it was the largest protest rally in Nevada history.
Thomas Brown shared an abridged version of CSN’s Affirmative Action Plan for 2011. He informed the cabinet members that he meets regularly with Dr. Richards regarding CSN’s Affirmative Action goals. This year’s plan begins with the department’s Mission Statement, Goals, Objectives and a letter of support from Dr. Richards. Thomas informed everyone that compliance with Affirmative Action regulations ensures that CSN is eligible for many grants; and that conversely, non-compliance can result in the rescinding of funds awarded. Thomas works with all the search committees and reviews all job descriptions to ensure compliance as well.
He explained several of the tables contained in the report, which list the departments and divisions and record the compliance and disparity with regard to targeted goals. He said that as a whole, CSN is doing fairly well, but the objective is to continually improve our results. The full report can be accessed using this link: http://www.csn.edu/uploadedfiles/Affirmative%20Action/2011%20AA%20Plan.pdf
Chemene Crawford reported on the departments in Administrative Operations.
- CAPE is looking for MyCSN trainers. Chemene asked that potential trainers contact Anneli Adams. CAPE also recently sent out a professional development survey for input as to what offerings to present to faculty and staff, and is looking for presenters for Convocation as well.
- Campus Police has hired an Emergency Preparedness Manager, Frank Bertone, in compliance with the Emergency Management Grant. The position is temporary and funded by the grant.
- Human Resources – training sessions for the professional faculty and staff evaluation process in PeopleAdmin are being offered on all three campuses: Charleston, April 20th, 2-4 p.m.; Cheyenne, April 28th, 9-11 a.m.; Henderson, May 6th, 2-4 p.m.
Cat Maihen gave an update on the goings on in Classified Council since she last reported to Cabinet. The first item was a good donation to Angel Tree from funds raised with BooGrams in October. Cat and other council members volunteered to assist with Climate Survey distribution in January to employees without regular access to computers. Their efforts added 56 surveys to the pool of responses, the aggregate of which are being evaluated by the Climate Survey Committee currently. During Spring Convocation, the Foundation made available help with preparing wills and trusts for CSN employees, and many classified folks enjoyed the complimentary assistance and information. The Classified Luncheon during Spring Break had a good turnout and several members participated in a roundtable discussion with Dr. Richards afterward. There will be one more fundraiser in May; and in June Cat’s term as President of the Council is up. She said there may be amendments to the bylaws that will decrease representation to one representative per 40 employees, down from the 1:25 ratio that exists currently.
Larry Mason announced the Asian Pacific Islander month kick-off celebration would take place on April 20th in the circular courtyard outside of the “D” Building. He reminded the members to look for notices about upcoming events this month and participate whenever possible. There are a number of events at the Henderson campus this year as well, including an anti-defamation league meeting and peace summit. In May, an Asian Pacific Islander luncheon is being scheduled-details to be announced. The Latin Leadership Summit will take place soon with CCSD members participating, in particular Canyon Springs High School and Mojave High School representatives.
Penny McCollum said the Henderson Horticulture Department received a gift from the Aria Hotel of three large palm trees. They were planted in the area in front of building C on the Henderson Campus. The campus staff facilitated a writing campaign to assist students, staff and faculty through the process of accessing the Budget Issues and MyCSNStory websites so they could share personal stories with members of the legislature. The Henderson Campus/Hinman Elementary Communities-in-Schools Partnership has been productive and facilitated several events including:
- 2nd Annual CSN Baseball/Softball clinic October 2
- Adopted two Hinman Elementary School families, donated holiday gifts and dinners
- Volunteered for Hinman Reading week
- Will hold a Hinman Family Night Out – BBQ and CSN Baseball Game on April 29. This is the first year and the campus has received 65 RSVPs so far. Penny is working on acquiring media coverage for the event.
- Judging the Hinman Science Fair on May 10 for the 2nd year
- 5th grade field trip to Henderson Campus planned for 2011-2012 academic year
- Participation in College Awareness night at Hinman in 2011-2012 academic year
Other happenings on the Henderson Campus included a very successful blood drive in March, with another one planned for late April, the Spring Ketchup in March that was well-attended, and the upcoming Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, April 28. The Henderson Campus Social Committee hosted monthly spring semester social gatherings for the Henderson campus community—February, “Presidential Tea,” March, Spring Fling Picnic; and planned for May are pre-finals campus treat deliveries. In preparation for fall registration beginning April 26, AA support staff are training on the new PeopleSoft System. Penny was happy to report that all the issues related to the January flood at the Boulder City Center have been resolved. She is very appreciative of Luis Tristan and the amazing job the Facilities Department did in readying the building to resume spring semester classes.
Darren Divine, on Joan McGee’s behalf, gave a quick update on CSN’s Strategic Plan. He asked that the cabinet members pay attention to the “numina.net” reminders that are being sent to various department heads, VP’s and Administrators, and read the objectives. He assured everyone that the tasks listed with due dates are not major undertakings. They are mostly things we are already doing; and the reminders are mostly prompts to encourage you to take a closer look at the items and to be sure the progress is on track. If it is not, the reminder serves as a cue to address it promptly.
John Bearce reported that the new PeopleSoft system would be live for fall registration on April 26. Students may have questions about the new process and a “how-to” page has been set up at this link: http://www.csn.edu/aboutmycsn
Jacque Matthews asked to end the meeting on a positive note, and read a letter from a former student. The letter was written in response to the Foundation’s spread in the Las Vegas Review Journal commemorating CSN’s 40th Anniversary. The letter detailed how CSN was instrumental in her success and in the success of much of her family. Her CSN Associates Degree opened the door to continuing her education at Loyola Marymount, then to U.C. Berkley where she earned her law degree. One brother, after earning his Associate at CSN went on to Harvard; another brother transferred from CSN to UNLV and is studying to be a physician. Her father teaches and tutors at CSN. The letter, Jacque said, is particularly timely and serves to remind us that what we do here really goes beyond the immediate. She reminded us that we here at CSN touch lives every day and we are really doing good things for people.
Meeting adjourned at 10 a.m.
Next meeting scheduled May 9, 2011.