Here is an informal account of the Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees meeting for November 25, 2013.
Details on the actions items and reports are contained in the Board Packet available online at https://www.nmc.edu/about/board-of-trustees/agendas/2013/112513-regular.pdf
On Monday, November 25, 2013, the NMC Board of Trustees
REPORTS/UPDATES:
• Mary Beeker, Librarian at the Osterlin Library presented on the Online Water Library (OWL) Project. She explained that the institutional repository serves as a hub for information collected about water resources. This is important documentation to have as it needs to be preserved for posterity to help understand the past of our water systems. Another unique aspect of the library is that it will house non-profits’ work in addition to resources gathered by NMC. Most college libraries of this type do not collect information from other non-profits’. Some of these non-profits include the Inland Seas Education Association and the Water Shed Center of Grand Traverse Bay. Since it began, OWL has already seen queries in its resources from other parts of Michigan as well as outside the state and some out of the US. Beeker said that currently their mission with OWL is to get older information into the library first since it is fragile. She also stated that at this time OWL is not a line item and does not need any funding from the board. Library endowment funds have sufficed thus far, however that may change in the future.
• Vicki Cook, Vice President of Finance and Administration stated that for the Sensitive Information Policy report there have been no incidents of identity theft to report in the last year.
• Chris Weber, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services reported that enrollment has increased since last year and that there has been an increase in inquiries and applications for spring semester.
• Vicki Cook, Vice President of Finance and Administration stated that there have been no changes since the fall semester regarding the Financial Report and that they will be working on projections to be presented in January.
• Doug Bishop, Board Representative’s Foundation Report told the board about the Giving Tree project which the Foundation is spearheading again for the third year. A committee has been formed for the Giving Tree and they oversaw the coordination of applications, review of applications and distribution of the trees and ornaments with information on them to each campus. Ornaments are still available at each campus and the committee is asking for everyone to help the 41 NMC or University Center students and their families in need.
• President Timothy Nelson presented to the board the information that he received when he attended a meeting of the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA). The MCCA presented information about a constitutional amendment dealing with regulating tuition for veterans at the in-district rate. The resolution would not help any veterans who are post 9/11.
The MCCA is asking each community college to state how they stand on the issue, whether they are neutral or have an opinion on it. The board urged Nelson to not support this.
President Nelson said the MCCA has changes they support to the election law which states, “If a community college board has a vacancy it must be filled in 30 days. If it is not filled, the intermediate school district boards will appoint someone to the position.”
• In his board chair update, Doug Bishop told his fellow Trustees that location selection for their retreat will soon be taking place. He also reported that there was terrific attendance at the Maritime Memorial and it was a reminder of what a terrific job Great Lakes Maritime Academy Superintendent Jerry Achenbach is doing. The simulator demonstration was also very cool and very realistic. Lastly he mentioned that the Veterans Day Tribute was well attended despite the weather. The ceremony was great and it was evident that the veterans felt appreciated.
• In the president’s update, President Nelson told the board that the third 20 years book, Under the Pines, is included in each of their board packets and he extended a thank you to all those who helped make the book possible. He also informed everyone that NMC had been chosen to be highlighted as a special insert in the Traverse City Business News in November and that the board would receive a copy at the next board meeting. Nelson also reported on how well the recent Behind the Scenes- NMC Community Tour went. Attendance at the event was 24 people who included members of the community from all walks of life. Trustees Cheryl Gore Follette and Bill Myers both attended as representation of the board and both agreed that the event was great. Nelson’s thoughts are that community tours should be held once a semester and run more often in the summer.
Nelson said that NMC will have an economic impact study done soon by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research firm. The hope is for this to be done by late spring, will cost $9,000 and is the first one that will be done with a community college. They will be analyzing three separate models including: Grand Traverse county, the six-county region we serve, and lastly the ten- county council of government. The project will also sponsor two community conversations that will include the board.
The next meeting of the NMC Board of Trustees is scheduled for December 16, 2013 at the Oleson Center at 5 p.m.