The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees approved multiple personnel matters on Tuesday evening, February 23rd.
One personnel matter involved the resignation of the Director of Admissions and Marketing Kristie Cross. Her last day on campus will be March 19th. She will then take vacation time, and her official last day will be May 14th. She has been employed at NCMC for five and a half years. Cross is leaving her position because her husband has accepted a promotion that requires relocating to the East Coast.
Maintenance Employee Kevin Hutchison’s resignation was also approved. His final day will be February 26th.
The retirement was approved for Athletic Director/Women’s Softball Coach Steve Richman. His last day will be June 30th. He has been at NCMC for 21 years.
Tenure status was granted for Chemistry/Physics Faculty Jeffrey Grell, Psychology Faculty Doctor Lindsay Oram, and Early Childhood Instructor December Noel Staddie. Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre reported they have completed their fifth year at NCMC and contributed to the college through the instruction of classes and service.
The board approved job description changes for the athletic director and director of marketing and admissions. Chief of Staff Kristi Harris reported the descriptions were revised to better fit the needs of NCMC.
A job description was also approved for a new full-time nursing faculty position at the Maryville site.
The board waived the first reading and adopted a virtual day for the college’s inclement weather policy. A virtual day will allow the college to work and hold classes virtually for an alternative method of operation instead of closing.
The ownership transfer was approved of a small-scale Mitsubishi RH-6FH3520-D1-S13 training robot to Grand River Technical School in Chillicothe at no cost, so the instructional equipment may be used and maintained by GRTS instructional staff.
The Green Hills Head Start child selection criteria was approved for the Preschool and Early Head Start for the Non-Competitive Year 2 Grant. Head Start Director Sue Ewigman reported the criteria have not changed much this year. Poverty guidelines were updated, and she noted they are slightly higher this year.
Head Start Director Janet Gott reported only one child has been quarantined in the last few weeks for Green Hills Head Start. She said that the student was only a close contact and did not test positive for COVID-19.
She noted the Unionville Head Start Center was closed for a while due to inclement weather and being asked by the City of Unionville due to conserving energy.
Vice President of Student Affairs Doctor Kristen Alley said no students were currently reported as positive for COVID-19 or quarantined. Harris added that no employees were, either.
Alley announced NCMC nominated Alyssa Olson of Cainsville for the Newman Civic Fellowship.
Twenty-one units of blood were collected at the recent Student Senate Red Cross Blood Drive.
Trustee Doctor John Holcomb said he likes that the Student Senate held the drive. However, he wishes it had been with the Community Blood Center because donations collected by the blood center go to area hospitals. He noted the blood collected by the Red Cross may not go to area hospitals unless there is a disaster or an emergency.
Alley said the college could extend an invitation to the Community Blood Center.
Londre reported Library Assistant Ronna Owens is working with English Instructor Linda Cowling on a collaborative project to give students more individualized reading opportunities. The project involves finding books that match up with student interests and building them into the workshop portion of class. Londre said the project made things more personalized.
Preparations continue for the Higher Learning Commission’s comprehensive visit in September. Londre noted the visitors will want to meet with the board to talk about how the trustees participate in the governance of NCMC. Most questions will likely focus on integrity, which involves board activities, training, and knowledge about what is going on at the college.
Chief Information Officer Jennifer Triplett gave an update on the infrastructure refresh project, which includes improvements to NCMC’s data centers, wired network, wireless network, firewalls, and video surveillance system. She reported new data center hardware was installed, configured, and tested in January. Planning was also done for the data center migration and network upgrades. The data center migration was completed this month, and virtual servers are now running on the new data center hardware.
Triplett noted new firewalls were installed at the Main, Barton, North Belt Center, Maryville, and Bethany campuses. Information Technology Services is working with contractors and vendors to ensure the new systems are fully functional.
Triplett mentioned the next steps for the infrastructure refresh include continued tuning and performance monitoring of the new data center hardware and network equipment and logic as well as planning the installation of edge switches, wireless access points, and additional cameras. Work is expected to continue throughout the rest of 2021.
President Doctor Lenny Klaver reported applications year to date were up by 105 as of the morning of February 23rd compared to this time in 2020.
He gave an update on construction projects. Residence hall construction was temporarily halted due to the polar vortex, but he hopes to place rafters and button-up next week to begin interior work.
NCMC is waiting on a block grant reply for the Savannah Center. Londre and Director of Facility Randy Young are watching on the property.
Planning and cost breakdowns are advancing for a practice facility expansion.
Klaver said NCMC will receive $1.4 million in institutional funds in the second round of CARES Act funds. Some of the funds will be used to hire a mental health counselor. Alley noted the position is needed, and faculty and staff are excited about it. There is also a possibility the funds could be used for transportation for teams, HVAC filtering, and additional IT upgrades.
Klaver reported Rich Gross Solutions is updating the college’s profile, developing a case statement, and determining a campaign feasibility amount regarding NCMC’s preparation for a 100-year celebration in 2025. Rich Gross has worked with the college in the past and is familiar with it.
The board entered into an executive session for discussion of employees, legal action, real estate, and scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals.
