September 10, 2020 Agenda and Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Special Called Meeting
Blackboard Collaborate Audio and Video Conference
Thursday, September 10, 2020, 6:30 p.m.
Board Members Present
- Ms. Morgan Arnold
- Mr. John Baines
- Mr. Larry Brown
- Mr. Sam Collier
- Mr. John Hayden
- Mr. Erik Hermes
- Mrs. Ruth Howell
- Mr. David Schoenling
- Mr. Charles L. Session, Jr
Board Members Absent
- Mr. Charles Coleman
Gateway and KCTCS Faculty and Staff Present
- Ms. Jane Frantz, Executive Assistant, President’s Office
- Dr. Fernando Figueroa, President/CEO
- Dr. Denise Fritsch, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness
- Ms. Christi Godman, Associate Vice President, Workforce Solutions
- Ms. Amy Hatfield, Associate Vice President, Human Resources
- Mr. Patrick Lamping, Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications
- Ms. Erica Marye, Assistant Director, Marketing and Communications
- Mr. Steve McGuire, Senior Instructional Designer/Developer
- Mr. Doug Penix, Associate Vice President for Academic Services
- Ms. Meredith Ramler, Assistant Professor - Human Services
- Mr. Paul Tontillo, Director of Budget & Fiscal Services
- Dr. Teri VonHandorf, Vice President, Academic Affairs & Provost
- Mr. Jamie Younger, Vice President, Administrative & Business Affairs
Guests:
- Ms. Kristen Arant
Agenda
Before the meeting was called to order, the new student representative, Ms. Morgan Arnold, took the oath of office. Notary Jane Frantz administered the oath.
- Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silence/Roll Call
- Board Chair Erik Hermes, called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed a moment of silence. Roll call was taken. The record will reflect that a quorum was present.
- Mission Moment
- Dr. Figueroa introduced Ms. Kristen Arant, Gateway and NKU graduate. Ms. Arant shared that after battling addiction and receiving support as a single mother, she wanted to give back to the community as a social worker. She enrolled at Gateway in 2014, completed her degree, and transferred to NKU. She worked very hard to complete her bachelor’s degree in four years. She treasured the individual attention she received at Gateway. She felt that her Gateway experience was like finding a family – she was always welcome and accepted. Dr. Figueroa thanked her for sharing her story of finding a better life. He congratulated her on the courage and grit that she demonstrated to accomplish her goals.
- Approval of Minutes
- Chair Hermes called for a motion to approve the minutes from the May 28, 2020, meeting. Upon motion by Mr. Larry Brown, and seconded by Mr. Charles Session, a roll call vote was taken to approve the May 28, 2020, minutes as presented. The vote was unanimous to approve.
- Annual Reaffirmation of the Code of Ethics
- Chair Hermes asked the members of the board if everyone had a chance to review the
code of ethics, as listed in Appendix A of the bylaws. After receiving confirmation
that the board read the code of ethics as required for the annual reaffirmation, Chair
Hermes called for a motion to approve the reaffirmation of the code of ethics. Upon
motion by Mr. David Schoenling, and seconded by Ms. Ruth Howell, a roll call vote was taken, with unanimous approval of the motion to reaffirm by signature the code of ethics. Chair Hermes then asked each board member to sign their copy of the signature page provided and return the signed page to Gateway Office of the
President, to be kept on file with the bylaws.
- Chair Hermes asked the members of the board if everyone had a chance to review the
code of ethics, as listed in Appendix A of the bylaws. After receiving confirmation
that the board read the code of ethics as required for the annual reaffirmation, Chair
Hermes called for a motion to approve the reaffirmation of the code of ethics. Upon
- Committee Reports
- Nominating Committee
Mr. Sam Collier spoke on behalf of Mr. Charlie Coleman, who was not able to attend the board meeting. The committee met on August 11, 2020, to nominate the executive officers to be elected to new terms at the October 29, 2020, board meeting. The nominated board members were contacted and agreed to serve in the nominated roles. The officer election will occur during the October annual meeting. - Finance and Facilities Committee – Mr. Baines
Mr. John Baines said that the Finance and Facilities committee will meet before the October 2020 meeting and will report at the October meeting. - Performance Evaluation of the President Committee – Mr. Session
Mr. Session said the committee has not met since the May meeting when the evaluation summary was presented to the board, approved, and sent to Dr. Box. The committee will meet prior to the October meeting to review Dr. Figueroa’s goals and objectives for the 2020-21 school year.
- Nominating Committee
- Chairperson's Report
- Chair Hermes welcomed everyone back to the first board meeting of the 2020-21 year
and congratulated Ms. Arnold on being elected the student representative. He recognized
the efforts of everyone at Gateway and thanked them for the tremendous work resulting
in strong enrollment numbers for the fall semester. He reminded the board members
of the annual meeting on October 29, 2020, when the new officers will be elected from
the nominating committee slate of candidates and any nominations from the floor. After
the election, the new officers will assign the committee chairs and members. In the
meantime, Ms. Arnold will be assigned to fill the position on the committees that
the previous student representative held, which were on the Strategic Planning Development
and Governance committees. Chair Hermes asked each current committee chair to submit
an annual report for review at the annual meeting. Dr. Figueroa asked Chair Hermes
to add a request for the chairs to review the definition of the committees and present
whether the committee still reflects the
function of the committees in the bylaws.
- Chair Hermes welcomed everyone back to the first board meeting of the 2020-21 year
and congratulated Ms. Arnold on being elected the student representative. He recognized
the efforts of everyone at Gateway and thanked them for the tremendous work resulting
in strong enrollment numbers for the fall semester. He reminded the board members
of the annual meeting on October 29, 2020, when the new officers will be elected from
the nominating committee slate of candidates and any nominations from the floor. After
the election, the new officers will assign the committee chairs and members. In the
meantime, Ms. Arnold will be assigned to fill the position on the committees that
the previous student representative held, which were on the Strategic Planning Development
and Governance committees. Chair Hermes asked each current committee chair to submit
an annual report for review at the annual meeting. Dr. Figueroa asked Chair Hermes
to add a request for the chairs to review the definition of the committees and present
whether the committee still reflects the
- President’s Report - Dr. Figueroa
- Dr. Figueroa asked the board members to share their responses to the question he sent
them a week ago. He asked in what ways can Gateway stay top-of-mind and maintain goodwill
with legislators heading into the next session. Chair Hermes suggested an in-person
meeting, with social distancing measures, to show unified support of Gateway by the
Gateway Board of Directors, Foundation Board, Dr Figueroa, faculty, and staff with
the NKY caucus members. The goals that these groups are working together to accomplish
could be communicated in a unified manner.
Mr. Baines suggested using a personal story-telling approach to communicate how Gateway makes a difference in the community and that the college’s results are scalable. He recommended a brief, in-person, socially distanced opportunity for legislators to hear business partners speak about success with Gateway apprenticeships, hiring graduates, and receiving Gateway customized employee training. This would reinforce to the elected officials that the money being spent for Kentucky community colleges is producing great results.
Mr. Brown recommended short videos of individual students, alumni, community leaders, and business partners, to be combined into a presentation for groups such as Rotary clubs and for legislators to see why Gateway is important to NKY. He recommended also including Gateway economic impact numbers. Board members could share the video in their one-on-one meetings with legislators.
Mr. Schoenling suggested recording faculty members speaking about memorable students, followed by the students themselves sharing what they were able to achieve because of Gateway.
Dr. Figueroa thanked the board for their suggestions and said that he will work with the leadership team to implement them in the best way. He agreed with the common theme of increasing awareness of the family culture at Gateway and using personal stories to demonstrate that Gateway is vital to the community.
Dr. Figueroa presented updates on the synchronous and asynchronous online learning provided in response to Covid-19 and the in-person labs that are being held in the career and technical courses. He thanked Vice President of Administrative and Business Affairs Jamie Younger as the college Healthy at Work officer and Associate Vice President of HR Amy Hatfield in their efforts to direct and communicate safety guidelines and responses of the college.
Dr. Figueroa shared that Dean of Institutional Effectiveness Denise Fritsch is leading the efforts in collecting input for the new college vision statement. It will be presented at the annual meeting of the board.
Dr. Figueroa presented a Gateway philanthropy report to update the board regarding the Foundation’s efforts to increase giving by the college board, the Foundation board and the faculty and staff. The participation in all groups has increased dramatically in the past year. The SSS (TRIO) grant was renewed and new scholarships have been funded.
Dr. Figueroa said that at a forum Senator Chris McDaniel asked why the KCTCS colleges had not spent their CARES funds as fast as the four-year Universities and Colleges. Universities had loss of funds from athletics, dorms, and canceled events, which community colleges did not have. Dr. Figueroa shared a document listing the
ways Gateway fully spent its CARES student support and institutional funds, which included money to reimburse students for their increased expenses during the pandemic and to provide technology to faculty, staff and students for remote work and learning. This information is being sent to the members of the NKY caucus.
Dr. Figueroa gave an update on the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of Gateway and the NKY region. The NKY Chamber GROW NKY initiative is focusing on the importance of recruiting and maintaining diverse talent and providing equitable and welcoming environments to attract more people here. Gateway is demonstrating
cultural competence through curriculum development and recruitment of students, faculty, and staff. Gateway is participating with partners to assess NKY’s diversity, equity, and inclusion and to communicate the economic advantage to being a welcoming community committed to equity and diversity.
Dr. Figueroa shared an enrollment update by reviewing the severe outlook that informed the budget and enrollment projections developed in the spring. Gateway is developing reporting of the data showing the key levers for success with recruitment, enrollment, and retention. The current enrollment numbers show Gateway above the budgeted numbers for the fall semester. The state receipts are up but there is still concern about federal support amounts. He expressed great appreciation for the staff and faculty efforts to share the Gateway story, maintain trust in the community, welcome more people to access education, and to support our students to be successful.
Chair Hermes congratulated Dr. Figueroa and Gateway on the great results. Mr. Session congratulated Dr. Figueroa and thanked the staff for their efforts to transition to the fall semester. Chair Hermes thanked everyone for attending the board meeting, including the guests.
- Dr. Figueroa asked the board members to share their responses to the question he sent
them a week ago. He asked in what ways can Gateway stay top-of-mind and maintain goodwill
with legislators heading into the next session. Chair Hermes suggested an in-person
meeting, with social distancing measures, to show unified support of Gateway by the
Gateway Board of Directors, Foundation Board, Dr Figueroa, faculty, and staff with
the NKY caucus members. The goals that these groups are working together to accomplish
could be communicated in a unified manner.
- Adjournment
- Upon motion by Mr. Collier, and seconded by Mr. Schoenling, Chair Hermes adjourned the meeting at 7:43 p.m
Important Dates to Remember
- Board Meeting dates
- October 29 – Annual Meeting
- December 10
