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Published on 5/6/2024.

Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Dr. Robertson read the District’s land acknowledgement recognizing our area’s Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land that College of the Redwoods occupies. 

We acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered today is unceded territory of the Wiyot, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok. We honor them and all neighboring tribes by our ongoing commitment to developing trusting, reciprocal, and long-lasting partnerships.

Comments/Board Business

Board Member Comments: Trustee Kelley stated that he attended the CCLC Annual Conference (I attached his written summary of the conference to blog post). Vice President Dr. Mullery attended the scholarship reception, the LGBTQ+ summit, and the Government Relations webinar. Trustee Biggin noted that she attended the Chancellor's Office webinar. Trustee Mathews wrote that she attended the inaugural meeting of the Del Norte Advisory Council and the Government Relations webinar. Truste Pedrotti also attended the Government Relations webinar. President Dr. Robertson mentioned that she and Vice President Dr. Mullery hosted Management Council and Academic Senate leadership for luncheon to talk about appropriate Trustee/constituent group interaction.

Board Committee Reports: Trustee Pedrotti mentioned that the Board's self-evaluation survey was deployed April 17 to May 6. Vice President Dr. Mullery noted that she's impressed with the work Marty is doing with the Foundation Board and the President's Evaluation findings will be provided to the Trustees in closed session today. The findings will be discussed in detail in closed session in June along with my self-evaluation.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: We are going to say farewell to five of our colleagues—one to retirement and four to resignation. Erik Sorensen will retire from his Manager of Information Technology position effective July 31, 2024. Robert Landry (Assistant Professor of Agriculture), Heather Mitchell (Instructional Support Specialist III – Nursing), Erica Silver (Instructional Support Specialist III – DSPS), and Janet Skillings (ECE Associate are resigning from the District.

Per Administrative Procedure 7217, unless there is mutual agreement between the Administration and the Academic Senate to the contrary, we will replace Robert Landry's agriculture faculty position since he will vacate the position while in tenure process.

Although we will say goodbye to five colleagues, we have the opportunity to welcome four classified staff and three tenure track faculty to our college community. Michelle August (Payroll Technician), Brian Barreto (Groundskeeper I), Schuyler Kirsch (Research Analyst), and Kali Rothrock (Student Development Advisor) will join our classified service. Joining our faculty ranks are Paula Amis (Assistant Professor Nursing Science/Clinical Practice), Carolyn Perkins (Assistant Professor Social Work and Human Services), and Sean Robertson (Assistant Professor Fire Technology).

I also want to recognize and congratulate Anna Duffy for her change of status. Anna moved from Enrollment Services Operations Analyst to the Senior Enrollment Services Operations Analyst position.

Approve/Ratify Contracts, Agreements, and MOUs: I would like to call our collective attention to two particularly significant contracts that were approved and/or ratified at this Board meeting. Bear River Rancheria Chairwoman Frank and I signed an MOU that memorializes our shared commitment to make the Rancheria the homefield for our baseball and softball teams. Bear River agreed to build a new NCAA compliant turf baseball field next to the existing NCAA softball field. I agreed to contribute $300,000 in restricted funds to the approximately $1.5 million project. Bear River Rancheria will be responsible for approximately 80% of the cost of building the baseball field. They will also be responsible for managing the construction company. Also, focused on supporting our student-athletes, the Board approved the $5,850,000 contract for Wahlund Construction to upgrade our community stadium. Weather permitting, Wahlund should begin the work this week.

Approve Curriculum Changes: I want to note that thirty courses were revised, forty-two courses were inactivated, two new degrees were created (Certificate of Achievement Personal Wellness Trainer & Associate of Science Degree in Personal Wellness), and three new courses were developed (LCAM 1 Introduction to Latine and Chicanx Studies, & SWHS 3 Community Projects in Social Work, and SWHS 4 Community Projects in Social Work Lab).

Approve Report on Faculty Qualifications: The Board approved the equivalency for Assistant Professor Nathalie Dierkx in Political Science. This approval will give the Dean of the Del Norte Campus the ability to provide additional curricular options for our Del Norte students.

Approve Authorization to Proceed with a Pest Control Services Request for Proposal: We have a contract with a pest control service for the Eureka Campus. The Board approved a recommendation to publish an RFP that will allow us to extend the pest control service to the Del Norte Campus.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: Our financial report covered 75% of the fiscal year. It also reflected my decision to include the Chancellor's Office 3.5521% deficit factor in our financial reporting. It has been a while since we have seen a deficit factor that big. We only see a deficit factor applied to our revenue when the state faces budget challenges.

So, what does it mean for CR? The Chancellor's Office is signaling that they are considering holding funds back from our projected revenue allocation to make sure that they have enough money to stretch across all community colleges. Given the uncertainty of the state's budget, rather than ignore the deficit factor, I believe that it is more transparent and fiscally prudent to provide a monthly financial status report with the deficit factor of $1.414 million factored in. So, the monthly financial status report now shows a projected 2023-24 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of $6,968,545, or 16.1% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures. Whether the Chancellor's Office will decide to make the full, or a portion of the, deficit factor permanent in our revenue allocation is uncertain.

Key takeaways from our report this month are:

• Overall, actual revenue is still trending at a lower percent than last year.  
• The Capital Outlay expenditure budget has been increased by $30,000 to reflect actual activity.
• Salary expenditures are trending higher than at this point in time last year and are outpacing our original budget. This overage can mostly be attributed to a higher amount of Faculty Overload getting paid out than anticipated.
• Overall, actual expenditures are still tracking higher than at this point in time last year.

Resolution 807 for Classified Employee Week: The Board approved a resolution honoring our classified staff. The resolution proclaimed:

WHEREAS, classified professionals provide valuable services to the students of the Redwoods Community College District; and

WHEREAS, classified employees contribute to the establishment and promotion of a positive instructional environment; and

WHEREAS, classified employees serve a vital role in providing for the welfare and safety of Redwoods Community College District students; and

WHEREAS, classified employees of the Redwoods Community College District strive for excellence in all areas relative to the educational community;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Redwoods Community College District hereby recognizes and wishes to honor the contribution of the classified professionals to quality education in the state of California and in the Redwoods Community College District and declares the week of May 19 - 25, 2024, as Classified School Employee Week College of the Redwoods

Informational Reports

Pride and Dreamer Center: Katy Ferrier and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera provided a wonderful update on the work of our Pride and Dreamer Center. Here is a link to the MEC's LGBTQIAA+ community website: LGBTQIAA+ Community (redwoods.edu)

Repatriation of Native American Regalia, Baskets, and Caps: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), College of the Redwoods intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with our Tribal partners. Dr. Cintra Agee, CR's Repatriation Coordinator, discussed her work plan with the Board of Trustees.

CR Employee Survey Results: Dr. Amy Moffat conducted an employee satisfaction survey several weeks ago and facilitated an open forum discussion via zoom on April 16, 2024 to go over the survey results in detail with all employees of the District. I asked Dr. Moffat to provide a summary of the survey results for the Trustees at this meeting. The survey results are attached to this summary and posted on the IR webpage at: College of the Redwoods Spring 2024 Employee Survey Results. 

Assessment Report: The below assessment report was provided by Assessment Coordinator Professor Jon Pace.

Starting in the 2023 Spring semester, I began following up with faculty who had not yet completed course assessments scheduled for the previous semester. This proved to be effective evidenced by 91.2% of all sections schedule for course assessment in the 2022 Fall semester having completed assessments and 94.0% of all courses scheduled for assessment in the 2022 Fall having a completed assessment in at least one section. In the 2023 Spring semester 75.2% of all sections scheduled for course assessment complete their assessments with 97.4% of all courses scheduled for assessment having a completed assessment in at least one section. For programs, in the 2023 Spring semester 100% of all programs with assessment scheduled completed their assessments and in the 2023 Fall semester 72.7% of all programs with assessment scheduled completed their assessment. This number is lower in the 2023 Fall semester due to mitigating circumstances that were addressed this semester and will continue to be addressed in the 2024 Fall semester.

The 2023-2024 Academic year presented significant challenges to our assessment process. The CR server failure prevented critical WedAdvisor course information from being uploaded into eLumen, our course outcome assessment tool. This meant that the established process that instructional faculty had become familiar with was abandoned. Furthermore, past course outcome assessment reports and program assessment dialogue reports were no longer accessible to faculty as they were housed on a subpage of the Assessment webpage associated with CR’s official website. This had the most immediate impact on instructional faculty’s ability to perform program outcome assessment during a scheduled Fall 2023 Convocation flex session. With the ACCJC Institutional Self-Evaluation Report due for submission later in the Fall 2023 semester, nimbleness and decisive action was necessary. Fortunately, our Canvas site was not affected by the server failure. I was able to transfer all course outcome assessment reports and program dialogue reports to folders built on CR’s Keep Teaching site allowing faculty continued access to these documents. We also took advantage of Outlook’s availability and developed a word document that closely mimicked eLumen’s course outcome assessment report allowing instructional faculty to submit their scheduled course assessments for the 2023 Fall semester into a OneDrive folder. We had hoped that, with access to our website improving as the spring semester began, we could restore eLumen’s role in course outcome assessment; however, this proved wishful thinking and again we had to be nimble rely on course assessment word documents and a OneDrive folder for course outcome assessment.  Beginning in the Fall 2024 semester, we will again use eLumen for course outcome assessment reporting, and we anticipate faculty retroactively submitting course outcome assessment reports into eLumen to ensure 2023-2024 course outcome assessment data is present for future reports and decision making.

Beginning in the 2022 Fall semester and under the direction of the Assessment committee, I began holding Program Assessment flex sessions at the beginning of each semester. The first session was held in August 2022 and focused on instructional faculty in each degree program updating their course and program outcome assessment schedules to ensure compliance with ACCJC assessment standards. Faculty worked diligently to update and better align their course and program outcome assessment schedules. Faculty were very appreciative that the flex session was a working session, not just an information dissemination session. This inspired the Assessment Committee, in conjunction with the academic associate deans and directors, to facilitate a working flex session at the beginning of each semester where instructional faculty in programs with outcome assessment scheduled for that semester come together and work on their program outcome assessment dialogue reports with myself and associate deans and directors present to assist however we can.  Instructional faculty have been actively improving their assessment efficiency and many program faculty are recognizing specific area where improving course outcome assessment planning and robustness will allow for more comprehensive and applicable program assessment that leads to more authentic program examination and improvement. These sessions have also helped instructional faculty understand that continual, authentic improvement is a cyclic process involving course outcome assessment leading to program assessment through data and dialogue which then leads directly to program review planning, implementation, and back to assessment. The faculty response to these program assessment flex sessions has been overwhelmingly positive and we will continue to offer these flex sessions to support faculty with their important assessment work.

Throughout the 2023 Fall semester, the Assessment committee was active in reviewing all areas of CR’s ACCJC Institutional Self-Evaluation Report that pertained to assessment. Once the draft ISER was available for review, the Assessment committee began identifying the areas specifically relating to assessment and reviewing the evidence selected to demonstrate fulfillment of the given standard. We work both individually and collaboratively to identify evidence we thought better demonstrated standard achievement. We used this preliminary work to offer formal feedback to the Accreditation Oversight committee when they task the Assessment committee with specific areas of evaluation. The Assessment committee is currently investigating the new ACCJC accreditation standards and developing recommendations for how we believe our institution can use these new standards to develop a culture of using disaggregated data to assess student achievement of course and program learning outcomes, identify equity gaps in the achievement of these outcomes, and develop focused plans to close these equity gaps.  We are excited to begin the work of using assessment data and dialogue to increase the number of students from all ethnic and racial backgrounds able to realize their educational goals.

On May 1^st, 2024, the Assessment Committee co-sponsored a celebration of assessment with our Cal Poly Humboldt colleagues called Assesstivus: Assessment for the Rest of Us. This celebration was a fun way to recognize the hard work that our staff and faculty engage in to ensure continual evaluation and improvement. CR faculty in Nursing and Native American Studies and staff for the Academic Support Center in the LRC provide short presentations on assessment best practices. We recognized faculty from three academic programs and staff from student services and administrative areas for their diligence and commitment to quality, authentic assessment with awards. We plan to make Assesstivus a yearly tradition to inspire the creative and continued use of assessment data to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement in curriculum, instruction, student support services, and administrative area. It is important to recognize that assessment in higher education plays a critical role in ensuring the quality and equity of student learning, student experiences, student success, and institutional effectiveness.

Recognitions: In this agenda item, I recognized four staff members and several student athletes.

• I recognized Ms. Julia Morrison for her selection to serve as the Region 1 representative for the ACBO Board through Fall 2025. Region 1 includes Butte-Glenn, Feather River, Lassen, College of the Redwoods, Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint, and Siskiyou Joint CCDs.
• I recognized Dr. Johnson and Ms. Gonzalez-Herrera for their outstanding leadership of the MEC. Take a look at the picture included in this month's board agenda.
• Several student-athletes were also recognized. I congratulated softball player Maeghan Hampton on being named First Team All-Golden Valley Conference, Alyssa McCovey for competing in the Northern California Heptathlon Championships, Blake Browning for being named baseball 1st team All-GVC, Junior Nunez for taking first place in the javelin and setting a new personal record with 50.46m at the Black and Gold Invitational, and women’s wrestler Maizie Fugate for her participation in the CCCAA State Championships. Also recognized were four former College of the Redwoods student-athletes who are experiencing great success at the baccalaureate level of competition: Grant Van Emmerik (Cal Poly Humboldt), Josie Peterson (Chico State), Brianna Green (Fresno Pacific), and Hanna Hartwell (Fort Lewis College).

Accreditation Update: The Comprehensive Peer Review Team will conduct a one-day visit the District on September 17, 2024. The Team will be comprised of the following members: Dr. Vince Rodriguez, Team Chair and President of Coastline Community College, Dr. Kim Armstrong, Team Vice Chair and President of Clovis Community College, Dr. Michelle Trautt
Instructional Faculty and Academic Senate Executive President at Mt. San Jacinto College, and Ms. Nickawana Shaw, ACCJC staff liaison and Vice President ACCJC.

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: In her final report to the Board as President of the Academic Senate, Dr. Herrera wrote:

The primary focus of the Academic Senate has been to create meaningful ways of meeting and managing the new GE patterns, that serve the students in the short term and the longer term. In so doing the Curriculum Committee sent to the Senate Academic Senate GE Guiding Directive General Principles to assure that the college is in compliance with changes to GE in Title V to align the requirements of its own AP 4025 and AP 4100. One highlight is that there will be two patterns for students available: (1) The CR GE pattern; and (2) the CalGETC pattern. The CalGETC pattern is to be implemented in Fall of 2025. With significant deliberation the Senate determined how to proceed with courses that do not meet CalGETC approval. The verdict is to list all current GE courses in 2024-2025 and have them removed if they don’t meet new criteria, as opposed to removing courses from CR GE without CalGETC approval until they go forward through the new approval process. This allows faculty with more time to align their courses and the Curriculum Committee to develop proper criterion for evaluating the courses with. The Senate in gratitude for the BOT Senate Resolution 3 to designate April as Campus Pride Month that will include flying the rainbow flag to solidarity in support of all LGBTQ+ community members, the Senate approved a recognition of support for the Board of Trustees developing a strong statement of respect and encouragement to community members in their proclamation. Creating resolutions like this one go a long way to develop an atmosphere of care and respect for every member of the College of the Redwoods community. The Senate continues to work with the Senate Committees on meeting Title V changes and regulations that govern many areas of course delivery and structure. The Senate will be engaged in planning for creating space for important conversations on inclusivity. With the deepest level of respect our Senate leadership (the Vice President and President of the Senate) thank all of the members of Senate Committees for their continued efforts to provide the faculty with what they need to serve our students with top notch educational opportunities. One of the notable accomplishments of a Senate committee’s this year has been the Associate Faculty Committee’s willingness to jump in and make important changes to their bylaws that will give the Associate Faculty more opportunities to engage in governance under 10+1. A big ShoutOut! to Emily Wright for all her work and the work of the committee to get this work done. A note from the Senate President: It has been an honor and a joy to work with; our administrative leaders, with Student Services experts, the CRFO, to begin the process of establishing proper ways of communicating with the trustees who provide wonderful models for leadership, to hear the strong and brilliant voices of faculty, and to serve the Senate with the very experienced, Vice President Erin Wall.  Thank you all so very much!! 

In Dr. Herrera's verbal comments, she mentioned that the Academic Senate will meet in special session on May 8, 2024 to discuss a ceasefire resolution, the Academic Senate approved a recommendation to grant Kerry Mayer emeritus status, and Bernadette Johnson will serve as the new Vice President of the Academic Senate next year.

CRFO: CRFO President Haggerty's written report included the following:

On Wednesday 4/10/24 a day-long training on Interest Based Bargaining was held. This training was coordinated by the Human Resources office and CRFO negotiators. The training was successful. It was a good opportunity for all parts of campus to come together and discuss how we have conversations regarding contracts and working conditions. This method of negotiating attempts to bring Humanism into the negotiation process. I hope that we can all work together to reinforce this community on campus.

The CRFO has been engaging in conversations this semester on the reassigned time for full time faculty and payment to Associate Faculty for senate work. We are hoping to make these mutually agreed upon compensations visible to faculty. We are aiming for transparency and to honor the important work of the senate.

The CRFO leadership is very grateful for the open conversations we are able to have with Dr. Flamer. We meet with him regularly and feel a sense of collaboration in these meetings.

In April we met with the 12 other colleges in our independents CCCI group. Some highlights:

• AB 190 the bill that sets aside $200 million each year for part time faculty health benefits was a frequent topic of conversation. Within the group of independent unions it was identified that all but two of the 13 college districts are actively pursuing funds which provide reimbursement from these ongoing monies. It was frustrating to our team that we are in the minority on this issue. Our membership is becoming impatient with the status of negotiations on the issue of health benefits for a large section of our faculty.
• Several districts are actively advocating to increase the amount of time on hold harmless.
• Our attorney discussed 1st amendment rights, how they interact with academic freedom, and protests on campuses. The attorney’s presentation on these issues clearly echoed what Dr. Flamer has communicated to our campus community. I am very grateful for Dr. Flamer’s letters to the campus and to President Biden; students are expressing their gratitude for these communications also.

I want to thank the board in writing for passing the Campus Pride Month resolution at the last board meeting. The Queer Student Union (QSU) has been on our campus in its current manner for 11 years. When the group formed the students were not all comfortable being “out” on campus and the group met in areas of campus where they would be less visible. To have the board pass this resolution and then witness the flag going up was a great moment for our campus. I communicated with some of the founders of the QSU about this and they were very gratified and delighted!

Michelle verbally thanked the Board for participating in the letter to President Biden.

CSEA: CSEA President Engman written report included the following:

It is hard to believe we are at the end of another semester! We offer our congratulations to ALL students on completing the semester, with a huge shoutout to those who are graduating! We hope you have enjoyed your time at CR and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

Each year in May, we recognize the dedication and work of all classified staff, by celebrating Classified School Employee Week (CSEW). This celebration is held during the 3rd full week of the month. Established in 1986 with Senate Bill 1552, CSEW has a long history of celebrating! Thank you to the Board of Trustees for approving the resolution for College of the Redwoods 509!

In her verbal comments, Tami thanked the Board for passing and reading the resolution honoring the work of the classified staff.

Management Council: In her report to the Board of Trustees, President Barber wrote that:

We would like to welcome recent additions to the Management Council group, Pyuwa Bommelyn, Manager of Native American Student Success and Support Program and Tory Eagles, Pelican Bay Program Manager. 

At the April Management Council meeting, the District Accounting Analyst, Mitchell Lucky presented on Budget Preparation for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. He presented on and discussed the importance of multi-year budgeting and future program planning. 

Also at the April meeting, the group ratified the revised Management Council charter, the last time this was updated was in 2013. Minimal changes were made, which included some clarifying language for the group.

Beginning on July 1, 2024, there will be a new slate of officers for 2024/2025, we welcome incoming President Morgan Solem, President-Elect (VP) Leigh Dooley, and Secretary Irene Gonzalez-Herrera. 

We would like to thank the District, for including the Management Council group in the recent Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) Training. We had eight members able to attend this important training: Leigh Dooley, Amber Cavanaugh, Andrew Nichols, Cedric Aaron, Kintay Johnson, Colin Trujillo, Morgan Solem, and Kristy Seher.

Student Trustee: I attached Sybil Godfrey's written report to the blog summary.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent Report: My written report included the following:

• I added CR as a signatory on a League/Chancellor's Office letter opposing Senate Bill 1388 (Archuleta), a bill that will place a 16.7% ceiling on a district’s reserve balances. The bill was eventually passed out of the Education Committee by a 4-2 vote.
• I authorized seven tenure-track faculty positions (five for the Eureka Campus and two for the Del Norte Campus/Pelican Bay) to hire for Spring/Fall 2025. Five Eureka Campus tenure-track positions are Music, Registered Nurse, Foreign Language, Biology, and Kinesiology. The two Del Norte Campus tenure-track positions authorized for hire are Registered Nurse and Counseling (Del Norte/Pelican Bay).
• I concurred with the Program Viability Committee's (PVC's) recommendation to support the development of an A.S. degree in Radiology Technology. 
• I included a May 3, 2024 letter from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona related to campus safety in my administrative report. I want to share a portion of Secretary Cardona's letter that is particularly pertinent now in time of protesting on college campuses.
  This is an extremely challenging moment for many school communities across the country. What we are witnessing every day on college campuses is deeply concerning, as we hear increasing reports of students feeling unsafe. Students should be able to learn, attend class, and go to commencements without fear or disruption of their educational experience. There is no place for violence on campus ever. As President Biden said yesterday, “In America, violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is.”

I am particularly disturbed by the sharp rise in antisemitism targeting Jewish students on some college campuses. In recent days, Jewish students have reported:

• • Being physically assaulted or harassed while walking on campus, simply for being Jewish;
  • Being subjected to virulently antisemitic statements, such as that Jewish students should “go back to Poland;”
  • Being subjected to verbal abuse, such as while praying for the safety of hostages being held by Hamas; and
  • Coming back to their dorm rooms to find swastikas on their doors.

These and other such incidents are abhorrent, period. They have no place on our college campuses. Antisemitism is discrimination and is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And we stand against antisemitism. We also stand against other forms of hate. Many Jewish students are experiencing fear right now, worried about being targeted for who they are, and it is critical that university campuses be free of such fear.

In my verbal report, I thanked Student Trustee Godfrey for her service to the Board, I also mentioned that FM3 Research, our bond consultant, is planning to launch the bond follow-up survey today, May 7, 2024. Here are the survey protocols.

Vice President of Instruction Report: Dr. Gaetje's written report noted that:

• Several faculty members successfully completed the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy training with the USC Race & Equity Center: Nathalie Dierkx, Vanessa Vrtiak, Stephan Quiggle, Shannon Mondor, Laurie McKendry, Robyn Roberson, Stacey Ann Salinas, Janessa Johnsrude, Ashley Knowlton, Laurel Jean, Susan Rosen, April Klingonsmith, Laura Kirkpatrick-Dib, Micheal Dennis, Angela Schauber, Madaline Lopez, Jon Pace, Lisa Pedicino, Valerie Elder, James Mark Renner, Jennifer Brown, Ernie Schull, Jasmine Iniguez, Kendra Guimaraes, and Carolyn Perkins. A special shout-out to Carolyn Perkins for serving as the cohort lead and coordinator with the USC team. 
• The Biology Department hosted their third campus wide BioBlitz. Forty participants, including students, their families, faculty, and staff, logged 439 observations of 214 unique species on campus. Eighty-one of these species were recorded on campus for the first time, bringing our campus biodiversity total to 793 unique species!

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: In her written report, Julia's noted that:

• Red Sky Roofing will begin the Del Norte Center Roof Replacement and Skylight Repair work on May 13. Once the roof and skylight work are done the facilities will be assessed for necessary building repairs and remediation and a Request for Proposal will be published to have those items addressed.
• On Monday, May 6, Leslie Marshall, and the Vice President of Administrative Services held a General Obligation Bond forum on the Del Center Campus. The purpose of the Open Forum was to discuss how the potential GO Bond could benefit the Del Norte Center. 
• The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) developed a Year-End Summary document. The summary included several high-level budget priority recommendations:
  • The Unrestricted General Fund (UGF) monies be set aside for technology replacement on an annual basis. Students do pay a Student Technology fee that could help fund student technology replacement. If the UGF monies are not spent in any given year, the remaining balance will carryover for subsequent fiscal years.
  • Provide IT and Maintenance with an appropriate discretionary budget to cover the replacement of projector bulbs, whiteboards, etc. in classrooms and computer labs, rather than relying on the office of instruction’s discretionary budget. Communication about this shift to the impacted departments will be necessary for implementation.
  • The 2024-25 Budget should include necessary financial resources to implement any applicable recommendations that arise from the IT consultation report and to recover from server failure.
  • Continue to provide resources for development of courses (POCR Process) for the California Virtual Campus- Online Exchange Initiative (CVC-OEI) in order to increase FTES and degree completions (one-time funding to on-going).
  • Continue to allocate funds for replacement of district technology on a five-year cycle.
  • Continue to allocate funds for ongoing maintenance and capital outlay budget (from one-time to ongoing).

In her verbal comments, Julia provided additional information about her visit to the Del Norte Campus yesterday (May 6, 2024) to discuss the potential bond.

Vice President of Student Services Report: Crystal focused on the new Title IX regulations in her written administrative report. The 2024 Title IX Regulations require an implementation deadline of August 1, 2024. The final regulations strengthen vital protections from all forms of sex-based harassment, including sexual violence and unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by limiting or denying a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from a school’s education program or activity. In general, the final regulations:

• Provide full protection from sex-based harassment.
• Require schools to take prompt and effective action to end any sex discrimination in their education programs or activities, as well as to prevent its recurrence and remedy its effects. 
• Require schools to provide supportive measures to complainants and respondents affected by conduct that may constitute sex discrimination, including sexual violence and other forms of sex-based harassment.
• Require schools to respond promptly and effectively to all complaints of sex discrimination with a fair, transparent, and reliable process that includes trained, unbiased decisionmakers to evaluate all relevant and not otherwise impermissible evidence.
• Provide schools with flexibility to adapt the regulations’ grievance procedure requirements to their educational communities so that all schools can implement Title IX’s promise of nondiscrimination fully and fairly in their educational environments.
• Protect students, employees, and applicants from discrimination based on pregnancy or related conditions.
• Prohibit discrimination against LGBTQI+ students, employees, and others.
• Protect people from harm when they are separated or treated differently based on sex in school.
• Protects students, employees, and others from retaliation.
• Support the right of parents and guardians to act on behalf of their elementary and secondary school children.
• Ensure that schools communicate their nondiscrimination policies and procedures.
• Prohibit schools from sharing personal information.

Crystal thanked Sybil Godfrey for her exemplary service as Student Trustees.

Interim Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Report: Kerry's provided a grants update for the 2023-34 academic year.

• California Youth Leadership Corps Social Work and Human Services Student Internship Project California Youth Leadership Corps/California Labor and Workforce Development Agency $212,000   
• Enhancing CCC-CSU-UC Collaboration (EC3) National Science Foundation $99,578   
• Hemp-based Fiber Materials, Technology, and Commerce as Drivers for Northwest American Indian Tribal Economic Development US Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture $260,000   
• Nursing Enrollment Grant: Expanding Nursing Enrollment to Meet Community Needs California Community College Chancellor's Office $182,400  
• Rising Scholars Juvenile Justice Program: Supporting Justice-Involved Juveniles California Community College Chancellor's Office $1,538,400   
• Shively Farm Hedgerow and Shively Creek Restoration Project California Wildlife Conservation Board (administered through Point Blue Conservation Service) $111,710    

Executive Director of College Advancement and the Foundation Report: Marty touched on several topics in his administrative report:

• Marty thanked Board of Trustees President Dr. Rebecca Robertson, Trustee Sally Biggin, Foundation Board Vice President Jason Ramos, Executive Dean of Arts & Sciences Dr. Peter Blakemore, and Art faculty Shannon Sullivan for speaking at the Floyd Bettiga Art Gallery Dedication event and for Trustee Dr. Colleen Mullery, Senior Vice President Kerry Mayer, and Vice President Julia Morrison for attending. He also thanked facilities staff for installing the Floyd Bettiga bronze plaque, CR Gallery Specialist Ruth Jensen for her assistance with the event, and Foundation donors for covering the expense of installing the Floyd Bettiga sign on the outside of the Art Gallery.
• Greg Nordhues, a relative of Floyd Bettiga, donated four pieces of Floyd’s artwork for CR’s Permanent Art Collection and indicated funds will be forthcoming from Floyd’s trust. Mr. Schlueter also contributed an autographed copy of his book “Bhutan – A Painter’s Dream.”
• More than seventy students, faculty, staff, Trustees and Foundation Board Members attended this year’s Scholarship Reception. More than 370 scholarships were awarded during 2023-24, with $307,00 given to CR students.
• The Grizzly Bowl Ring Presentation and Alumni Reception was a success with close to sixty football players receiving their rings, with family and community members present. The event received strong media coverage.
• Marty thanked Art G. Morley for supporting the College of the Redwoods Foundation. Sadly, Mr. Morely passed away in November 2023, but left more than $300,000 in unrestricted funds to the CR Foundation. Marty intends to forward a recommendation to the Foundation Board and me to name a facility/room/lab for Mr. Morley and the establishment of a memorial scholarship in his memory.
• The Foundation’s Presidential Innovation Grants Committee met to review this spring’s applications. The committee considered four staff grants, three academic grants, and two economic development grants. The committee’s recommendations will be presented to the Foundation Board on May 15.