NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes of Retreat Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, MI January 16-17, 2014 January 16, 2014 CALL TO ORDER-Chair Doug Bishop called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Trustees present: Douglas Bishop, Robert Brick, K. Ross Childs, Cheryl Gore Follette, William Myers, Susan Sheldon, Kennard Weaver Trustees absent: None Also present: President Timothy J. Nelson, Holly Gorton, Vicki Cook, Marguerite Cotto, Stephen Siciliano, and Chris Weber APPROVAL OF AGENDA - The agenda was accepted as presented. PUBLIC INPUT-There was no public input received during either day of the retreat. DISCUSSION ITEMS - No action was taken. Doing Board Business Chair Doug Bishop opened the discussion by inquiring if the Board had any suggestions relating to the order and running of meetings. He stated that the recent practice of trustees providing questions to staff for response in advance of the meetings was helpful. The suggestion as made to rotate Board meeting locations to different NMC campuses periodically throughout the year. Trustees would prefer that a light meal be served prior to the Board meetings with dinner at 5 :00 p.m. and regular Board meetings commencing at 5:30 p.m. The ACCT Conference for 2014 will be held in Chicago, and Bishop encouraged as many trustees as possible to attend. The first NMC bachelor's degrees in Maritime Technology will be awarded at the January board meeting. State representatives will be invited to attend, as well as local news stations. Child Care (Strategic Plan: 1.e.; Board Level Goal B.1., Target 5) Examining childcare needs and possible NMC responses is a current Board strategic goal. The Board expressed a desire to accelerate the investigation and provide available options should they exist. Two tracks were discussed. First was the potential to use general fund dollars to enhance the existing childcare scholarship program already in effect at NMC. Chris Weber and Vicki Cook will examine this possibility and report at the February Board meeting. Second was to more quickly ascertain whether there is a reasonable way for NMC to directly provide childcare to meet students' and employees' needs. Due to our current executive staff workloads, an external consultant would need to be engaged. Vicki Cook will work to craft an RFP to achieve this end. Administration will develop a recommendation and/or update to the Board at their February meeting.
Transcript
NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of Retreat Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, MI
January 16-17, 2014
January 16, 2014
CALL TO ORDER-Chair Doug Bishop called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL Trustees present: Douglas Bishop, Robert Brick, K. Ross Childs, Cheryl Gore Follette, William
Myers, Susan Sheldon, Kennard Weaver Trustees absent: None Also present: President Timothy J. Nelson, Holly Gorton, Vicki Cook, Marguerite Cotto,
Stephen Siciliano, and Chris Weber
APPROVAL OF AGENDA - The agenda was accepted as presented.
PUBLIC INPUT-There was no public input received during either day of the retreat.
DISCUSSION ITEMS - No action was taken.
Doing Board Business Chair Doug Bishop opened the discussion by inquiring if the Board had any suggestions relating to the order and running of meetings. He stated that the recent practice of trustees providing questions to staff for response in advance of the meetings was helpful. The suggestion as made to rotate Board meeting locations to different NMC campuses periodically throughout the year. Trustees would prefer that a light meal be served prior to the Board meetings with dinner at 5 :00 p.m. and regular Board meetings commencing at 5:30 p.m.
The ACCT Conference for 2014 will be held in Chicago, and Bishop encouraged as many trustees as possible to attend.
The first NMC bachelor's degrees in Maritime Technology will be awarded at the January board meeting. State representatives will be invited to attend, as well as local news stations.
Child Care (Strategic Plan: 1.e.; Board Level Goal B.1., Target 5) Examining childcare needs and possible NMC responses is a current Board strategic goal. The Board expressed a desire to accelerate the investigation and provide available options should they exist. Two tracks were discussed. First was the potential to use general fund dollars to enhance the existing childcare scholarship program already in effect at NMC. Chris Weber and Vicki Cook will examine this possibility and report at the February Board meeting. Second was to more quickly ascertain whether there is a reasonable way for NMC to directly provide childcare to meet students' and employees' needs. Due to our current executive staff workloads, an external consultant would need to be engaged. Vicki Cook will work to craft an RFP to achieve this end. Administration will develop a recommendation and/or update to the Board at their February meeting.
Northwestern Michigan College January 16-17, 2014
Campus Master Plan Next Steps (Strategic Plan: 15.e.; Board Level Goal B.7., Target 5) There are four projects that were prioritized last year when the Board accepted the Campus Master Plan. These include the multi-disciplinary center, apartments and new housing, Osterlin remodel and physical education/fitness needs. Parking is incorporated into each appropriate facility. Being mindful that the methods of funding facilities are varied, the administration will implement the following steps. For each of the projects, preliminary drawings will be sought to allow us to better estimate the cost and return on investment for each facility. The architect Cornerstone will continue to be used for these drawings. To move forward on the projects, a new RFP for architectural construction drawings will likely be issued. A second activity will be to contact national organizations for recommendations on firms that work in public private partnerships, particularly in the housing arena. Finally, a response will be pursued from the city regarding Eastern Avenue property issues.
Foundation Strategic Plan Implementation (Strategic Plan: 15.d.; Board Level Goal B.7., Target 4) The administration will develop, for Board review, a priority fundraising list based on the discussions of projects that fall in the categories of accessibility, talent, facilities and technology, and innovation. The Board would like to see this at the February meeting. As Resource Development continues to build out the alumni database, the Board would like ongoing updates and quantifiable metrics. There is interest in being informed of the discussion on how fundraising events remain connected to strategic outcomes of the college and the foundation. Future funding for the Dennos Museum Center was discussed and President Nelson suggested establishing an advisory group of people who have experience in operating or guiding museums outside of this area. This will be a spring project.
Manufacturing and Related Areas (Strategic Plan: 6.a.) The Board heard about the internal project to define NMC's role in supporting the talent needs of the manufacturing sector in our region. While much has been done with new revisions in engineering technology and in working with manufacturers, the sense is there is still room to do more. Of particular interest is NMC's current position in precision tooling programs. In order to accomplish this, additional personnel will need to be added. It was stressed that the position descriptions would need to be tightly defined so that outcomes could be adequately measured and expectations in line there with. This position may also encompass assistance with 3D printing, Makers and Hackers Spaces, Robotics and industry outreach. Most likely, we will look at a two-year commitment. An initial proposal will be brought to the Board at the February meeting. An additional outcome of this discussion was possible NMC representation at the Rapid Trade Show in Detroit. Marguerite Cotto will develop a report showing how space is utilized at the Aero Park Campus and how that relates to student enrollment in specific programs.
New Product Development and Portfolio B (Strategic Plan: 15.a.; Board Level Goal B.7., Target 1) Portfolio Bis intended to leverage the resources and products ofNMC in non-typical markets. The first conversation was on the topic of whether NMC can reasonably expect to develop national or international competencies in all seven areas currently in the strategic directions document. Some indication that a tighter focus could increase the probability of success was made with President
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Northwestern Michigan College January 16-17, 2014
Timothy Nelson suggesting water, value added agriculture, unmanned vehicle, robotics and creative manufacturing, and innovation and entrepreneurship. All four areas can leverage their assets and are linked to the local economy. In order to drive these forward, additional personnel are needed. Some of these may come from the non-higher education market and fall into a category of "business development." Tim Nelson will report to the Board on progress in this area at the February meeting. As part of this project, there will be an evaluation of our current advisory board membership and charges to make certain we have a strategic orientation in these groups.
Budget and Reserve Funds (Strategic Plan: 15; Board Level Goal B.7.) As part of the budgeting process, an international student tuition rate should be provided for consideration. In part, this would allow some scholarships for this population to be funded from their tuition payments. A number of years ago, President Nelson distributed a memorandum to the college explaining why we have reserves and how they can be used. This memo should be reviewed and redistributed. All categories of reserves will be reviewed and a determination made as to the categories into which they should be placed. Additionally, Vicki Cook will review our reserves to dete1mine what effect, if any, levels and categories have on future bonding requests.
ADJOURNMENT-The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m. on January 17, 2014.
Recorded by Holly Gorton, Executive Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees.
