Tag Archive for: #vgccboardoftrustees

VGCC Welcomes Two New Trustees

/by

100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm

-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College recently welcomed a pair of new members to its Board of Trustees.

Deborah M. Butler of Youngsville was appointed to serve on the college’s governing board by the Granville County board of commissioners. Butler is a retired school teacher with 40 years of experience in education.

Dorwin L. Howard of Oxford was appointed to the board by Governor Cooper. Howard served as a teacher and administrator for Granville County Schools, retiring as the system’s superintendent. He currently serves as a pastor at First Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Both Butler and Howard were appointed to four-year terms on the VGCC board. Butler succeeds N. Annette P. Myers, while Howard assumes the seat formerly held by Herb Gregory.

The Board of Trustees has 12 voting members, with some appointed by the Governor of North Carolina and some by the county commissioners and the boards of education of Vance and Granville counties.

S. Quon Bridges, an attorney and former District Court Judge, administers the oath of office to Deborah Butler as a new member of the Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees. (VGCC photo)

S. Quon Bridges, an attorney and former District Court Judge, administers the oath of office to Dorwin Howard (center) as a new member of the Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees. (VGCC photo)

VGCC Faculty, Staff Raise $16,000 To Support Students

/by

 -Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

Vance-Granville Community College’s annual Faculty & Staff Drive for the VGCC Endowment Fund raised $16,011 this fall from among employees on the college’s four campuses, according to an announcement by the co-chairs for the drive to the Trustees on Monday, Nov. 19, at the board’s regular bi-monthly meeting on the Main Campus.

The funds were raised to support the mission of the college and award scholarships to deserving students, said Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund.

Heading up the drive this year were Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for the Paralegal Technology curriculum program; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid.

“Our campaign theme was ‘Rise Up!’” Ferguson told the Trustees. “It was based on the fact that every day our students rise up to come to school under a lot of hardships, whether it be academic pressure, family issues, transportation or such. We serve a very diverse community.”

VGCC’s Faculty & Staff Drive for the Endowment Fund was led by volunteers Michael Brodie, Campus Police sergeant; Antoinette Dickens, program head and instructor for Paralegal Technology; Willie Mae Foster-Hill, Main Campus receptionist; and Jeremy Lambert, assistant director of financial aid. Shown above celebrating the success of the drive at the Board of Trustees meeting are, from left, Brodie; Kay Currin, Endowment Fund specialist; Trustee Danny Wright, chair of the board; Dr. Gordon Burns, interim VGCC president; Foster-Hill; and Eddie Ferguson, director of the Endowment Fund. Dickens and Lambert were unavailable for the photo. (VGCC Photo)

The faculty and staff, he said, “rose up” with this drive to provide the funds for the students. “We are really proud to raise this money from our employees, most of which will go directly to students in the form of scholarships. Some of the money is directed to projects such as our student emergency fund to help meet other immediate needs,” Ferguson said.

Statewide Budget Priorities

In his report to the trustees, Interim VGCC President Dr. Gordon Burns outlined budget priorities identified by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) for 2019 through 2021 and urged the trustees to share those priorities with the returning and newly elected members of the N.C. House of Representatives and the N.C. Senate who represent the four counties served by Vance-Granville Community College.

Under the Workforce Development Legislative Agenda, NCCCS is requesting funding to help 700,000 students annually achieve a better life through high-school equivalency, career and technical education, short-term workforce training, and high quality, affordable college transfer programs, Dr. Burns said. The state’s community colleges are essential in closing the skills gap for North Carolina employers, the NCCCS notes, and are a driving force in the economy of the state.

The system office reports that the state’s 58 community colleges continue to suffer from approximately $53 million in budget cuts made during the 2008 recession that have not been restored, which undercuts efforts to prepare the state’s workforce. Dr. Burns noted, too, that community colleges are having difficulty recruiting and retaining faculty and staff because the average annual faculty salary, at $47,362, is 41st in the nation.

Among legislative priorities for 2019-2021, NCCCS is seeking recurring funds of $11.5 million to fully fund short-term workforce training; $15 million to upgrade information technology systems across the state; $2.6 million to fund workforce-focused multi-campuses; and $2.8 million to expand a program that places career coaches in high schools to assist students with determining career goals and identifying community college programs that align with the students’ goals.

Dr. Burns said the legislative priorities also include increasing funding to bring faculty closer to the national annual salary average of $60,422, enacting statutory changes to eliminate barriers to enrollment caused by the state’s relatively new Residency Determination System, and stabilizing budgets for colleges faced with enrollment declines because of Hurricane Florence.

Capital Projects

In his report to the board on capital projects, Trustee Donald Seifert, chair of the Building Committee, said renovations have been completed to the seminar rooms in the Civic Center on Main Campus.

H.G. Reynolds Company began renovation of a 3,200-square-foot portion of Building 10 on Main Campus to create a Practical Simulation Lab for the Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs. The work, which started in October, is scheduled to be completed in January. In addition to the area being renovated, parking lot space is being expanded, Seifert said.

College officials are also working with the county managers in Vance and Granville counties to fund the replacement of a storage building on the Main Campus that was lost in a fire this past summer.

Other Action

In other action:

  • The trustees voted to approve the closure of two curriculum certificate programs and a diploma program no longer in demand from students. The closure of the Nurse Aide Certificate, Nurse Aide Diploma and the School Age Care Certificate programs, effective this fall, will go to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the North Carolina Community College System for final approvals. The closures came at the request of the Curriculum Committee, chaired by Trustee Barbara Cates Harris.
  • Trustee Xavier Wortham, chair of the Investment Committee, reported the VGCC Endowment Fund Corporation received a favorable report from May & Place PA, certified public accountants, for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. He also gave the bimonthly update on the college’s investments.
  • Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the Personnel Committee, reported on new employees, retirements and resignations, and she presented an amended employee calendar for 2018-2019.
  • Student Government Association President Angel De Leon, the student Trustee, reported to the trustees on a leadership workshop recently attended by students, participation in recent Fall Festivals on the college’s campuses, and a relief drive that is being held to help victims of Hurricane Florence.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Jan. 28.

Wright Re-elected Chair of VGCC Board; Two Trustees Reappointed

/by

-Press Release, Vance-Granville Community College

At their regular bi-monthly meeting held July 16, the Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees re-elected Danny W. Wright as the chair of the board for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, Herb Gregory as vice-chair, and Deborah F. Brown as secretary after nominations from a committee chaired by Trustee L. Opie Frazier, Jr.

Retired North Carolina Ninth District Court Judge Henry Banks swore in two Trustees for additional terms. Trustee Barbara Cates Harris was reappointed by the Granville County Board of Education for a second four-year term on the board. Chair Wright was appointed to a new four-year term by the Vance County Board of Commissioners. Wright had been appointed in 2015 to fill an unexpired term on the board. He was also a commissioner in 2011-2013 when he was appointed by the governor.

Building Update

In his update on capital projects, Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., reported that preparations will begin in August to renovate seminar rooms in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus.

VGCC Trustee Danny W. Wright is sworn in for a new four-year appointment on the college’s board by Retired District Court Judge J. Henry Banks. Also serving as the chair of the board, Wright was appointed by the Vance County Board of Commissioners. He also served in 2011-2013 when appointed to an unexpired term by the governor. From left are Judge Banks, Wright, and Wright’s wife, Betty Wright. (VGCC Photo)

The assessment phase of an exterior masonry repairs project on Main Campus was completed in May, and a design service proposal has been sent to the State Construction Office (SCO) for review. The project is expected to be bid out in February 2019 with renovations starting the following April. The majority of the masonry work is being funded by the Connect NC State Bond passed by North Carolina voters in March 2016.

Seifert also reported the SCO is expected to issue a design contract this month for fire alarm replacements and renovations to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems on the Main Campus. The fire alarm replacements will be completed first with the HVAC renovations expected to start in 2020.

The second phase of renovations to the newest building on campus, Building 10, are expected to start in August and be completed in December, Seifert said. Space is being renovated to add a Practical Simulation Lab for Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs, among other expansions.

Retired District Court Judge J. Henry Banks administers the oath of office to Vance-Granville Community College Trustee Barbara Cates Harris of Oxford. She has been reappointed by the Granville County Board of Education for a second four-year term on the college Board of Trustees. From left are Judge Banks; Harris; Maurice Harris, Jr., Harris’ grandson; and her husband, Phillip Harris. (VGCC Photo)

Budget Amendments

The 2017-2018 Budget Resolution was amended upon recommendation from the Budget Committee, chaired by Trustee Abdul Sm Rasheed. The State Current Fund increased $1,959,983 to a total of $21,512,238, the County Current Fund was unchanged at $2,578,292, and the Institutional Fund increased $340,947 to a total of $9,993,779, for a combined Amended Operating Budget of $34,084,309. The Capital Improvement Budget increased $348,943 to a total of $889,653. The total Combined Amended Budget is $34,973,962.

 Other Action

In other action:

  • The Trustees voted to terminate Warren County High School as an off-campus site with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The site had been approved in November 2015; however, the high school has requested that dually enrolled students take their college courses at VGCC’s Warren County Campus in Warrenton. No college classes are currently being offered at WCHS, and students are completing their work at the Warren Campus, according to Trustee Harris, chair of the Curriculum Committee. The change will be effective as of the Fall 2018 academic term.
  • An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was given by the Personnel Committee, chaired by Trustee Sara C. Wester.
  • New and amended board policies for the 2018-2019 Policy Manual were approved by the Trustees on a recommendation from the Executive Committee, chaired by Trustee Wright. The policies cover areas of organizational structure, public information and campus safety, personnel policies, academic affairs, institutional research and technology, and finance and operations.
  • Trustee Frazier, chair of the Investment Committee, reported on the progress of the college’s investments.

A Board Retreat has been scheduled for August 7, and the Trustees will participate in Ethics Training on August 29. The next meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, September 17, at the Main Campus.

Connect NC Bond renovation projects at VGCC planned for 2018

/by

— courtesy VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College is gearing up to begin renovations that will improve masonry rooflines, walls and bridges at the Main Campus using the funds allocated by the Connect NC State Bond.

Renovations to restore, repair and waterproof masonry will be placed out for bids in April with work scheduled to begin in May, according to a report delivered to the VGCC Board of Trustees at its bimonthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 22.

Trustee Donald C. Seifert, Sr., chair of the board’s Building Committee, reported that funding will come from $1 million of the funds allocated by the Connect NC Bond passed by North Carolina voters in March 2016. A remaining balance of $69,000 from county resources that has been used for structural renovations to roofs and masonry will also be available for the project.

Bids will be going out in March for the renovation of 3,200 square feet of space in the college’s newest building, Building 10, to accommodate a practical simulation lab for the Basic Law Enforcement Training, Fire/Rescue and Emergency Medical Services programs housed there. Connect NC bond money will be combined with a private donation to complete the project. The renovation may provide an opportunity for the college to expand the training it offers for public services.

At the Franklin Campus in Louisburg, the Welding Technology lab is being renovated to add eight welding booths with plans to complete that project this month. A demonstration area in a Welding classroom, adjacent to the lab, will be renovated and ready for use this summer. This project is being funded with Connect NC bond money.

In a general discussion on the college’s services to the community, Dr. Stelfanie Williams, VGCC’s president, cited efforts to help area business and industry.

For example, she noted, the college met with leaders of a new industry, Mako Medical Laboratories, to address their educational needs.

The college will begin meeting the needs of the newly announced industry through its Histotechnology and Medical Assisting curriculum programs, she said, with plans to add a Medical Laboratory Technology curriculum.

Mako, a Wake County-based medical diagnostic testing company, announced in November a decision to expand with the location of a facility in Henderson and the eventual creation of more than 150 jobs. The company is locating in the former Harperprints building with an initial 30 to 50 jobs, according to the announcement last fall.

“Our Histotechnology and Medical Assisting programs will be a great start for them,” she added. “We’ve been able to sit down with them. We had about 10 of our employees with the college meet with their senior leaders and talk about how they are going to grow and how Vance-Granville can serve them.”

“It’s a great company,” she added. “I think we are very fortunate to have them.”

In other action:

• In her report to the board, Dr. Williams highlighted recent accomplishments and opportunities at the college, citing in particular recent efforts of VGCC’s Pharmacy Technology students leading service projects to provide relief to people in the Caribbean who were affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria and a partnership with police and a pharmacy in Creedmoor for a drug collection event for people to dispose of outdated and unused prescription drugs. Similarly, Dr. Williams noted, college students collected school supplies and books for children affected by domestic violence, citing a service project by the Alpha Sigma Chi chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

• The board gave approval to Mid-Year Amendments to the 2017-2018 Budget as presented by Trustee Abdul Rasheed, chair of the Budget Committee. The adjustments were made to account for $1,834,568 in carryover funds from the previous year and grant funding.

• In the reports of the Curriculum Committee, chaired by Trustee Barbara Cates Harris, approval was given to a course to be offered at correctional facilities in Butner, Bunn and Manson, and an Accountability and Integrity Plan for Workforce Continuing Education was approved by the board.

• Trustee L. Opie Frazier, Jr., chair of the board’s Investment Committee, reported on continued growth of the college’s investments.

• An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was provided by Trustee Sara Wester, chair of the board’s Personnel Committee.

Board of Trustees Chair Danny W. Wright presided over the meeting.

The Board of Trustees will hold its next regular meeting on March 19 at the Main Campus.

— VGCC —

VGCC Trustees elect Danny Wright as chair; Wester, Seifert reappointed

/by

The Vance-Granville Community College Board of Trustees selected Danny W. Wright of Henderson as its next chair, succeeding Deborah Brown, as the board met for its bi-monthly meeting on Monday, July 18, on the college’s Main Campus.

Herb Gregory of Oxford was re-elected as vice chair, while Brown, a Henderson resident, was elected secretary of the board, succeeding Dr. Doris Terry Williams.

Wright first served as a trustee in 2011-2013, having been appointed by N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue, and then returned to the VGCC board in January 2015 as an appointee of the Vance County Board of Commissioners. He is a certified public accountant who retired as a county commissioner in 2010 after serving for 28 years.

Brown, who currently serves as a Vance commissioner and is also appointed to the Board of Trustees by that body, thanked her fellow trustees for the support they gave her as chair. She became the chair in July 2012.

“Mrs. Brown has supported this institution, challenged this institution and kept us focused on important things,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, Vance-Granville’s president. “Thank you for that.”

Two long-serving board members began new terms. Resident Superior Court Judge Henry W. “Chip” Hight, Jr., who serves the Ninth Judicial District, swore in Trustees Sara C. Wester and Donald C. Seifert, Sr., both of Henderson, to new four-year terms on the board. Wester was reappointed by the Vance County Board of Commissioners; Seifert, by the Vance County Board of Education. Wester was first appointed in 2004, while Seifert has been a trustee since 1996 and served as chair for nine years.

Building 10 Opening

An update on capital projects was provided, noting that the Building 10 renovation has been completed, final inspections have been performed and the building is ready for occupancy. Located across Poplar Creek Road from the rest of VGCC’s main campus, the building will house classrooms for Emergency Medical Services, Fire/Rescue Programs, Basic Law Enforcement Training, Law Enforcement In-Service training and other workforce programs. A dedication is planned for early August.

Investment Committee

Seven “very good, solid responses” were received to the Investment Committee’s request for proposals (RFP) for investment management services, said Steve Graham, VGCC’s vice president of finance and operations.

The Investment Committee, co-chaired by Trustees L. Opie Frazier, Jr., and Donald C. Seifert, Sr., reported that responses to the RFP will be reviewed and scored in July. A selection committee will hear finalist presentations in August. In September, a finalist will be presented to both the VGCC Endowment Fund Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees for approval.

Budget Amendments

Upon recommendation from the Budget Committee, chaired by Danny W. Wright, the 2015-2016 Budget Resolution was amended. The State Current Fund increased $2,126,684 to $23,633,789, the County Current Fund was unchanged at $2,390,408, and the Institutional Fund increased $218,052 to $13,119,445, for a combined Amended Operating Budget of $39,143,642. The Capital Improvement Budget increased $191,042 to $2,404,460. The total Combined Amended Budget is $41,548,102.

Fall Semester Enrollment

In her report to the board on recent activities and upcoming events, Dr. Stelfanie Williams informed the Trustees that the new Fall Semester starts Monday, Aug. 15. She said she has encouraged staff and faculty to focus on enrollment growth as the new academic year begins.

“I challenge the board to join us in our effort for ‘each one’ to ‘reach one,’” she said. “Try to find someone you think would benefit from the courses we offer, and help them get enrolled for fall.”

Dr. Williams also announced the following upcoming board events: the annual Board Retreat for the Trustees on Aug. 22, a North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees Fall Leadership Seminar in Charlotte on Sept. 7-9, and an Ethics Training session on Nov. 17.

Other Action

In other action:

  • The Trustees, on recommendation from the Curriculum Committee, approved the Sustainability Technologies program for closure by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and termination by the North Carolina Community College System. VGCC will contact students who have taken courses in the program to give them an opportunity to complete the credential before termination is effective in the summer of 2017. Low enrollment was cited as the reason for closing the program.
  • On recommendation from the Executive Committee, new and amended board policies were approved by the Trustees. The policies cover areas of public information and campus safety, academic and student affairs, and finance and operations.
  • An informational report on new employees, retirements, resignations and changes in positions was given by the Personnel Committee, chaired by Trustee Sara C. Wester.

The next meeting of the VGCC Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, Sept. 19, at the Main Campus.