Meeting Minutes

May 4, 2023

Board Members Present:

Board Members Absent:

• Mr. Phillip Duncan, Vice Chair

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Harris called the meeting of the Somerset Community College Board of Directors to order at 1:00 P.M. She welcomed everyone in attendance.

Chair Harris announced that Mr. Aaron Cook will be rotating off the Board of Directors. Mr. Cook served as Student Government President, Board of Directors, and on the SCC Leadership Council for the past year. He plans to transfer to the University of Kentucky this fall and major in engineering. Dr. Castle gave Mr. Cook a gift of appreciation.

ACTION ITEM: January 26, 2023 Minutes

Ms. Johnson announced that the minutes of the January 26, 2023 meeting were included in the agenda booklet and the book was mailed to board members in advance of the meeting.  Mr. Arnett moved the minutes to be approved as distributed.  Mr. Brown seconded the motion.  The minutes were unanimously approved.

CHAIR’S REMARKS

Chair Harris referred members to their agenda booklet to review the Summary Results of the Board of Directors Self-Evaluation. The book was mailed to board members in advance of the meeting. Chair Harris praised members for working well together and asked for any questions regarding the results. With no further discussion Chair Harris called on Ms. Jill Meece, Vice President of Administration to present the 2023-2024 Operating Budget Request.

ACTION ITEM: FY 2023-2024 Operating Budget Request

Ms. Jill Meece, VP of Administration, presented the FY 2023-2024 Operating Budget Request. Mr. Arnett made a motion to approve the budget as presented. Dr. Cherry seconded the motion. The 2023-2024 Operating Budget Request was approved unanimously.

PRESIDENT’S REMARKS

Dr. Castle shared a copy of the 2022-2026 SCC Strategic Plan and Mission Statement with the Board for their review.  Dr. Castle fully supports the plan as presented and reported that there are no changes. However, he invited Mr. Bruce Gover Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness to present updates to the Board at the next board meeting.

Dr. Castle updated the Board on some legislative changes and discussions. One is the HURON Project. This long-term project assesses 5 key areas of the colleges and system. Recommendations will be made based on their data gathering/reporting and will be centered around space utilization, academic programming optimization, and financial/organizational assessment.  The second was the bill that would have allowed for concealed firearms on campus. Currently, no firearms are allowed on any of our campuses or centers. We spoke directly with our legislators about the ability to manage our campuses and the safety of our students. The third was the bill that allows medical cannabis use. Dr. Castle will be working with the PLT to talk through how that looks for us and KCTCS.

Dr. Castle reported a few changes at SCC. Dr. Karleen Howard VP of Enrollment Management ended her contract with the College. This leaves Ms. Tracy Casada managing the student affairs area and Ms. Jamie Evans as the interim for the Enrollment Management. Mr. Larry Abbott the Vice President of Operations is retiring and that department will now report to Ms. Jill Meece Vice President of Administration.

Dr. Castle reported on enrollment for the College. The last few weeks of this semester SCC has seen a boost in numbers for summer and fall.

ACTION ITEM: Evaluation of Dr. Castle President, President/CEO

Chair Harris reported on the annual evaluation of Dr. Castle, President/CEO. Prior to the meeting board members were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The members briefly discussed the results of his performance and effectiveness as President and CEO.  Mr. Cook made a motion to approve the evaluation results. Mr. Arnett seconded the motion. The evaluation of Dr. Castle was approved unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT

Chair Harris announced the next meeting will be on July 27, 2023, and the meeting adjourned at 1:58 P.M.

Date Approved by Board of Directors: July 27, 2023