MINUTES
Retreat –
Board of Trustees
September
29-30, 2006
In accordance with the terms and provisions
of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of Texas Government Code, the Board
of Trustees of the Austin Community College District convened in public session
on Friday, September 29, 2006, at 6:15 p.m. in the Conference Room of the
Austin Area Urban League located at 1033 LaPosada Drive, Austin, Texas, with
the following members present: Mr. John F. Hernandez, Chair/Presiding Officer;
Ms. Nan McRaven, Board Vice Chair; Ms. Veronica Rivera, Secretary; Mr. Allen H.
Kaplan; Dr. James W. McGuffee and Mr. Jeffrey K. Richard. Trustees Lillian J. Davis, Barbara P. Mink,
and Rafael were absent from the meeting.
Also participating were Dr. Stephen B.
Kinslow, College President; Ms. Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President
for Governmental Relations; and Ms. Linda Welsh, President, Full-Time Faculty
Senate.
It is further found and
determined that in accordance with the policies and orders of this Board, the
notice of this meeting has been posted and return thereof made pursuant to the
terms and provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas
Government Code, and there has been full compliance with the terms and
provisions of said act, including the timely posting of the subjects of this
meeting.
Agenda Item 8254
Retreat Overview and Discussions
Trustees and participants were welcomed to
the Retreat by Mr. John Hernandez, Board Chair.
He stated that the purpose of the Retreat was to set goals for the Board
of Trustees for Fiscal Year 2007 and to discuss accomplishments at the August
2007 Retreat.
Dr. Kinslow called attention to the
Retreat discussions including legacies and shared vision, FY2006 Institutional
Goals, proposed FY2007 Institutional Goals and Planning Directives, and a
Shared Vision Statement.
·
Trustees
John Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, James McGuffee, Nan McRaven, Jeffrey Richard, and
Veronica Rivera and President Kinslow provided information regarding what each
wanted their “legacy as an ACC Trustee” to be; why each wanted to be an ACC
Trustee/President; what excited each about the ACC District; and what each
hoped to contribute to the District.
·
Discussion of Board Professional
Development/Travel Guidelines
Chair Hernandez expressed appreciation to
Trustee Kaplan for providing a listing of Professional Development/Travel
activities for Fiscal Year 2007 and encouraged Trustees to participate in as
many of the events as they felt would be beneficial in their role. He encouraged Trustees to take an active role
in state and national meetings. Mr.
Hernandez stated his desire for the full Board to attend an event/dinner.
He advised that the College staff would
not coordinate nor make travel arrangements for a Trustee’s companion/guest to
conferences attended by Trustees.
Trustees discussed daily per diem limits, approval for participation in
any/all meal functions at conferences, the need for the Board of Trustees to be
invited to Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce functions—such as the Portland,
Oregon trip; the need for information from Trustees regarding any upcoming
conferences; information on how to become effective in organizations at the national
level; the need for the Board to host an event during the upcoming legislative
session; and a listing of Trustee participation in professional development.
Dr. Kinslow stated Ben Ferrell, Vice
President for Business Services, would provide information for Trustees on
travel policies, guidelines, and reimbursements.
Mr. Hernandez advised that requests for
travel and reimbursements should be forwarded through him for approval.
Recess
Mr. Hernandez recessed the
Reconvene
The
Board of Trustees of Austin Community College reconvened in public session at
·
Discussion of Board Policy Review Process
Trustee Veronica Rivera, Board Secretary,
advised that it was time for the Board to review the Board Policies. She distributed copies of all current Board
policies, a rating sheet for Trustees to rate each policy as: ?=I have a
question; G=Good As Is; M=Minor Revisions Needed; and S=Substantive Changes
Needed. She also provided the calendar
of Board meetings and a suggested timeline for completion of the Policy Review
Process.
She asked Trustees to review and rate the
current policies and submit the completed rating sheets to Pat Stubbs no later
than Wednesday, November 22. She
requested that College administrators and organizations should also review the
policies and complete the rating sheets.
Ms. Rivera stated the rating sheets would
be tabulated and the results would be provided at the
[Trustee James McGuffee left the meeting
at
·
Open Records/Open Meetings Training
Ms. Denise Pierce, attorney with
Bickerstaff, Heath, Pollan & Caroom, L.L.P., provided an hour-long training
on Open Records/Open Meetings as required for each elected or appointed member
of a governmental body and other public officials who are subject to the Open
Meetings Act. Senate Bill 286 of the 79th
Regular Legislative Session amended Government Code, Subchapter A, Chapter 551,
by adding Section 551.005 to require certain public officials to complete open
government training. Ms. Pierce stated
Trustee McGuffee had taken the training at an earlier date. Trustees Hernandez, Kaplan, McRaven, Richard
and Rivera completed the required training at the
Recess
Mr. Hernandez recessed the September 29-30, 2006, Retreat
of the Board of Trustees of Austin Community College on Friday, September 29,
2006, at 9:30 p.m.
Reconvene
In accordance with the terms and
provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of Texas Government
Code, the Board of Trustees of the Austin Community College District reconvened
in public session on Saturday, September 30, 2006, at 9:05 a.m. in the
Conference Room of the Austin Area Urban League located at 1033 LaPosada Drive,
Austin, Texas, with the following members present: Mr. John F. Hernandez,
Chair/Presiding Officer; Ms. Nan McRaven, Board Vice Chair; Ms. Veronica
Rivera, Secretary [arrived at 10:15 a.m.]; Mr. Allen H. Kaplan; Dr. James W.
McGuffee; Dr. Barbara P. Mink; Mr. Rafael Quintanilla; and Mr. Jeffrey K.
Richard. Trustee Lillian J. Davis was
absent from the meeting.
Also participating were: Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, College President;
Ms. Linda Young, Special Assistant to the President for Governmental Relations;
Mr. Ben Ferrell, Vice President for Business Services; Dr. Kathleen
Christensen, Vice President for Student Support and Success Systems; Dr. Tyra
Duncan-Hall, Provost of Campus Operations; Ms. Soon Merz, Associate Vice President
for Effectiveness and Accountability; Mr. Bill Mullane, Director, Facilities
and Construction; and Ms. Linda Welsh, President, Full-Time Faculty Senate.
Agenda Item 8254 (continued)
Board Chair John Hernandez welcomed participants
to the second day of the September 29-30 Board Retreat.
Trustees Barbara Mink and Rafael
Quintanilla provided information regarding what each wanted their “legacy as an
ACC Trustee” to be; why each wanted to be an ACC Trustee; what excited each
about the ACC District; and what each hoped to contribute to the District.
·
Legacies and
Shared Vision
Dr. Kinslow distributed and discussed
“Legacies and Shared Vision”; “Board/President Goals (2006)” including goal
areas, metrics, and comments from the President regarding attainment of the
2006 goals; and “ACC: A Critical
Regional Resource, 2005-2006 Academic Year Update”. Trustees expressed the need to have
additional information on expectations for FY2007 and decisions from the Board
to meet the goals, particularly: what
are we doing as an institution across the state and nation to change the
impression of community colleges and how to work together to accomplish this;
becoming more knowledgeable about Williamson County; and academic freedom.
Trustees reviewed proposed revisions to
Board Policy A-1, Vision/Mission/Values Statement. Ms. Soon Merz discussed the College’s
Dr. Kinslow distributed and discussed
“Marketing ACC: An Integrated Plan for
Closing the Gaps, 2006-2007”.
·
Discussion of Legislative Priorities
Ms. Linda Young discussed “Legislative
Priorities 2007, Texas Association of Community Colleges” and “Close the Gaps
by Making Community Colleges a Priority.
It’s Time”. She responded to
Trustees regarding:
o
other
community colleges in Reality #2—“Community
Colleges are funded differently than 4-year colleges and universities, and this
impacts their success in meeting community demands”;
o
strengthening
Reality #3—“Given the increased demands
of community colleges, declines in State funding REQUIRE increases in local
taxes and tuition/fees”;
o
ensuring
that legislators are getting the message, and how can the Board know that they
are getting the message;
o
the
need for a reality check for ACC regarding who is in the forefront--who will
have first call at the Legislature, who is ahead of ACC;
o
planning
and commitment needed from the Board with goals established and a report on
achievement of the goals at the August 2007 Board Retreat;
o
need
to determine what is needed from the Legislature and look at the dollars;
o
local
legislators need to champion this for ACC, with assistance from the Board;
o
community
college day at the Legislature;
o
need
to host a reception for legislators and have the students in attendance-- alumni,
lawyers, police, hospitals, etc., are stakeholders and would be willing to
assist in messaging; and
o
possible
website information to be communicated from the community to legislators.
Mr. Hernandez suggested that a plan be
developed and presented at an upcoming Board meeting on how the Board can
assist with getting information to legislators.
He said the four largest community colleges in
Ms. Young called attention to the Board
Community Forum with the Legislative Delegation to dialog on the
accomplishments and needs of
·
Discussion of Facilities Master Planning
Update on Facilities Master Planning - Mr. Bill Mullane presented an update on
facilities master planning including findings and recommendations from the
consultants:
o
expected
growth in the eight-county area to increase population by 694,000 in the next
20 year;
o
ACC
must increase the capture rate to achieve the goal of 47,678 students in 2025;
o
the
need for more instructional and student support space per student;
o
campuses
should be planned to accommodate more students and to allow for growth of the
campus along with the demand;
o
development
of three new campuses over the next twenty years in orer to achieve the
enrollment and retention goals in Closing
the Gaps;
o
site
acquisitions should be strategic, rather than opportunistic;
o
three
proposed strategic alternatives:
concentrated learning center – 3 new campuses and distributed learning
centers – 6 new campuses; and maximize existing capacity – 2 new campuses.
Mr. Mullane responded to questions from
Trustees regarding how old the capture rate was, how often the capture rate was
known, and when an improvement in the capture rate would occur; how ACC would
get the 47,678 students by 2025; the number of students currently on each
campus; and alternative instructional delivery models.
Pinnacle Campus - Mr. Mullane discussed expansion of the Pinnacle
parking lot and stated Facilities and Construction was prepared to proceed with
the expansion of the parking lot, which was funded for $650,000 in the 2003
General Obligation Bond package.
Mr. Ben Ferrell stated that the Board’s
discussion at the Retreat was considered as the first reading of the request to
proceed with the design/bid/build project delivery process. He said the design/bid/build project delivery
process would be presented for approval at the
The eastern tract would be considered
exempt from the impervious cover limit of 25% if ACC requests such a
determination in the site plan review process.
Mr. Mullane responded to questions from
Trustees regarding the need for information, in writing, from the City of
Trustee Rafael Quintanilla proposed that a
letter be sent to the Mayor, City of
Executive
Session
There was no
Executive Session.
Announcements
There were no announcements.
Adjournment
Having no motion before the Board, the
Approved By
Veronica Rivera, Secretary