1 --------------------------------------x 2 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 3 SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 4 MICHAEL J. GRANT CAMPUS CAPTREE COMMONS, ROOM 113 5 BRENTWOOD, NEW YORK 6 --------------------------------------x 7 8 October 16, 2008 9:00 a.m. 9 10 11 12 13 BEFORE: 14 WILLIAM D. MOORE, Trustee/Chair 15 16 17 18 19 REPORTED BY: 20 THERESA PAPE, Court Reporter/Notary Public 21 22 23 24 25 FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 2 2 P R E S E N T: 3 WALTER C. HAZLITT, Trustee/Vice Chair 4 JERRY KANE, Trustee/Secretary 5 ERNESTO MATTACE, Trustee 6 BELINDA ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN, Trustee 7 DAVID OCHOA, Trustee 8 PAUL V. PONTIERI, JR., Trustee 9 FRANK C. TROTTA, Trustee 10 LORI CORRAR, Student Trustee 11 DR. SHIRLEY ROBINSON PIPPINS, President, SCCC 12 MARY LOU ARANEO, Vice President for 13 Institutional Advancement 14 JOANNE BRAXTON, Associate Vice President for Campus Affairs 15 GEORGE GATTA, Vice President for Workforce and 16 Economic Development 17 JAMES CANNIFF, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs 18 CHARLES STEIN, Vice President for Business and 19 Financial Affairs 20 ILENE KREITZER, General Counsel 21 22 A B S E N T: 23 AVETTE D. WARE, Trustee 24 25 FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 3 2 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Good morning. I'd 3 like to call our meeting to order, and 4 could we all please stand and follow me 5 in the Pledge to the Flag. 6 (WHEREUPON, the Pledge of 7 Allegiance was recited.) 8 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 9 Ilene, any reason not to move "F" 10 to "B," and go that way, or should we -- 11 MS. KREITZER: Sure, you can do 12 that. 13 CHAIRMAN MOORE: I can do that. We 14 all set? 15 All right. We're going to take 16 things a little bit out of order, but I 17 think it'll make us move more quickly 18 once we come back in. So -- but a very 19 brief Executive Session for a Contract 20 Personnel Matter, and then we'll return 21 and get to our other business. 22 Entertain that motion. 23 TRUSTEE OCHOA: So moved. 24 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Second? 25 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Second. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 4 2 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All in favor? 3 ALL: "Aye." 4 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Thank you. 5 (WHEREUPON, the Suffolk County 6 Community College Board of Trustees 7 entered Executive Session at 9:10 a.m., 8 after which the following transpired:) 9 (Time noted: 9:28 a.m.) 10 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All right. 11 At this point, I'll entertain a 12 motion to approve the minutes of our 13 Director's meeting from September 14 the 18th. 15 TRUSTEE MATTACE: So moved. 16 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Second. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All in favor? 18 ALL: "Aye." 19 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 20 And if I interpret Item B 21 correctly, we're going to get a Finance 22 Report on the Association. 23 MR. BRIGHT: Good morning. Marvin 24 Bright, Associate Vice President of 25 Student Affairs. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 5 2 The reports for the Association, 3 last year, we ended very good. 4 We have many successes in the 5 theatre, athletics, and we've had some 6 trips. 7 Both children learning centers at 8 the Grant and Ammerman Campus were 9 successes in their accreditations. 10 The Peconic Cafe continues to have 11 excellent service at the Eastern Campus. 12 And, as you know, the Bakers' 13 Workshop opened last year. 14 The end of the fiscal -- '07-'08 15 year, we actually had a net surplus of 16 $267,000. 17 This year, we look very strong. 18 Our enrollment is roughly over 19 4.5 percent. As a result of that, all 20 programs, activities and initiatives are 21 strong, with strong student involvement. 22 While the children learning centers 23 at the Ammerman and Grant Campus are 24 slightly down, we were able to 25 re-prioritize our budgets, and fully FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 6 2 cover the operations at the children 3 learning centers, through the 4 Association. 5 Again, the first couple of months 6 of the Peconic Cafe are doing extremely 7 well. And our Bakers' Workshop has been 8 stable in the past couple months, and 9 there are some new initiatives that we 10 will be exploring in the scope of the 11 operation. 12 Thank you very much. 13 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Any question? 14 DR. PIPPINS: So it's clear, we are 15 supporting the child care centers to 16 keep them solvent. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 18 Change your hats, put on your 19 Trustees hats now. 20 I'll entertain a motion to approve 21 our September 18th minutes. 22 TRUSTEE MATTACE: So moved. 23 SECRETARY KANE: Second. 24 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All in favor? 25 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Just one FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 7 2 comment on the -- this is the minutes of 3 the Board of Trustees. 4 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Yes, sir. 5 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: It never 6 shows -- we went into Executive Session, 7 but it never shows when we came out. 8 CHAIRMAN MOORE: It was five 9 minutes ago. 10 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: No, no. 11 CHAIRMAN MOORE: You're right. 12 That's actually correct. I noticed this 13 last night too. 14 Perhaps we can figure out -- 15 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: And no 16 action was taken. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Right. 18 TRUSTEE OCHOA: So there is 19 amendments -- 20 CHAIRMAN MOORE: There is an 21 amendment to be made there -- 22 TRUSTEE OCHOA: Right. 23 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- and we'll make 24 that amendment at our next meeting. 25 We'll approve subject to amendment, when FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 8 2 we get that time plugged in, when we 3 come back. 4 Thank you, Walter. 5 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: You're 6 welcome. 7 CHAIRMAN MOORE: And you're right. 8 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Good catch. 9 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Yes. 10 Now then, we've done Item F, we're 11 onto Item G. We're going to plug in a 12 number, on Item 4, and the bracketed 13 number is $214,340. And that is the 14 annual salary increase by the 3.38 15 percent cost of living number for the 16 county at this point. As much as we 17 think Dr. Pippins is worth an awful lot 18 more, we do recognize that, times in 19 which we're in, that's the 20 recommendation of the Board. 21 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: And that 22 number's just -- the record's consistent 23 with what the county gives the county 24 legislators and so forth; 25 percentage-wise, 3.38? FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 9 2 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Yes. 3 Any questions on any of the items? 4 (WHEREUPON, there was no response) 5 CHAIRMAN MOORE: I'll entertain a 6 motion to approve Resolution 2008.61 7 through 66, at this time. 8 TRUSTEE OCHOA: So moved. 9 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Second? 10 SECRETARY KANE: Second. 11 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All in favor? 12 ALL: "Aye." 13 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. Thank you. 14 Chuck Stein will give us our 15 Finance Report. 16 MR. STEIN: Good morning. 17 In your packet, you'll see 18 financial information. I want to remind 19 everyone again, the way the budget was 20 adopted at the county, the expenditures 21 exceeded revenues by 1.4 million 22 dollars. It's early in the year. Our 23 estimates at this point show us to have 24 revenues exceeding the budget by about 25 535,000. We're estimating expenditures FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 10 2 below budget of about 275,000. So that 3 still leaves a little bit of a gap, but 4 my expectation is that that will be made 5 up as we proceed through the -- the 6 year. And I expect that after we get 7 the full official census data from the 8 fall enrollment, you'll see revenues go 9 up a bit. So I'm not concerned about 10 that. I think we're in that ballpark. 11 My big concern, obviously, as most 12 people are concerned, the economic 13 situation that exists on Wall Street, 14 its impact on New York State and 15 whatever the potential impact is on us 16 in the current year. And I'm not even 17 talking about next year, at this point. 18 I think that's obviously something we're 19 going to have to give serious 20 consideration to. 21 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: The retirement 22 contribution -- the retirement 23 contribution and medical -- primarily 24 the retirement -- the retirement system? 25 MR. STEIN: Well, we have a number FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 11 2 of issues that are facing us. Right 3 now, just to step back for a moment, if 4 you recall, there was a lot of 5 discussion about whether or not state 6 aid per student, per FTE student was 7 going to be effected. And, we hear an 8 awful lot, right now, that the state is 9 going to have to come back into session 10 in November and take a good hard look at 11 the current year. Something that was 12 shown to me prior to the meeting, where 13 hopefully we will not be effected in the 14 current year, but we'll see. I think 15 they have to get up there, they have to 16 take a look at everything and let us 17 know. 18 As Dr. Pippins pointed out to you 19 at the last meeting, we are prepared to 20 deal with things, should that occur, and 21 it will cause areas not to be 22 implemented this year, but, obviously, 23 we have to be prepared. We will see 24 where that goes, after election day. 25 It's a major concern. And we have FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 12 2 to bear in mind that this is something 3 that will probably have a negative 4 impact next year for the state's budget, 5 and ultimately on us. So, we have to 6 bear all of that in mind as we proceed. 7 CHAIRMAN MOORE: I do believe we've 8 carved out a nice chunk of time for you, 9 and anyone you need to have with you, at 10 the retreat in November, to kind of 11 really air this out and have some good 12 conversation about that as we go into -- 13 the rest of this year and next year, she 14 said. I was well informed. 15 MR. STEIN: Okay. 16 Any questions? I'll be happy to 17 answer them. 18 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Since the 19 state budget is April 1st or March 31st, 20 does that go into effect as of this year 21 and next year? 22 MR. STEIN: Well, as I said, the 23 governor has intimated that he's going 24 to call the state legislature back in 25 November to discuss the current-year FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 13 2 budget. And so, obviously, we have 3 concerns about that. Though, you're 4 absolutely correct, the new state 5 budget, for 2009-'10, is supposed to be 6 effective April 1st of '09. And within 7 that budget, the state will establish 8 what the state aid will be to community 9 colleges, per FTE. So we'll have to be 10 mindful of the effects of that. 11 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 12 MR. STEIN: Thank you. 13 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Thank you. 14 I've only got one brief item on my 15 report, and that is to ask -- I sent an 16 e-mail off to all of you. If you have 17 topics for the retreat that you haven't 18 shared with me and you want to get those 19 up to me, that would be great. 20 As I mentioned, the budget is one 21 big piece of it. 22 The committees will meet with their 23 college-designated liaisons, we'll get 24 that ball rolling. And, I had a couple 25 folks make requests for changes, and FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 14 2 I've asked that, rather than trying to 3 put them through me, that you negotiate 4 back and forth. I have no problem with 5 people swapping committees. But I'll 6 leave it to yourselves to find any 7 changes in your assignment, if you're so 8 inclined, rather than having me 9 three-way it around. 10 I thought that was pretty clever. 11 TRUSTEE TROTTA: I was just going 12 to say that. 13 What's the date of that again? 14 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Yeah. 15 TRUSTEE TROTTA: The retreat again, 16 what was that again? 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: The date is 18 November the -- 19 MS. KOPP: The 20th. 20 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- 20th, at the 21 Culinary Arts Center. 22 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Oh, we're going 23 to be in Riverhead? 24 CHAIRMAN MOORE: At the 25 Riverhead -- yes. The one on Main FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 15 2 Street. 3 We've got pretty good -- I know you 4 will be away -- 5 TRUSTEE TROTTA: (Nodding) 6 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- otherwise, 7 we'll have good attendance, will we? 8 People will be able to be there? 9 All right. Anything any Board 10 Member wishes to share around the table? 11 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Yeah, I 12 don't have an e-mail. I don't know what 13 you're talking about. 14 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All right. Well, 15 I'll do it to you personally. 16 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Later. 17 Later. 18 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Later I'll do -- 19 if there's a topic of conversation or 20 information you want shared at the 21 retreat, do let me know. 22 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: No, I'm 23 talking about the committee assignments 24 there that you -- 25 TRUSTEE MATTACE: You want a copy FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 16 2 of the list? 3 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: What 4 committee you're on. 5 CHAIRMAN MOORE: You know -- 6 TRUSTEE MATTACE: I'll let you 7 know, Walter, I've got a copy. 8 CHAIRMAN MOORE: That's right. I 9 e-mailed -- 10 TRUSTEE TROTTA: His e-mail is 11 down -- 12 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Yeah. 13 TRUSTEE TROTTA: -- is what he's 14 saying. 15 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: I unplugged 16 it. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: I e-mail to 18 Nancy -- 19 SECRETARY KANE: Right. 20 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- and she shares 21 with you, that's kind of her. 22 I apologize, Walter. I forget that 23 you don't have an e-mail. 24 TRUSTEE MATTACE: I will e-mail you 25 my request, on the PLAs I'm going to FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 17 2 discuss. 3 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 4 TRUSTEE MATTACE: All right? 5 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Yes. 6 TRUSTEE MATTACE: And I think 7 that's a topic that we could discuss at 8 the retreat. 9 CHAIRMAN MOORE: All right. Very 10 good. I have a stack of information on 11 that. 12 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 13 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. Thank you. 14 All right. We'll move on to Dr. 15 Pippins' remarks. 16 DR. PIPPINS: We have two topics. 17 Faculty/Staff Housing, Executive 18 Vice President Gatta? 19 MR. GATTA: Over the past two 20 years, 18 months, a number of times I've 21 mentioned to the Board that there was an 22 interest expressed within the region for 23 colleges and universities to explore 24 faculty and staff housing as part of a 25 larger workforce housing initiative -- FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 18 2 affordable housing initiative. While we 3 expressed that, at the time, we had too 4 many other projects that we were 5 developing, and it was sort of put on 6 the back burner. 7 For some of the newer Board 8 Members, what we've been discussing -- 9 again, sporadically, intermittently -- 10 is looking at the feasibility of 11 establishing some faculty/staff housing 12 and/or college housing on this campus. 13 A couple of reasons: 14 First, it is within the sewer 15 district; 16 Secondly, there is some available 17 land that is not slated to be used, 18 either short term or long term, within 19 the master plan for the ultimate 20 development of the campus. 21 What precipitated this, is a couple 22 of things: 23 One, we have a new Vice President 24 for Workforce and Economic Development, 25 Jim Whitten, who has some time and some FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 19 2 inclination and interest on working on 3 this. 4 There is a larger regional 5 initiative that's begun to shape, the 6 Long Island Regional -- what was 7 formally called the Long Island Regional 8 Planning Board, which has become the 9 Long Island Regional Planning Council. 10 There's new life, there's been new 11 appointments by both the counties, both 12 county executives on that board. And 13 they've brought together a working group 14 of colleges, universities to look at the 15 topic. 16 So I wanted to just brief the 17 Board, let you know that we're meeting 18 with the Long Island Regional Planning 19 Council, with other colleges and 20 universities, to be part of that working 21 group. We've had some meetings with a 22 staff rep at the council. We're also 23 planning to meet with, and have met 24 with, the planning director in the 25 county, and also the Islip town planning FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 20 2 director, since the project that we're 3 looking at is within the town. Since we 4 would not develop this ourselves, we're 5 looking to develop it as a 6 public/private partnership, it would 7 fall within town zoning requirements. 8 Specifically, the area that we're 9 looking at is on the easterly side. 10 This being Wicks Road, the Expressway, 11 this being Sagtikos, over in this area. 12 (Indicating) 13 There's two pieces in this area 14 down here, there are four acres in this 15 area up in this section. It's about six 16 acres in total, about ten acres in 17 property, that -- that have the 18 potential to be developed. (Indicating) 19 Again, no decisions have been made. 20 It's really exploratory in nature. 21 We're going to look at feasibility, 22 we're going to look at market demand, 23 and we'll also test the waters in terms 24 of how we could structure this as a 25 public/private partnership. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 21 2 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: Have you spoke 3 to the Long Island Housing Partnership, 4 Peter Elkowitz and that group? 5 MR. GATTA: We did speak with 6 Peter, the last time we talked -- 7 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: Okay. 8 MR. GATTA: -- about this, but that 9 goes back probably a year. We do plan 10 to meet with Peter -- we're speaking 11 directly with Peter's former boss, Jim 12 Morgo, directly at the County 13 Executive's Office. Jim and the County 14 Executive are interested in this project 15 as well, and are supporting it. 16 That adds another very positive 17 element, because the county does have 18 some funding to support these-type 19 projects. Particularly as it relates to 20 infrastructure development. 21 So, we're looking at how we can 22 assemble enough pieces to make this work 23 financially, and also, to make sure that 24 it works for the campus and the college 25 as a whole. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 22 2 Hopefully, this will be the last 3 presentation you'll hear from me on 4 this. Jim Whitten -- Jim, why don't you 5 just stand for everyone? 6 MR. WHITTEN: (Complying) 7 MR. GATTA: Jim's our new VP for 8 Workforce and Economic Development. 9 Jim will be working directly on 10 this. And future updates, he'll 11 provide. If he needs me, he'll let me 12 know. 13 So, I just wanted to give you an 14 update. That's where we are, heading 15 down that path. No decision will be 16 made until the Board is fully briefed on 17 the specifics of any proposal. 18 DR. PIPPINS: George, since we're 19 talking about the area it includes, I'm 20 trying to find the right address of 21 depressed housing surrounding the 22 campus. Some colleges buy up property 23 that's in question. There's some 24 deteriorating properties around this 25 campus -- FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 23 2 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Rezoned projects. 3 DR. PIPPINS: -- so that, you know, 4 the entrances to the campus and the 5 surrounding area are at least 6 attractive. I just was wondering 7 whether or not that's something that 8 would ever be included in something like 9 this? 10 MR. GATTA: Well, you've got -- I 11 mean, you would add significantly some 12 questioning of such a project. And we 13 don't have the power of emanant domain, 14 we don't have the ability to bond. We 15 would need our local sponsor, if there 16 were bonding involved. 17 So you would need to structure a 18 project where you had willing sellers, 19 and you had a willing private partner 20 that could enter into the acquisition to 21 redevelop and rehabilitate the property. 22 Is it possible? It's possible. Is 23 it probable? 24 DR. PIPPINS: It's complex. 25 MR. GATTA: It's very complex. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 24 2 So the first step would be, how we 3 could develop that in an affordable way, 4 so that it works for the community, it 5 works for the college. 6 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Not that I'm 7 looking to hurt anybody that's out 8 there, but with the economy the way it's 9 set up today, and with the foreclosure 10 rates, there might be a lot of 11 properties out there just abandoned. 12 All right? Would that make it more 13 difficult? You know, if the property 14 was abandoned, and it's going to be 15 going up for auction, what's the 16 possibility of looking into, you know, 17 structures like that? 18 MR. GATTA: Again, we want to look 19 at the feasibility of it first. 20 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 21 MR. GATTA: If it doesn't make 22 sense in this environment, we may have 23 to put it on the shelf for a year or 24 two -- 25 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 25 2 MR. GATTA: -- to provide -- there 3 is a broader initiative going on, and we 4 want to be part of at least studying the 5 issue -- 6 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Of course. 7 MR. GATTA: -- seeing if we can be 8 part of the solution. 9 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Now, will a 10 committee be set up, through the 11 college, to look at this, or it'll be 12 just going through your office and -- 13 MR. GATTA: Well, actually, it will 14 be a college committee. Jim will head 15 it up. He'll be -- 16 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 17 MR. GATTA: -- working with the 18 Executive Dean on this campus, 19 Dr. McKay, and his team. It will 20 involve, you know, our facilities 21 people, our architect, our engineer on 22 staff, so that we got a good group of 23 folks working on this. 24 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Mr. Chairman, is 25 this the type of committee that we spoke FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 26 2 about in reference to the legislature, 3 to reach out to them, to get them 4 involved, from day one? 5 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Well, I -- I -- 6 yes. 7 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 8 CHAIRMAN MOORE: And I guess what 9 I'm hearing is don't -- don't close out 10 the possibility of looking beyond the 11 geographic confines of the campus. If 12 right across the street are six homes 13 that fall within that kind of category, 14 there may be somebody created with the 15 housing partnership or the council -- 16 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Right. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- or the 18 legislature that can work something up. 19 So -- okay. 20 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Just 21 looking at the neighborhood around here 22 though, I don't think that that would be 23 a factor. It's established, it's -- 24 TRUSTEE MATTACE: I agree with you, 25 Walter, but there's so many people out FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 27 2 there that I found out by discussing it 3 with them, that are -- thought 4 everything was fine, but they got sucked 5 into a mortgage or refinance, they 6 didn't even realize what was happening 7 and they got burnt. 8 SECRETARY KANE: Just curious, on 9 your condensations with Jim Morgo, did 10 the 44 acres come up? 11 MR. GATTA: Actually, I think I've 12 mentioned this, but it's probably worth 13 repeating. The county is not proceeding 14 with the feasibility study on the 15 un-development property in the northwest 16 quadrant. The properties about 17 44 acres -- 18 SECRETARY KANE: Right. 19 MR. GATTA: -- as Trustee Kane has 20 mentioned. They will be proceeding with 21 the feasibility study on the 60 acres 22 adjacent to the Ammerman Campus. This 23 is college-owned property, the 60 acres 24 adjacent to the Ammerman Campus is 25 county-owned property. And they are FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 28 2 going to look at how that could be 3 developed. We suggested a couple of -- 4 we'd like to see some property 5 land-banked for future expansion beyond 6 the -- Empire State College has a 7 15 million dollar capitol project 8 approved in this year's state budget, 9 for a Long Island Regional Facility for 10 Empire State College. It would be a 11 combination of administrative space and 12 instructional space. And they very much 13 want to be on or adjacent to the 14 Ammerman Campus. So the county is aware 15 of that, we've made them aware of that, 16 and they will be proceeding a 17 feasibility study on that property, but 18 not the 44 acres. 19 TRUSTEE MATTACE: The 60 acres 20 you're talking about, where is that 21 located on the edge of the campus? Is 22 that south of the athletic fields? 23 MR. GATTA: No. It is -- as you're 24 driving up College Road -- 25 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Yeah. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 29 2 MR. GATTA: -- and you got the 3 entrance that goes into the NFL 4 building, and then the next entrance 5 that goes up the hill -- 6 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Yeah. 7 MR. GATTA: -- it's the property 8 just to the north and east -- 9 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 10 MR. GATTA: -- of the property 11 along College Road -- 12 TRUSTEE MATTACE: Okay. 13 MR. GATTA: -- as it turns into 14 Mooney Pond Road. 15 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you, George. 16 Articulation Agreements, Vice 17 President Canniff. 18 MR. CANNIFF: Good morning. James 19 Canniff, Vice President for Academic and 20 Student Affairs. 21 I'm going to give you just a 22 snapshot of where we are with Transfer 23 and Articulation Agreements. 24 The second part of the presentation 25 is going to be -- you're going to be FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 30 2 hearing from Richard Briton, our 3 Associate Dean for General Education, 4 about an extraordinarily exciting 5 program with Cornell University that we 6 have planned. 7 I gave you a copy, in your booklet, 8 of our Transfer Brochure. About 50 to 9 60 percent of the students who graduate 10 from Suffolk Community College transfer. 11 The single institution that receives the 12 most students is Stony Brook. From 13 there it goes to St. Joseph's College, 14 Dowling College, SUNY/Farmingdale, SUNY 15 at Old Westbury, and then a number of 16 the other SUNY colleges, as well as 17 private colleges. 18 We have students transferring all 19 over the place. Dr. Pippins just met 20 with a group at the University of North 21 Carolina at Chapel Hill for our honor 22 students who attended here. We take an 23 academic approach to transfer. 24 Last week, seven or eight of us 25 attended a meeting at Stony Brook, FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 31 2 because we are, and this is in their 3 words, their largest feeder transfer 4 institution. 5 I want to quote from their 6 POWERPOINT, not mine. "Transfers from 7 Suffolk Community College do better than 8 those from other two-year schools." So, 9 as Vice President for Academic and 10 Student Affairs, that's music to my 11 ears. 12 But we need discipline to 13 discipline; chemistry to chemistry, 14 psychology to psychology. And work out 15 whose teaching what; what are you 16 covering? So that students can move 17 from Suffolk to their transfer 18 institution, in the smoothest way 19 possible. 20 Now, these transfer agreements are 21 often program to program. And I just 22 want to say a couple of things here: 23 If a student starts with us in 24 accounting, and they switch majors to 25 psychology, that's going to extend their FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 32 2 program in a four-year college. They're 3 not going to be able to graduate in 4 three years. 5 On the other hand, if they start 6 with us, and they continue in the same 7 agreement that we have, they can 8 graduate -- if they're full-time, they 9 can graduate in four semesters. 10 The State University Board of 11 Trustees has a major initiative now with 12 transfers. Oddly enough, we do have 13 some difficulty with some of the SUNY 14 transfers. A notable exception is Stony 15 Brook. We usually can work out the 16 issues there. And Richard Briton has 17 been working for representatives from 18 the three campuses, and representatives 19 from other colleges to work out various 20 course issues; course numbering issues, 21 content, what will you accept, what will 22 you not accept, what are you looking 23 for. 24 So there's a significant amount of 25 work going on. You also know that this FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 33 2 is a national issue. Think about it 3 this way: There are 1,185 community 4 colleges in the United States. This 5 September, 50 percent of the students 6 who started higher education, start with 7 community colleges. Think about it. 8 That's a lot of students nationally that 9 transfer from a two-year college to a 10 four-year college. So this has picked 11 up a national dimension now that I think 12 is going to help us. 13 Now, I have to say to you, we do 14 not get complaints from students; 15 saying, you know, I went to this school 16 and they didn't accept my whatever 17 courses. Now, that doesn't say that 18 doesn't exist, but we don't -- I don't 19 get them, and I do ask a lot about that 20 category. So, we're on top of it, we 21 spend a significant amount of time. It 22 was the major initiative for Richard 23 Briton, and he works with the academic 24 chiefs on the three campuses, and the 25 other deans. So it's a -- you know, I FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 34 2 think we're in very good shape in terms 3 of transfers. 4 State University has just put out a 5 website, which we are looking at in 6 terms of the content and accuracy. We 7 are also redoing our own transfer 8 website. There's a transfer council on 9 each campus, the students have access to 10 that information. And also, the reason 11 we do faculty to faculty discussions, is 12 that faculty become more aware of what's 13 happening at the other colleges, what's 14 happening within their disciplines. And 15 also, students frequently ask faculty 16 members, I'm graduating in May, and I -- 17 I want to continue in business, I want 18 to be on Long Island, where should I go? 19 So we want to keep faculty up-to-date on 20 this also. 21 I want to -- 22 DR. PIPPINS: Jim, can you just 23 speak a little bit to the initiatives at 24 the state level, to address articulation 25 challenges? FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 35 2 MR. CANNIFF: The State University 3 Board of Trustees, as a community 4 college committee, is working diligently 5 in terms of underline net worth. They 6 are -- they want this issue -- they've 7 had a lot of complaints from the 8 presidents about courses that are taken 9 at the first and second year level, that 10 for some reason, don't transfer. And we 11 are looking at that. But their -- their 12 opinion is this: Look, we are a system. 13 We've got 64 colleges. We talk to each 14 other; we've got a chancellor, we've got 15 presidents. Why can't we work this out? 16 This is not rocket science. 17 So they have taken a very 18 aggressive stance with this, and there's 19 a meeting coming in November, and 20 there's a major report going on and -- 21 because I have been in touch with the 22 Provost's office, and she's been in 23 touch with me over these issues, because 24 we've let them know, if we don't get a 25 response from this college, and I called FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 36 2 the -- if you try and try, as Richard 3 has, and you don't get a response, I 4 call the Provost's office and they call. 5 So we're very aggressive on that. 6 DR. PIPPINS: Does that answer 7 questions? I know there was some 8 questions. I mean, there is a -- this 9 is a challenge nationally. 10 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Right. 11 DR. PIPPINS: Some states have 12 handled it better than New York has, but 13 New York is working very hard. I think 14 the current Board of Trustees at the 15 state level are really committed to 16 trying to do something about the whole 17 area of articulation, and make it easier 18 for our students to transfer, putting in 19 place a more natural transition for 20 students. 21 MR. CANNIFF: Ed Cox, as a 22 community college committee head, has 23 really been the leader in this, and our 24 own Mike Russell, who is a graduate of 25 Suffolk Community College, has also been FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 37 2 a major component in this area. So 3 we've got good support. 4 I want to bring Richard Briton up, 5 and ask him to tell you about this 6 really exciting program, funded by the 7 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation at Cornell 8 University. 9 Richard is the Associate Dean for 10 General Education. 11 DR. PIPPINS: Are there any other 12 questions about -- 13 MR. CANNIFF: Yes. 14 DR. PIPPINS: -- articulation in 15 general, before we move to this more 16 specific example? 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Well, I'm glad to 18 hear that, at least on a SUNY level, 19 we're recognized and we're all part of a 20 system. And this should work on a much 21 higher level than the need to work on 22 this intensive one-to-one -- I think 23 that's the practical reality of this 24 stuff. But what you're in, what we have 25 been working on in years past, you talk FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 38 2 about formalized articulation agreements 3 and establishing those relationships 4 with other places. 5 And I know we've got great 6 advertising from television that promote 7 all this, and I guess I'm happy to hear 8 that there are not the problems that I 9 would anticipate after the transfer of 10 the student out to the places. And -- 11 DR. PIPPINS: I think there are 12 problems, I think we could say that 13 they're working diligently on them. 14 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 15 DR. PIPPINS: We may have fewer 16 problems, but some other -- every -- all 17 the colleges have problems periodically. 18 So it is a challenge, enough that 19 they're concerned about it. 20 MR. CANNIFF: I can say this, for 21 the size of this institute, thinking 22 about all of our students, we don't have 23 as many problems with transfers, other 24 institutions aside. But that's because 25 we work on it, and we are in contact FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 39 2 with the four-year colleges, and they 3 with us. We're spending a lot of time 4 on this. 5 Okay. Thank you. 6 MR. BRITON: This is only good 7 news. And it involves, actually, 8 getting money instead of having to give 9 money out. 10 Last June, we received a letter 11 from Cornell, and I believe all of you 12 have the booklet here. And they invited 13 us to be part of what they are calling 14 the "Pathway to Success Program". 15 They received a grant from the Jack 16 Kent Cooke Foundation, and I don't know 17 the number for the -- the amount for the 18 grant, but it's very, very large. And 19 the essential function of the grant is 20 to take students from community 21 colleges, enroll them in Cornell and pay 22 all of their expenses. 23 So clearly, this is something we 24 wanted to be a part of. 25 (Overlapping conversations) FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 40 2 MR. BRITON: Don't kill the 3 messenger. 4 They started with two colleges 5 upstate: Monroe Community and 6 Morrisville -- essentially an Ag and 7 Tech School. They then wished to 8 expand, and selected Suffolk Community 9 College, Nassau Community and Burrows of 10 Manhattan. 11 And they selected us marginally 12 because of our success in sending 13 students to Cornell. And through the 14 honors program and other programs, we've 15 been successful. There's a fair number 16 of students going to Cornell and being 17 successful. And so, they invited us to 18 be a part of this. 19 Last weekend, we took a group -- 20 Kate Rowe and I took a group of faculty 21 and counseling staff up to Cornell to 22 work out the arrangements. And this is 23 essentially what it comes down to: 24 A student who we can identify as 25 being likely to be successful -- and FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 41 2 initially we selected 800 students who 3 had a 3.7 or above. But there are more 4 who, in fact, would fall into this 5 group. 6 Will be invited to attend a meeting 7 next week with us, and with a 8 representative from Cornell. We'll 9 ultimately sort out the group. We would 10 be sending students to Cornell on their 11 transfer day in November. 12 Once the selection is made -- and 13 we have X-number of students who are in 14 fact going to apply. And, by the way, 15 there is no limit to the number of 16 students. But clearly, it's going to be 17 self-limiting. 18 They can apply at any of the seven 19 schools. Cornell will even pick up the 20 cost of the application. They apply to 21 any of the seven schools, they are -- 22 you're still in disbelief; right. 23 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Okay, when's the 24 bottom going to drop out? 25 MR. BRITON: They are counseled by FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 42 2 advisors at Cornell, as well as our own 3 counseling staff. And I should say that 4 Cornell was incredibly receptive. We 5 each met with the Director of Admissions 6 in one of the seven Cornell Colleges, 7 learned a great deal about the 8 differences among them, the differences 9 in academic requirement and so on. 10 The contact is made from the first 11 semester here, until they actually 12 transfer. Every course they take here 13 will be evaluated directly, to make 14 certain it's exactly the one they want 15 at Cornell. And if it isn't, the 16 student will be advised by our transfer 17 counselors, as well as Cornell's, as to 18 which ones they choose. Be, in fact, 19 taking, so they hit the ground running 20 when they get there. 21 When they get there, they are 22 housed in student housing, or they can 23 receive an allowance if they're married, 24 and can live off-campus. But they 25 receive an allowance, they receive all FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 43 2 of their -- all of their living expenses 3 are paid, their tuition is paid. So it 4 is essentially the most -- you're going 5 too? 6 MS. ARANEO: I've got two. 7 MR. BRITON: It is essentially a 8 free ride for most of our students. 9 There is the economic issue. So 10 students who fall into the $120,000 and 11 above bracket, will in fact have 12 essentially the loan co-pay of $3,000. 13 It clearly is a good deal. 14 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Do they 15 have sports there? Do they have field 16 hockey and softball? 17 MR. BRITON: You can't go. 18 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: No, it's 19 not for me. I have a child who's ready 20 to go to college. 21 MR. BRITON: But it's a -- it's 22 just a wonderful arrangement, and we're 23 very, very fortunate to be part of it. 24 So what we're doing now is just 25 putting it together. And, you know, FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 44 2 invite me back next year and I'll tell 3 you how our students did. 4 Are there any questions? 5 TRUSTEE TROTTA: That's because 6 we're a college of excellence, we are 7 here at this place and time. 8 DR. PIPPINS: Well, it really 9 connects to Jim's report in terms of how 10 our students perform when they -- 11 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Right. 12 DR. PIPPINS: -- transfer -- 13 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Sure. 14 DR. PIPPINS: -- and they're 15 looking for strong transfer students. 16 And if you go -- Jim also -- because 17 Vice President Araneo and I made a visit 18 to North Carolina, and we met with ten 19 of our honors students. Again, students 20 who started here, transferred there. 21 We've got students at NYU, Columbia, you 22 name it. And I guess that's the secret 23 that people really don't have, that 24 students come here and they can go 25 almost anywhere they want to. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 45 2 So this is just a shining example 3 of the success of our transfer program. 4 SECRETARY KANE: I'm just curious, 5 you must know, what is the tuition and 6 room and board at Cornell? 7 MR. BRITON: Around 40,000. 8 TRUSTEE TROTTA: -- thousand 9 dollars, yeah. 10 MR. BRITON: So, our students will 11 have a maximum expenditure of $3,000. 12 Any other -- okay, thank you. 13 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Thank 14 you. 15 TRUSTEE MATTACE: I'd just like to 16 thank -- 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Thank you. 18 TRUSTEE MATTACE: -- thank them for 19 the presentation, and thank the 20 President's office. 21 This is one of the questions that 22 came up within the evaluation, and I was 23 enlightened when I first was told about 24 the problems we were having with SUNY 25 itself. You know, within the -- the FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 46 2 transfers. 3 So, this is another area that we're 4 not involved with everyday. It's very 5 important to our students, you know, and 6 the community, that we have to know 7 what's going on. And I think, part of 8 the process that we went through by 9 revamping the evaluation and by, you 10 know, keeping up with it, helps us, 11 because we're getting input from 12 everybody that's out there, that's 13 actually working in the trenches. 14 CHAIRMAN MOORE: What's the 15 stumbling block, and whose putting up 16 the obstacle? I mean, if the college 17 presidents from SUNY are 18 understanding this is a problem -- 19 DR. PIPPINS: The community college 20 presidents. 21 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. 22 You've identified the problem by 23 not -- okay. 24 DR. PIPPINS: No, I don't mean -- 25 we're not -- but we're the ones who are FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 47 2 supporting the ease in articulation. 3 TRUSTEE OCHOA: Right. 4 DR. PIPPINS: I wanted to make sure 5 that you realized -- 6 CHAIRMAN MOORE: No, I got that 7 part. 8 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Message received. 9 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Where is the 10 stumbling block? 11 DR. PIPPINS: I think -- and, you 12 know, the whole concept of elitism 13 that's so strong in the northeast, so 14 those schools that have stature want to 15 maintain that image by being 16 exclusionary in some ways. 17 CHAIRMAN MOORE: We're talking 18 about the SUNY colleges? 19 DR. PIPPINS: Yes. 20 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Yes. 21 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. And in that 22 same sense, sentimentality or -- 23 DR. PIPPINS: Right. 24 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- sentiment 25 rather than -- FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 48 2 DR. PIPPINS: It's easier to get -- 3 these students are transferring into 4 Cornell -- it's part of the system 5 theoretically, but, I mean, they're 6 transferring to NYU and Columbia and 7 University at North Carolina, Chapel 8 Hill more easily than they are the other 9 SUNY Colleges, and it's an embarrassment 10 to SUNY. 11 CHAIRMAN MOORE: And I guess the 12 question would be, is there a role for 13 the Trustees to play in this ringer and 14 to say, how horrible. 15 DR. PIPPINS: I think, keep asking 16 questions. Ask us, we'll ask them, 17 we'll keep the pressure on. But I think 18 there's a commitment to doing something 19 about it now, and my hope is that it 20 will -- there will be a change. 21 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. Just 22 looking for -- where to -- 23 DR. PIPPINS: Right. 24 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- push the 25 energy. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 49 2 DR. PIPPINS: Well, it's very 3 important, because assuming that you 4 have fewer resources, you spend two 5 years with us, do extremely well, then 6 to transfer, and then have to repeat 7 work -- 8 TRUSTEE TROTTA: Sure. 9 DR. PIPPINS: -- that just 10 decreases the possibility that they'll 11 graduate, ever. That's the problem. 12 CHAIRMAN MOORE: And we've 13 confirmed half or more than half of our 14 students are transfer students. 15 DR. PIPPINS: I think that 16 percentage will increase in this current 17 economic environment. 18 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Okay. Thank 19 you -- 20 DR. PIPPINS: That -- 21 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- for that -- 22 DR. PIPPINS: -- concludes -- 23 CHAIRMAN MOORE: -- report, that 24 was very helpful. 25 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you. FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 50 2 CHAIRMAN MOORE: Anything else from 3 the Board? 4 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 5 CHAIRMAN MOORE: I'll entertain a 6 motion to adjourn. 7 TRUSTEE MATTACE: So moved. 8 TRUSTEE OCHOA: So moved. 9 CHAIRMAN MOORE: And we'll see you 10 at the retreat. 11 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Second. 12 Put me down -- reflect in the 13 minutes that I said "second." 14 (WHEREUPON, this proceeding was 15 adjourned at 10:08 a.m.) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054 1 SCCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 51 2 3 4 C E R T I F I C A T E 5 6 I, THERESA PAPE, a Shorthand Reporter and 7 Notary Public of the State of New York, do hereby 8 certify: 9 That the witness whose examination is 10 hereinbefore set forth, was duly sworn, and that 11 such examination is a true record of the testimony 12 given by such witness. 13 I further certify that I am not related to 14 any of the parties to this action by blood or 15 marriage; and that I am in no way interested in the 16 outcome of this matter. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my 18 hand this 16th day of October, 2008. 19 20 21 ___________________________________ THERESA PAPE 22 23 24 25 FIVE STAR REPORTING, INC., 631-224-5054