1 2 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 3 SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 4 533 College Road Selden, New York 5 6 August 20, 2009 8:30 a.m. 7 8 9 10 11 12 BEFORE: 13 ERNESTO MATTACE, Trustee/Chair 14 15 16 17 18 REPORTED BY: 19 THERESA PAPE, Court Reporter/Notary Public 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 2 P R E S E N T: 3 WALTER C. HAZLITT, Trustee/Vice Chair 4 JERRY KANE, Trustee/Secretary 5 BELINDA ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN, Trustee 6 DAVID OCHOA, Trustee 7 PAUL V. PONTIERI, JR., Trustee 8 SAUL R. FENCHEL, Trustee 9 AVETTE D. WARE, Trustee 10 THOMAS J. GERMANO, Trustee 11 CHIGOZIE ONYINANYA, Student Trustee 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 3 2 A L S O P R E S E N T: 3 GEORGE GATTA, Interim President, SCCC 4 MARY LOU ARANEO, Vice President for 5 Institutional Advancement 6 JAMES CANNIFF, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs 7 ILENE KREITZER, Executive Director of 8 Legal Affairs 9 MARVIN L. BRIGHT, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs 10 JOHN BULLARD, Associate Dean of Finance 11 12 13 G U E S T S: 14 GINA PENA, Student Government Treasurer 15 MICHAEL CARROLL, Student Government 16 President 17 18 19 *** All other interested parties 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 4 2 (WHEREUPON, this proceeding 3 convened at 8:30 a.m. Off-the-record 4 discussions ensued, after which the 5 following transpired:) 6 (Time noted: 8:35 a.m.) 7 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Good morning, 8 everyone. 9 Walter, will you lead us in the 10 pledge, please. 11 (Pledge of Allegiance) 12 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you. 13 I would like to thank and welcome 14 all our guests here this morning. 15 Do we have everything set up for 16 the swearing-in ceremony? 17 Okay. Will our new Trustees please 18 rise. 19 (Swearing-in of Trustee Thomas 20 Germano.) 21 (Applause) 22 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you, thank 23 you. 24 (Swearing-in of Student Trustee 25 Chigozie Onyinanya.) 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 5 2 (Applause) 3 TRUSTEE OCHOA: Mr. Chairman -- 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yes. 5 TRUSTEE OCHOA: -- at our last 6 meeting, we had a form of election that 7 we need to rectify. And I would like 8 to, as a matter of record for an open 9 meeting, renominate the full slate that 10 we had last summarized around, and 11 withdraw the candidate myself. And 12 that's my motion, sir. 13 SECRETARY KANE: Second. 14 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All those in 15 favor? 16 ALL: Aye. 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 18 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 19 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 20 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you. 22 TRUSTEE OCHOA: Thank you. 23 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. We will 24 proceed to executive session. 25 MS. KREITZER: You need to make a 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 6 2 motion. 3 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: We need to make 4 a motion. My attorney. 5 (Laughter) 6 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: We need a motion 7 for executive session. 8 TRUSTEE OCHOA: So moved. 9 SECRETARY KANE: Second. 10 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All those in 11 favor? 12 ALL: Aye. 13 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 14 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 16 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you. 18 A forward litigation and employment 19 of a person. 20 (WHEREUPON, executive session 21 commenced, after which the following 22 transpired:) 23 (Time noted: 9:15 a.m.) 24 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. We will 25 start by approval of resolutions, so we 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 7 2 will change our hats at the current 3 time. 4 I'm going to be withdrawing 5 Item Number 8. It will be 6 Resolutions 2009.A8 through 2009.A14. 7 Can I get a motion? 8 SECRETARY KANE: So moved. 9 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Second? 10 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Would you 11 let the record show that I abstain on 12 this -- 13 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No, that's the 14 other one. 15 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: No, it 16 isn't. 17 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: No, it 18 isn't. It's included in that. 19 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: 2009.61? 20 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No, this one 21 here (indicating). This is all we're 22 doing here now. 23 This is the one you're talking 24 about (indicating). 25 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: That's the 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 8 2 one we're talking about. 3 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: We're doing the 4 Board of Directors. 5 TRUSTEE OCHOA: We're doing the 6 Board of Directors. 7 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Hold that. 8 Okay. We need to know -- 9 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: I seconded. 10 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: -- who seconded. 11 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: I seconded. 12 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Why don't you 13 confuse everybody, Walter? 14 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: I'll second. 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All right. All 16 those in favor? 17 ALL: Aye. 18 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 19 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 20 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 21 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 22 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: So passed. 23 Okay. 24 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: Now you can 25 abstain. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 9 2 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Now I can 3 abstain. 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Association 5 finance report? 6 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: 7 Yes, hi, good morning. I'm Martin 8 Bright. I'm the Vice President of 9 Student Affairs. 10 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Very briefly. 11 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: 12 Sure. 13 I'll be giving you the College 14 Association Finance Report as of 15 August 20th, for the fiscal year 16 '08-'09. 17 To date, currently, we have met all 18 projections as far as the revenue. Our 19 revenue, this includes the Baker's 20 Workshop, the Peconic Cafe, and the two 21 campus child care centers. 22 With the 4.5 percent enrollment for 23 the '08-'09 year, we're actually looking 24 at a slight to moderate surplus to carry 25 over to the fund balance for next year. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 10 2 Are there any questions? 3 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 4 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: 5 Thank you. 6 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you. 7 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Thank 8 you. 9 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. We are 10 looking for approval of the minutes of 11 the June 25th meeting -- Board of 12 Trustees meeting. 13 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: So moved. 14 TRUSTEE WARE: Second. 15 SECRETARY KANE: Second. 16 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All those in 17 favor? 18 ALL: Aye. 19 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 20 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 22 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 23 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: So passed. 24 Okay, Walter, now this is the 25 approval of the college resolutions. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 11 2 We're going to take them out of 3 order. We're going to start with 4 Number 5, Resolution 2009.61. 5 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Is 6 anybody -- I'm going to abstain whatever 7 the disposition is. 8 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: That's Number 5. 9 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: But I 10 didn't hear anybody -- 11 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Motion. 12 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. Motion? 13 SECRETARY KANE: So moved. 14 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 15 Second? 16 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Second. 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: You're confusing 18 everybody, including me. 19 Okay. 20 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Just let 21 the record show -- 22 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Sure. 23 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: -- that I 24 abstain. 25 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All right. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 12 2 All those in favor? 3 ALL: Aye. 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 5 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 6 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 7 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: One. 8 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 9 Taking Resolutions .57 through .66, 10 that's Items 1 through 4 and Items 6 11 through 10. 12 We need a res- -- 13 SECRETARY KANE: So moved. 14 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Second. 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Second? 16 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Yes. 17 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: Aye. 18 TRUSTEE WARE: Aye. 19 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. We've got 20 to start flowing here, people. We've 21 got to start flowing. 22 (Laughter) 23 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: I said 24 second. 25 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 13 2 All those in favor? 3 SECRETARY KANE: They're still in 4 executive session. 5 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yeah. 6 Hello? Let's vote. 7 All those in favor? 8 ALL: Aye. 9 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 10 Opposed? 11 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 12 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Let my 13 name reflect the minutes, please. 14 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 15 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 16 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 17 You're making this very 18 difficult. 19 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Poor 20 leadership. 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Oh, thank you 22 very much. 23 (Laughter) 24 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: College finance 25 report. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 14 2 ASSOCIATE DEAN BULLARD: John 3 Bullard, Associate Dean of Finance. 4 The finance report is of July 31st. 5 The college is still maintaining a 6 $1.7 million surplus or a carryover from 7 this year into next year. 8 All of the numbers for the revenues 9 and expenditures have gone up and down. 10 We are tracking revenues at a little 11 over 1 million above budget this year, 12 and our expenditures retail about 13 $2.1 million below budget. That, 14 coupled with the imbalance that carried 15 forward in the budget this year would 16 leave us with about a $1.7 million 17 surplus. 18 We're in good shape going forward 19 into the '09-'10 budget, because that's 20 what we budgeted to carry over. So 21 we're right on track and right on 22 target. 23 Any other questions? 24 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 25 ASSOCIATE DEAN BULLARD: We will be 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 15 2 finalizing our expenditures for the 3 '08-'09 year 60 days after the close of 4 the business year. So on October 31st, 5 we'll file our state annual report. At 6 that time, we'll have the final numbers 7 for the board. 8 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Thank 9 you. 10 TRUSTEE WARE: Thank you. 11 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. In 12 reference to my report, starting with 13 the Presidential Search Update, we will 14 be having our next meeting in September 15 of the Search Committee, and that's 16 about all I'm going to say. 17 We're going to continue moving 18 forward, and I have to commend and thank 19 the members of the Search Committee for 20 their participation up until this point, 21 and it will start getting very busy over 22 the next three months. 23 In your packets you're going to see 24 our schedule for next year. If you have 25 any questions, comments, please don't 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 16 2 hesitate to let me know and we'll deal 3 with it from there. 4 I really would like to take this 5 opportunity to thank everyone in this 6 room for being here today. 7 Forty-three years ago, I stepped on 8 this campus as a student. And you will 9 see what I was wearing that week that I 10 was here at graduation. I kept it. 11 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Does it 12 fit? 13 (Laughter) 14 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yes. Quite 15 well. 16 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: It was a 17 hat. 18 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: It was a hat. 19 (Laughter) 20 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No, it was a 21 beanie -- okay -- without the propellor. 22 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Does it 23 still fit? 24 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: It still fits. 25 Actually, it covers the bald spot, 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 17 2 Walter. 3 But, again, I would like to thank 4 everybody here today. 5 I wish mom and dad were here. My 6 father had said to me, What is political 7 science? 8 And I said, Well, someday it will 9 come in handy. And that's what I want 10 to do. And that's what I'm doing. 11 But every day that I step on this 12 campus, everybody I deal with every day 13 of my life -- I have a warm spot in my 14 heart for Suffolk. 15 Both of my children graduated from 16 here, and I met my wife here. Basically 17 in that parking lot (indicating). 18 So I thank you all, and we'll move 19 forward with history. 20 Not only the biggest community 21 college in this state, but the best 22 across the country. 23 Thank you. 24 (Applause) 25 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Ernie, if 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 18 2 your mother and father were here today, 3 in your present position, they would be 4 amazed. 5 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: You're right. 6 And my mother would still say, Don't you 7 ever stay home? 8 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Never has 9 anybody with so little talent gone so 10 far. 11 (Laughter) 12 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 13 Everybody, every day of the week -- 14 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: You'll get every 15 word of that, won't you? 16 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Look at him 17 well, because we're going to San 18 Francisco. He might have a problem on 19 the bridge. 20 (Laughter) 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All right. We 22 have guests this morning from Student 23 Government. 24 Would you like to stand up and 25 introduce yourselves. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 19 2 MS. PENA: Hi. My name is Gina 3 Pena. I am the treasurer of Student 4 Government at the Ammerman Campus. 5 MR. CARROLL: My name is Michael 6 Carroll. I am the president of Student 7 Government. 8 MS. PENA: I would like to speak on 9 behalf of the Grant Campus and the 10 Ammerman Campus. 11 Thank you. 12 Okay. Well, today I would like to 13 voice some concerns the students of the 14 Student Government Association from the 15 Ammerman and the Grant Campus have 16 towards Agenda Item D. 17 The students feel that the proper 18 steps which are normally followed to put 19 forth the Student Association budget to 20 the Board of Directors were not taken. 21 Regularly the Campus Association 22 Advisory Committee meets and reviews 23 each line of items of the Campus 24 Association budget. 25 This year, two items were added 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 20 2 after the vote. Twenty thousand dollars 3 is currently listed to be given to the 4 Emergency Student Loan Program from the 5 Ammerman Campus and $10,000 from the 6 Grant Campus. Additionally, $34,394 7 from the Ammerman Campus and $21,288 8 from the Grant Campus was added to be 9 given to the Associate Vice President 10 for Student Affairs and college-wide 11 programs. 12 We are concerned that these two 13 items were added without discussion or 14 voted by the students, since all the 15 other budget lines presented to you are 16 voted upon by the students. 17 The students were not included in 18 the decision to approve Dr. Bright these 19 funds. We are not delighted with the 20 fact that the steps needed to be in 21 compliance with the budget process were 22 not taken. 23 The students should have a say as 24 to where our money should be allocated 25 to, as well as the amount of allocation 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 21 2 to each line item. These are the 3 student fee dollars used, but the 4 students are not involved in the 5 decision-making process. 6 The Emergency Student Loan Program 7 is another concern we have since the 8 students were not given the chance to 9 voice our opinions if we felt this 10 program should be a part of the Student 11 Association budget. 12 Our voices are not being heard and 13 the proper channels are not being taken. 14 We spoke to two advisors and we got two 15 different answers. So, basically, we 16 don't have a clear understanding of what 17 the program is going for, as well as the 18 proper lines as to what's going to be 19 happening with the money. 20 We feel it would be the best 21 interest of the students and the college 22 that the decision for the Emergency 23 Student Loan Program be tabled until 24 further review and final procedures are 25 in place for the loan process. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 22 2 We also ask that Dr. Bright's 3 budget be tabled until each campus 4 Advisory Association Committees have the 5 opportunity to review the budget line 6 and understand its purpose. 7 Respectfully, the Student 8 Government Association of the Ammerman 9 and the Grant Campuses. 10 Thank you. 11 SECRETARY KANE: Thank you. 12 MS. PENA: Thank you. 13 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Can we have 14 a copy of that? 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Sure. 16 MS. PENA: I can give you my copy. 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Any questions? 18 Any statements? 19 TRUSTEE GERMANO: I mean, if what 20 she's saying is true, and there's a 21 process and, you know, a need to 22 communicate, and I don't know why that 23 wasn't done. On the other hand, I don't 24 know what the time frame is for these 25 funds being needed for the student 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 23 2 loans. So if we were going to do 3 anything about it, we'd have to do it 4 pretty quickly if they need it for this 5 semester, I guess; right? 6 You know, I don't understand the 7 process, but I understand the complaint. 8 If the complaint is valid, we ought to 9 do something about it. Involve the 10 students, get their opinions, find 11 out -- let them know where the money's 12 going, get some input. If the money 13 needs to be allocated in a relatively 14 short period of time, I'm suggesting we 15 do something quickly. 16 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: I can 17 address, and Dr. Bright can fill in, but 18 the board had discussed, going back, oh, 19 six or eight months, several times, the 20 inclusion of Emergency Student Loan 21 funds within the Association budget. It 22 was researched. The use of the funds -- 23 there's a legal use of the funds. 24 I was not aware that students 25 weren't consulted on this, but certainly 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 24 2 this was something that was discussed at 3 the board. Student representation -- 4 the Student Trustee, I believe, was in 5 attendance. 6 It's something that we felt was 7 important given the current fiscal 8 climate of the economy and the need for 9 additional assistance for students. 10 These are loans. These are funds 11 that will be repaid. There is a process 12 in place for doing that, and we think 13 it's a very good use of a small portion 14 of the Association budget to help 15 students during a difficult time. 16 As far as funding for the central 17 account, again, it's a small amount of 18 money. But as we review the budget late 19 this -- in this fiscal cycle for next 20 year, we saw that enrollment, 21 particularly by minority students, was 22 skyrocketing. And we felt that it would 23 be important to have some funds and some 24 flexibility for the Associate Vice 25 President, working with the Executive 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 25 2 Deans and with the Students Affairs 3 folks, and with the Student Associations 4 and Student Governance, to have some 5 money available as we go through the 6 year to address concerns of programming 7 for diversity, particularly for minority 8 populations. As those numbers grew, we 9 felt we didn't have adequate resources 10 within the budget. So that was the 11 budget that was presented to you. 12 It was my understanding that that 13 was being discussed at the campus level, 14 I know the Executive Deans were all 15 involved in this process. 16 Going forward, it's our intention 17 and our desire to work with Student 18 Government, not against them. But, 19 again, these are issues that we felt 20 were so important that they could not be 21 delayed. And the first one, especially, 22 the student loan, had been discussed 23 with the board and was one that we 24 understood you support. So that's an 25 update. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 26 2 I don't know if Associate Vice 3 President Bright has anything to add. 4 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: 5 To address the process. 6 Under Former President Pippins, 7 there was an actual forum election with 8 students of student leaders to discuss a 9 proposal sending to the board to get 10 language into the bylaws to include 11 Emergency Student Loan Program. 12 We met with the students with that. 13 The next process is that I take it and 14 meet with the college-wide Association 15 Board, which actually voted to put that 16 language about the Student Emergency 17 Loan Program and also expanding the 18 Student Employee Program for this fiscal 19 year. It was voted upon. It was 20 brought to the board, it was voted -- 21 voted by the board to put into the 22 bylaws. 23 Also, in support of that with the 24 Governance Group -- it was mentioned to 25 the College Governance Group, I was 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 27 2 brought in to address what is the 3 purpose of your student -- your 4 Emergency Student Loan Program. I 5 addressed that, it was approved and 6 moved forward. 7 Going through the budget process, 8 the money was allocated to go into that 9 Emergency Loan Program. And, also, I 10 was working with the Associate Deans to 11 work on all the logistics. Whereas, the 12 ability of the program to get this money 13 for the program, and the means of 14 collecting the funds are put back into 15 this program. 16 So every step based on the bylaws 17 was taken to endorse this Emergency 18 Student Loan Program. 19 TRUSTEE GERMANO: There was one 20 other point brought up that they had 21 spoken to two people in administration, 22 the students, and gotten two different 23 opinions. If that's correct, I think we 24 need to get our people on the same page 25 with these things, because it only 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 28 2 causes confusion and descent. 3 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: I 4 can -- 5 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: We're 6 planning to follow up -- 7 Will you follow up -- 8 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: I 9 can follow up -- 10 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: -- with 11 students on that? 12 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT BRIGHT: 13 Yes, I can. 14 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Your 15 point about the SGA and our Student 16 Trustee, I mean, are -- do you guys 17 communicate with one another? 18 MS. PENA: Yes. 19 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: You do. 20 MS. PENA: We spoke to him last 21 night. We've been in communication with 22 him this entire week. 23 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Okay. 24 MS. PENA: As communication was 25 going on, there was a pull back in 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 29 2 forth. So we have been in communication 3 with him -- 4 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Okay. 5 MS. PENA: -- every single day. 6 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: All 7 right. Perfect. 8 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Does normally a 9 representative from the Association 10 attend the board meetings? 11 MS. PENA: Yes, we have our 12 director, and our -- 13 THE REPORTER: Director -- I'm 14 sorry? 15 MS. PENA: Sharon is our director. 16 She attends the cafe -- cafe meetings 17 with myself. 18 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. But she's 19 an employee of the college? 20 MS. PENA: Yes. 21 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Uh-huh. 22 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. I'm 23 asking about students. 24 MS. PENA: For our Student 25 Government meetings? 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 30 2 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yeah. Yeah. 3 MS. PENA: Yeah, our -- 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No, I'm talking 5 about students from the board coming 6 here. 7 MS. PENA: We don't have an advisor 8 here today. It's just us. 9 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Let me start 10 again. 11 As far as, does anybody from the 12 board attend our meetings? These are 13 open meetings. 14 MS. KREITZER: Yeah, so one of you 15 guys. 16 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: One of you guys? 17 MS. PENA: Yes. 18 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Oh, you are. 19 Okay. Okay. 20 MS. PENA: We are here. 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. 22 MS. PENA: We always have at least 23 one member -- 24 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: That's fine. 25 MS. PENA: -- coming here. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 31 2 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Good. 3 TRUSTEE WARE: Can I also just kind 4 of speak on that, Ernie, too? 5 Also, in the past, that's been the 6 responsibility of the Student Trustee. 7 Because normally the Student Trustee, 8 unless things have changed, meets with 9 the Executive Boards of the Student 10 Government. So whatever's discussed 11 there, he brings back here to us. 12 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: I understand -- 13 TRUSTEE WARE: That's kind of -- 14 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: -- that, but I 15 think it would be- -- behoove the 16 students -- okay -- not only having a 17 Trustee here, but having one of their 18 elected representatives, you know, 19 attend. 20 And, listen, sometimes, you know, I 21 mean, an extra pair of ears cannot hurt. 22 You know, and we can then get something 23 resolved before we realize six months 24 later it shouldn't have been that way. 25 That's all I'm asking. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 32 2 I mean, if they have the 3 opportunity and they're coming anyway, 4 it's good. And then they can discuss it 5 afterwards. We want the input -- all 6 right -- we want them to understand 7 what's happening here, because that's 8 why we're here. That's our 9 responsibility -- all right -- to get 10 these students educated, and then to 11 move from here. 12 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: Maybe I should 13 know this, but the -- it's not clear to 14 me. 15 Does the Association budget have an 16 unrestricted contingency aspect? 17 Because every budget has to change a 18 little bit on the fly as you're going 19 down a -- a year, things do change. So 20 I -- 21 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: There are 22 some lines in the budget that give the 23 campuses the ability to program certain 24 activities throughout the year. I guess 25 some examples would be, in a year when 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 33 2 you have more than the average number of 3 teams that are going onto regional or 4 national tournaments, whether it be 5 athletic or academic, speaking debates, 6 forensics, you need to be able to 7 reprogram funds. So yes, there 8 is flexibility built -- 9 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: And built in the 10 bylaws -- 11 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: 12 -- flexibility built into the budget. 13 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: That's built in 14 the bylaws and the actual governance of 15 the Association -- 16 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: I 17 would -- we would have to go back and 18 check. I don't know. 19 Do you know, Ilene, if it's built 20 in? 21 MS. KREITZER: I'm sorry? 22 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Is there 23 any flexibility built into the bylaws in 24 terms of the budget's -- 25 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: So that -- 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 34 2 MS. KREITZER: On the Association 3 (inaudible) -- 4 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: We'll get 5 back -- 6 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: I mean, it makes 7 sense that -- 8 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: We'll get 9 back to you -- 10 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: -- there would be 11 some changes -- 12 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: -- at the 13 next meeting. 14 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: -- as the year -- 15 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Right. 16 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: -- progresses, 17 because you just can't -- you can't -- I 18 don't -- the objectives are excellent -- 19 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yeah, Saul, 20 could you speak up just a little. 21 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: The objectives -- 22 the objectives are excellent where the 23 money was spent, and I think it's 24 inevitable in any budget as you go 25 through the year that there's going to 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 35 2 be unanticipated situations and 3 situations that you have to address. I 4 think the issue here is the 5 communication is -- both the authority 6 and the communication. I presume the 7 authority is there. 8 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Yes. 9 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: It's the issue of 10 where the -- this change or these 11 changes take place on the fly, how 12 they're communicated to the student 13 body. And that's, I think, where the 14 deficiency may be here. That's the 15 real -- 16 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Well, I 17 think what -- 18 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: -- the real 19 problem here. 20 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: I think 21 what you've heard is that, you know, we 22 attempt to work very closely with the 23 Trustees and the Student Trustees so 24 that information flows. 25 I know that the President -- I 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 36 2 have, and prior to me, Dr. Pippins has, 3 met each semester with student groups in 4 formal and informal settings. 5 You've heard from the Associate 6 Vice President of Student Affairs where 7 there was a process to discuss this. 8 And, again, when we get to the -- 9 when we see numbers coming out as that 10 we're seeing this year, and we see that 11 there's a need, at times you need to 12 make a decision. Again, recognizing 13 that the Associate Vice President will 14 work, again, with each of the campuses 15 to program those funds so that they're 16 best meeting the needs of the students. 17 And that will have the full input from 18 students and the student activities 19 staff at each of the campuses. So this 20 is -- this is something that we think 21 will work very well going forward. 22 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: Okay. 23 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: 24 Communication can always be better, and 25 we'll work -- we'll work on that. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 37 2 TRUSTEE RENCHEL: Well, that's 3 where I think the problem lies. 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you for 5 your input. 6 MS. PENA: Thank you. 7 STUDENT TRUSTEE ONYLNANYA: I just 8 have something to say. 9 Tying back to the Emergency Student 10 Loan account and the request for 11 allocation of funds. 12 I just wanted to know what happens 13 if the projected student fee amount does 14 not reach -- will these budgets be 15 reduced or will they remain the same? 16 Will it affect like the budget allocated 17 to each campus? 18 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: If the 19 revenues aren't adequate, we would not 20 expend the funds within the central 21 account. So we would not reduce the 22 campus budgets, unless the fees were at 23 a point where it would impact that. 24 So, no, the intention would not 25 be -- and the plan would not be to 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 38 2 affect the campus budgets. 3 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. And just, 4 finally, for part of my report. 5 These are copies of the committees 6 that had been standing (indicating). 7 We'll be making some adjustments down 8 the road. There is one change already 9 on the Personnel Committee, adding 10 Paul Pontieri and Walter Hazlitt to it. 11 Other than that, everybody take a look. 12 And, hopefully, we'll be able to get 13 these committees active and -- taking 14 pressure off the general board, and 15 making our meetings shorter. 16 At that point, roundtable. 17 Who would like to -- 18 Come on, Walter, you've got to say 19 something. 20 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: 21 Mr. Chairman, I want to wish you the 22 best now that you're legitimately 23 elected, and we pledge -- I pledge my 24 cooperation with you -- 25 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: Moment to 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 39 2 moment. 3 (Laughter) 4 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: And as a 5 member of the Search Committee, no 6 comment. 7 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Good man. 8 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Good luck. 9 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: Just one. 10 Do we have a meeting for something 11 on September 2nd? 12 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Yes. 13 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yes. 14 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Yes, and 15 I will announce that in my remarks. 16 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: Oh, okay. 17 Because I couldn't figure -- it says, 18 "Suffolk Community College, 19 September 2nd." I don't -- I never put 20 where, I never put why, I just know it 21 says it. So -- 22 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Well, 23 I'll -- 24 TRUSTEE PONTIERI: -- I'll let you 25 get to you then. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 40 2 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: I'll do 3 it now if you want. 4 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Well, 5 there you go, Paul. 6 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: The first 7 was the -- September 2nd we are being 8 visited by our new SUNY Chancellor, 9 Nancy Zimpher -- Dr. Zimpher. She will 10 start her visit out east at 8:30. So 11 those that would like to join us for a 12 breakfast at the Culinary Center at 13 8:30, you're certainly welcome. 14 From there we will -- 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Want me to pick 16 you up? 17 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: From 18 there, we will travel to this campus, 19 and she will present the awards to the 20 Chancellor Awards winners from this 21 year. We thought it would be nice to 22 have the Chancellor actually presenting 23 the awards. And we will tour Veterans 24 Plaza and just let her see what this 25 campus is about. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 41 2 And then from there, we will travel 3 to the Grant Campus where we will -- she 4 will participate in, with all of you, 5 hopefully, the ribbon cutting for the 6 new Workforce Development Technology 7 Center. 8 She is here as part of her 9 64 campus tour. She has traveled the 10 length and breath of the state to visit 11 every campus during her first hundred 12 days in office, as she works to develop 13 a new strategic plan for SUNY. So we're 14 very happy to have her with us, and 15 we're hoping that all the Trustees can 16 join us. 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Anyone else? 18 SECRETARY KANE: I thought it was 19 very appropriate this morning that we're 20 having a lot of laughs here, because 21 Newsday today has described the -- our 22 contrast to the west up here, the 23 Trustees in the Nassau Community 24 College, as being a laughing stock. And 25 Walter certainly has provided a certain 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 42 2 amount of laughter for our Trustees here 3 this morning. 4 But I think it's a very serious 5 thing, and I -- I'm really talking to 6 the new members of the board. This has 7 been a fantastic Board of Trustees. 8 Over the years, Bill going to 9 meetings and so on, and meeting Trustees 10 all over the United States, comes back 11 and tells us these horror stories. I 12 don't know whether I ever believed him, 13 until I see what's going on in Nassau 14 County. 15 As a matter of fact, that's the way 16 they ended the report this morning, that 17 Nassau County has become a laughing 18 stock. 19 And I just have to say that this 20 board, in the last five, six, seven 21 years, has been fantastic, and we'll 22 just keep the laughter down a little. 23 Welcome, Tom, to the board. 24 TRUSTEE GERMANO: Thank you. 25 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Can I rebut 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 43 2 that? 3 SECRETARY KANE: Go ahead. 4 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: It never stopped 5 you before. 6 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Listen, 7 I've been here 13 years -- 8 SECRETARY KANE: Oh, my God. 9 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: -- and the 10 relationship between members of the 11 board has been unbelievable. Whether 12 your Republican, Democrat, whatever your 13 political persuasions are, it's just -- 14 we have been able to, you know, 15 transcend all those objections, really, 16 and -- and work as a -- as a group -- as 17 a united group. You know, it's -- 18 you're stuck with me for another three 19 and a half years, so you better get used 20 to the comments. 21 Thank you. 22 SECRETARY KANE: And for the new 23 board members also, is that when you 24 review our relationship with Middle 25 Atlantic States coming in here a couple 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 44 2 of years ago and really shaking us up 3 here for the first time, I went back and 4 I reviewed the relationship we've had 5 with Middle Atlantic States, and it 6 didn't seem to be any problem for about 7 45 years. And one of the reasons was -- 8 is that the Trustees never pushed back. 9 And once the Trustees started to push 10 back and find a few weaknesses with 11 governance, the Middle Atlantic States 12 just could not believe what was going 13 on. And we have been able to correct 14 that through great leadership in the 15 last couple of years, and hopefully 16 we'll go on that way. 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Anyone else? 18 STUDENT TRUSTEE ONYINANYA: Well, 19 I'd like to say I feel very welcome to 20 the board. It's such an honor to be an 21 official Trustee today. 22 I'd like to thank my fellow 23 students for coming out to address their 24 concerns and opinions. I just hope that 25 in the future the college would be able 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 45 2 to weigh in all student inputs and 3 consider all of them, and we can be able 4 to establish a relationship where we can 5 work candidly with each other, and I 6 look forward to working with each and 7 every one of you. 8 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Good. 9 STUDENT TRUSTEE ONYINANYA: Thank 10 you. 11 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No other 12 comments? 13 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: 14 Actually, I do, Mr. Chairman. 15 I just want to thank the 16 administration, faculty, and staff. 17 I've had at least -- I'd say about six 18 to seven different students who are 19 looking forward to attending the fall 20 semester here had questions for me that 21 I really couldn't answer, and kind of 22 called somebody in administration, 23 faculty, and they were very, very 24 receptive. And I've had kids call me 25 back and say, you know, Thank you, 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 46 2 Ms. Belinda, you're an angel. I'm going 3 to be starting in the fall. 4 But I just have to say thank you, 5 because I know a couple of people here 6 know that I would call and say, Can you 7 please answer this question for this one 8 student. 9 But I guess it just goes back to 10 what you were saying, Walter. It's just 11 that it's the attitude that they have 12 here at Suffolk, and they will go out of 13 their way, above and beyond, to help a 14 student to attend here. So I have to 15 say thank you to each and every one of 16 you. 17 Secondly, somehow, someway, I was 18 told that -- no. 19 I also have to thank you for the 20 fact that I'm a new board member for the 21 Suffolk County Community College 22 Foundation Board. So, once again, I 23 wanted to say thank you for those of you 24 who don't know -- yeah. 25 And if Bill was only here, I could 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 47 2 just tell him I'm not really quite sure 3 how long this all takes. 4 Is it a two-year term or no? 5 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: It's for life. 6 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Oh. 7 (Laughter) 8 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: I am -- I am -- 9 theoretically have to -- decided I 10 should step aside, because I had been 11 there since the beginning. But I 12 felt -- because we have two seats on the 13 Board of Trustees, it would be only 14 appropriate if we had a sitting Trustee 15 on the board and not the chairman. 16 So I thank you for accepting that. 17 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Thank 18 you. 19 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: Can I echo 20 her comments as far as the cooperation 21 of the staff and administration? 22 I mean over the years, people come 23 in and -- my son's got this kind of a 24 problem and that kind of a problem -- 25 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Yeah. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 48 2 VICE CHAIRMAN HAZLITT: -- he 3 forgot to reg- -- and, I mean, I would 4 call members, and their cooperation is 5 110 percent. They have never 6 disappointed me, even though the answer 7 may be disappointing. But the 8 cooperation, you just can't compare. 9 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: No, I agree with 10 you 1,000 percent, and thank them all 11 for everything. 12 Okay. Mr. President. 13 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Yes. 14 Just two other reminders. 15 All College Day is September 15th. 16 Again, we're hoping that Trustees will 17 be able to attend. 18 We start at about 8:30 with coffee. 19 I believe the program starts at about 20 9 o'clock. It's at the Grant Campus in 21 the Health, Sports, and Education 22 Center. We'll be in the field house. 23 We will preview for the first time 24 the college's 50-year history video, 25 which I had an opportunity to see 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 49 2 yesterday. And it's very uplifting to 3 see where this institution has come from 4 and where we are today. 5 We'll also have a keynote speaker 6 from the Federal Department of 7 Education, Glen Cummings. He's the 8 Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education 9 who will talk about the future of higher 10 education in this country. A number of 11 other updates and awards. 12 So we're hoping you can join us 13 that day. It starts at 9:00. It runs 14 through lunch and past lunch. If you 15 can stay for part or all of it, we would 16 love to have you there. 17 There's been some discussion about 18 Middle States. We were scheduled to 19 have a monitoring visit on the 17th and 20 19th of September. Unfortunately, due 21 to some scheduling problems, that will 22 need to be rescheduled. So we will be 23 back in touch with board members and 24 with the college community and with 25 external constituencies about 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 50 2 rescheduling that visit. So it will not 3 happen in September. 4 In terms of enrollment, enrollment 5 is still extremely strong year to year. 6 We are up, as of yesterday's report, 7 about 15 percent in terms of full-time 8 equivalence. We still have a week and a 9 half before day classes begin, two and a 10 half weeks before evening classes begin. 11 The Executive Deans, working with 12 their teams, have managed the master 13 schedule very closely. They've been 14 adding sections that are needed, 15 particularly for entry-level first-year 16 students, remedial courses, and other 17 general education courses, but we 18 continue to monitor that on a daily 19 basis. But, again, it's -- enrollment 20 is extremely strong, but we're managing 21 it, I think, very well. 22 We've had -- and I -- I would have 23 to cite the corporation and the 24 assistance of the Faculty Association. 25 Ellen Schuler-Mauk's here with us today, 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 51 2 and Kevin Peterman, and Joyce Gabriel. 3 We've had their cooperation in helping 4 us expand class sections by two seats, 5 with the exception of certain classes 6 which we previously had hard limits on. 7 But that has allowed us to accommodate 8 additional students without incurring 9 additional costs to the college. 10 So, Ellen, to the Faculty 11 Association, we thank you for your 12 assistance during this unprecedented 13 time in enrollment. 14 In terms of banner -- 15 SECRETARY KANE: George, what is 16 it -- 17 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Yes. 18 SECRETARY KANE: -- in terms of 19 students? Is that like 3,000 -- I 20 wonder -- additional students? 21 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: 22 Year-to-date we're currently up about 23 2,200 students over last year. 24 Actually, I have the report with 25 me, I could give you -- if you want 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 52 2 statistics, I can give them to you. 3 The FTEs, full-time equivalents, 4 are up 14.82 percent; from 15,131 last 5 year, and that was on the 13th of 6 August, to 17,373 as of yesterday. So 7 that's 2,240 students we're up. 8 The head count is up to -- the 9 duplicated head count is up to 25,208, 10 and the unduplicated is at 22,381. 11 Average class size is up from 19 12 to 22. 13 And earlier when we discussed some 14 of that additional funding for student 15 programming, enrollment by Hispanic 16 students is up, full-time students, 17 16 percent. Asian students by 18 114 percent -- -15 percent. 19 So that's just an idea of where we 20 are in terms of enrollment. 21 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: 22 Twenty-two? 23 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Would the 24 Chair recognize the President of the 25 Faculty Association? 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 53 2 PRESIDENT SCHULER-MAUK: I just 3 wanted to echo what President Gatta had 4 said. 5 We in the Faculty Association 6 thought that it was important that, you 7 know, student needs be addressed in 8 these uncertain economic times. And we 9 felt that we had, you know, a 10 cooperative relationship with the 11 college in terms of addressing, you 12 know, class size issues. And, you know, 13 with the -- the goal, I think both the 14 college administration as well as the 15 Faculty Association in making sure that, 16 you know, the academic integrity of a 17 program and its courses are still 18 maintained, and yet allowing some 19 flexibility because we're entering into 20 unchartered territories. 21 I mean, in the past, enrollment 22 would increase 3 percent, 2 percent. 23 You know how to budget those kinds of 24 things. And when the economy really 25 dipped, we had no idea, you know, what 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 54 2 we were anticipating. And in my 3 40 years with the college, enrollment 4 has never gone up by 15 percent. Has 5 never gone up by 10 percent. I think we 6 may have peaked one time at 7 percent. 7 So, I mean, we're really seeing numbers 8 that no one could have anticipated. 9 And, you know, part of it is, you know, 10 where do you put them, where do you park 11 them, you know, all of those kinds of 12 issues. 13 And I think one very telling 14 statistic in the numbers of the -- the 15 daily enrollment report is in the number 16 of transfer students that we receive. 17 Usually students transfer out of 18 Suffolk. I think last year at this time 19 there were maybe about 230 transfer 20 students coming into Suffolk -- 21 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Right. 22 PRESIDENT SCHULER-MAUK: -- and 23 there are about 1,000 to date who are 24 coming in. So that number is a huge 25 number in a -- in addition to, you know, 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 55 2 the numbers of continuing students 3 rising a little bit, the number of new 4 students rising, the number of transfer 5 students coming back in, I think is a 6 real indication as to what's happening 7 in the economy. And I think, you know, 8 going forward, next semester and next 9 year, we're going to see a different 10 kind of trend that the institution, you 11 know, will have to adjust. 12 But, you know, at this point in 13 time, or in May when we first started 14 talking with the college, we had no idea 15 what we were going to see. And, you 16 know, we're seeing, again, a tremendous 17 shift toward community colleges. 18 So we were happy to work with the 19 college trends to make this adjustment 20 in a -- a systematic and careful and 21 very thoughtful way that allowed access, 22 and yet maintained the kind of academic 23 integrity that we've all been proud of 24 over the years. 25 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Thank 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 56 2 you, Ellen. 3 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you. 4 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: And just 5 to add a little bit more discussion to 6 this topic. 7 As we begin to consider next year's 8 budget, we need to be mindful of the 9 potential continuance of this very 10 strong enrollment. We're working 11 within an institutional effectiveness. 12 They're revising their projections 13 looking forward. And so we need to have 14 a dialogue throughout the college on how 15 we will deal with this surge in 16 enrollment going forward. 17 For the past two years, we've had 18 quests to continue budgets. We have not 19 been able to achieve our full time to 20 adjunct faculty ratios that the board 21 has set as a goal of 70 to 30. That 22 number has begun to erode. 23 So as we craft next year's budget, 24 we need a full discussion of where we're 25 going and how we're going to get there. 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 57 2 And we need to communicate that to the 3 stakeholders, including the county and 4 our state representatives. 5 So I plan on working with the 6 Faculty Association, with the Executive 7 Deans, with the governance bodies, to 8 begin that dialogue so that we have a 9 plan to deal with this should this surge 10 continue, which we anticipate it will. 11 So we'll keep you updated on that. 12 Just one other update -- actually 13 two. 14 One on banner. We're in the final 15 week of testing on banner finance. This 16 will be the first time in our history 17 that we will have our own financial 18 systems in place. 19 As of late yesterday, I was getting 20 reports that the testing was going well. 21 I suspect that nothing has changed since 22 last night at 8 o'clock. 23 Okay. Testing continues today. 24 John, if you have to leave to go 25 back to -- 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 58 2 I know John and his colleagues in 3 the Business office and our IT staff and 4 our HR staff have all been working 5 ungodly hours to make this happen. And 6 I just wanted to publicly thank them for 7 their commitment, dedication to the 8 college, for the time away from your 9 families. It's been a Herculean task, 10 but they've -- I believe we will come 11 through it well, and we plan to go live 12 with finance on September 1st. 13 If anything changes between now and 14 then, the board will be certainly 15 updated, but right now it looks good. 16 The board may also recall that as 17 part of our agreement with the county, 18 we had -- a recent agreement with the 19 county, our MOU and our budget document, 20 we had requested and they had agreed to 21 quarterly meetings so that we could 22 update them on where we are. 23 The Chairman, myself, and a number 24 of our administrative staff met with the 25 county on August 6th. We updated them 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 59 2 on our enrollment, we updated them on 3 banner, we updated them on a number of 4 topics that -- on budget that we thought 5 would be of interest to them. And it 6 was a -- a cordial meeting. I thought 7 they understood and they understand 8 where we're going. They understand the 9 great demand out there from the public 10 for -- for enrollment in the 11 institution, and they were very pleased 12 to hear some of the strategies that we 13 have put in place to accommodate that 14 increased enrollment. 15 So we've begun those quarterly 16 meetings, and there was good 17 representation from the county from both 18 the executive staff from the leg- -- 19 legislature and from the legislative 20 staff. 21 The Learning Resource Center. You 22 may recall -- at the Eastern Campus, you 23 may recall that a number of months ago 24 the board authorized a resolution 25 authorizing us to enter into a project 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 60 2 or to -- to study the feasibility of a 3 project labor agreement for that 4 facility. 5 That feasibility study has come 6 back to us from the consultants. It 7 documents in a very positive way that a 8 PLA would benefit this project. There 9 are labor savings associated with it. 10 There's also timeliness in terms of 11 delivery of the project. And based on 12 the consultant's report, and embedded 13 within that prior authorization from the 14 board, we've directed the consultants to 15 go forward and negotiate the PLA with 16 the Long Island Federation of -- with 17 the Long Island -- excuse me -- the Long 18 Island Building Trades Council. 19 The new science building for this 20 campus. As you know, the funding is in 21 place. We did an RFP for design 22 consultants. It's underway, and we 23 anticipate that we will select finalists 24 within the next 30 days so that they can 25 begin the task of submitting actual 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 61 2 proposals to us for the design of the 3 facility. 4 I'm also pleased to introduce this 5 morning our new Assistant Vice President 6 for Employee Resources, Doriane Gloria. 7 Doriane, where are you? 8 ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT GLORIA: 9 (Indicating). 10 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: There you 11 are. 12 Welcome to the college. 13 ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT GLORIA: 14 Thank you. 15 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: Doriane 16 brings with her a tremendous amount of 17 expertise and experience. She has spent 18 her career working at the -- much of her 19 career working at NYU Medical Center and 20 the University Hospital. So she brings 21 both HR, labor relations, employee 22 resource experience from large 23 organizations and from a higher -- also 24 from a higher education perspective. 25 She also has experience in the private 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 62 2 sector, and we're very happy to have her 3 on board heading up our HR office. 4 So would you join me in welcoming 5 Doriane Gloria. 6 (Applause) 7 ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT GLORIA: 8 I'm very happy to be here. Thank you 9 very much. 10 INTERIM PRESIDENT GATTA: We've 11 also made a couple of other 12 appointments. 13 For the Executive Dean of this 14 campus, Dr. Jim Sherwood. He will start 15 on September 9th, I believe. 16 And we appointed Nancy Stier as our 17 new Vice President for Business and 18 Financial Affairs, and she begins next 19 Monday. 20 You do have profiles in your 21 packets of each of the individuals. 22 We think this will add a 23 significant amount of experience and 24 expertise to the college, particularly 25 at a time when we're going through 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 63 2 things like implementing new financial 3 systems. 4 As an example, Nancy Stier, when 5 she was at the new school, went through 6 a banner implementation. So she has 7 that experience. And Dr. Sherwood 8 brings 30 years of both faculty and 9 administrative experience to the 10 institution. So we're very happy to 11 have those folks onboard. 12 And that concludes my report. 13 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Anything else by 14 the board? 15 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 16 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Just a couple of 17 things I'd like to add. 18 We have our upcoming national 19 conference in October. If anybody 20 hasn't completed their registration and 21 has got all the paperwork in, they will 22 take care of it by tomorrow. 23 Our new Trustees, did we get our 24 new pictures taken yet -- did we get a 25 picture taken yet? 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 64 2 STUDENT TRUSTEE ONYINANYA: No. 3 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Okay. So get 4 that arranged, please, so we can get the 5 wall up to date. 6 Other than that, I'd ask for a 7 motion to adjourn. 8 SECRETARY KANE: So moved. 9 TRUSTEE ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN: Second. 10 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: All those in 11 favor? 12 ALL: Aye. 13 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Opposed? 14 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 15 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Abstentions? 16 (WHEREUPON, there was no response.) 17 CHAIRMAN MATTACE: Thank you very 18 much. 19 (WHEREUPON, this meeting of the 20 Suffolk County Community College Board 21 of Trustees was adjourned at 10:01 a.m.) 22 23 24 25 1 SCCC Board of Trustees 8/20/09 65 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 foregoing is a true and accurate 10 transcription of the stenographic notes taken 11 herein. 12 I further certify that I am not related to 13 any of the parties to this action by blood or 14 marriage; and that I am in no way interested in the 15 outcome of this matter. 16 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my 17 hand this 20th day of August 2009. 18 19 20 21 ___________________________________ THERESA PAPE 22 23 24 25