1 2 3 -----------------------------------------x 4 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 5 SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 6 SAYVILLE DOWNTOWN CENTER - AUDITORIUM 7 GREENE AVENUE 8 SAYVILLE, NEW YORK 9 JANUARY 19, 2006 - 9:30 A.M. 10 -----------------------------------------x 11 12 13 14 15 Court Reporter: 16 Lori Anne Curtis 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2 1 2 3 4 A P P E A R A N C E S: 5 6 WILLIAM D. MOORE, Trustee/Chair 7 WALTER C. HAZLITT, Trustee/Vice Chair 8 JERRY KANE, Trustee/Secretary 9 FRANK C. TROTTA, Trustee 10 DAVID OCHOA, Trustee 11 JOHN L. KOMINICKI, Trustee 12 ERNESTO MATTACE, JR., Trustee 13 DENNIS McCARTHY, Trustee 14 BELINDA ALVAREZ-GRONEMAN, Trustee (NOT PRESENT) 15 AVETTE WARE, Student Trustee 16 DR. SHIRLEY PIPPINS, President SCCC 17 TERRI KOPP, President's Secretary 18 MARY LOU ARANEO, V.P. Institutional Advancement 19 CHUCK STEIN, V.P. Business & Fin. Affairs 20 GEORGE GATTA, V.P. Workforce & Econ. Dev. 21 JOANNE BRAXTON, Assoc. V.P. Campus Affairs 22 DR. JAMES CANNIFF, V.P. Academic & Student Affairs 23 ILENE KREITZER, Executive Director of Legal Affairs 24 ET AL 25 3 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. MOORE: I'd like to bring this 3 meeting to order. We've got bodies that 4 need to leave and we need a quorum to do 5 the resolutions. So with that, if we can 6 all stand, and I'll ask Jerry to lead us in 7 the Pledge to the flag. 8 (Whereupon, the meeting commences 9 with the Pledge of Allegiance.) 10 MR. MOORE: Thank you. Please be 11 seated. 12 All right, in the interest of time, I 13 will -- I haven't looked around yet to see 14 who is visiting and who's our guests, but I 15 thank you for being with us, and please 16 bear with us as we jump right to our agenda 17 so we can get the work done. 18 Dr. Pippins, we're going to move some 19 things around, I understand, and take your 20 mid-year report and put it up as our next 21 item of business, please. 22 Good morning. 23 DR. PIPPINS: Good morning. 24 This is the beginning of my third 25 calendar year as president here at Suffolk, 4 1 January 19, 2006 2 so I'm very honored to share with the board 3 and the community the progress that the 4 College has made towards its achievement 5 and goal; that is that the three campuses 6 of Suffolk County Community College -- 7 Riverhead, Selden and Grant -- are moving 8 towards accreditation as three campuses 9 with one college, and three campuses with 10 one vision. 11 As part of this process, we have 12 revisited and revalidated our mission 13 statement. And we've decided that the 14 College, in fact, promotes intellectual 15 discovery, physical development, social and 16 ethical awareness, economic opportunities, 17 and we perform education that transforms 18 lives, builds communities and ultimately 19 improves our society. We continue to move 20 forward working with our vision that 21 establishes the College as a college of 22 excellence recognized on a local, state and 23 national level. 24 For the purposes of my comments this 25 morning, I will focus on the goals that 5 1 January 19, 2006 2 have been established by the Board. And 3 they include: The development and 4 coordination of a comprehensive strategic 5 improvement plan, to reinforce and extend 6 awareness of the college programs and the 7 value we bring to the community, to expand 8 safety and security, to maintain and 9 improve our facilities and grounds -- and 10 that's one of the reasons we have so many 11 guests here with this morning -- to develop 12 an assessment plan for all of our strategic 13 plans put forth. 14 We have, in fact, put into place a 15 strategic plan. It was developed through a 16 collaborative process. This plan received 17 input from the top down and from the bottom 18 up, and it coordinates all elements of the 19 operations of the College. 20 The plan forces us to ask some very 21 important questions: Who do we say we are? 22 What do we say is most important? What are 23 we doing currently? What evidence should 24 we study? And what needs to change? And 25 that might be the most important question 6 1 January 19, 2006 2 of the moment. 3 Moving forward to reinforcement and 4 extending awareness of the college, we do 5 this primarily by focusing on the college 6 as a college of excellence. And for 7 example, Carla Dyke, we awarded her with 8 recognition at our last meeting. She 9 received the Jack Kent award; we have 503 10 honor students -- breaking that 500 mark -- 11 and this is after graduating the largest 12 honors' class in the history of the 13 institution; Our Grant Campus dean is 14 ranked third among community colleges; we 15 are forth in online courses at SUNY; one 16 our faculty was named Nursing Educator of 17 the Year; another faculty member was on a 18 national panel; two of the ten winners of 19 the first team from New York State were 20 from Suffolk, and 29 of those on the third 21 team were from Suffolk. 22 I'm very proud of what happened in 23 terms of grants. We have grown from about 24 1 1/2 million to 3.75 million between 1988 25 and 2006, and this will become increasingly 7 1 January 19, 2006 2 important as we move forward. 3 The Foundation is doing a great job. 4 We launched our first ever annual campaign, 5 and we've received approved for a payroll 6 deduction for the Foundation. So that's 7 the good news going out to all the 8 employees. We've reinstated the state 9 faculty award, many grants, we had many 10 applicants for that, and we just held our 11 second donor reception. 12 We're all very proud of our three-year 13 $2.4 million Mechatronics grant. Thanks 14 again to you for your leadership, George. 15 This was the largest grant in the history 16 of this institution and the only one 17 awarded in New York State. 18 This year we reviewed our Economic 19 Impact Study, and it said all the things we 20 know; that the College stimulates the local 21 economy, leverages taxpayer dollars, 22 generates a return on investments, 23 increases individual earning and reduces 24 social parts. 25 We have said to the community over and 8 1 January 19, 2006 2 over again, now, that in just 8.4 years, 3 New York State and Suffolk County 4 taxpayers, will see a 100 percent return on 5 their investment and in just 8.2 years the 6 students see that same return. We all keep 7 saying it's like buying a house in Suffolk 8 County and in just 8.4 years you will have 9 a high-quality transferable education, a 10 skilled workforce, and you own that house. 11 In fact, 94 percent of our students stay in 12 this area and they become the educated, 13 skilled workforce for the County. 14 When we talk about the value that the 15 College brings to this community, we talk 16 about access to downtown revitalization, 17 and you are sitting in that today. And 18 that was built with $350,000 from grants 19 from New York State and Suffolk County and 20 $1.7 million of support from Good Sam. 21 That laid the foundation for six new 22 partners who will bring an additional 23 $2.7 million to this initiative and more 24 nurses for Suffolk County. Again, you will 25 see more examples of this as you have a 9 1 January 19, 2006 2 tour of the building, and we're very proud 3 of what we've done in Sayville. 4 I'm very excited that we're actually 5 moving forward in Riverhead, and it looks 6 like the fall of 2007, we'll be in that 7 building. 8 When we talked to the community, we 9 also talked about the initiative in 10 effective business. And this is very 11 important when we talked with business 12 leaders; that, in fact, all of our goals 13 are tied to a strategic plan and we're 14 working or develop our human resources. 15 An example -- and we've talked about 16 this before -- is our partnership with LIPA 17 and NIPA, and this HVAC system which allows 18 us to remotely control the fact that 19 they're partners in our environment. We've 20 invested in human resources, and in fact, 21 have leadership retreats with the major 22 business component with our work. 23 In addition, we successfully completed 24 Mission Review II. Facilities have been 25 improved, a major step in securing 10 1 January 19, 2006 2 compensation for our leadership; the budget 3 has been approved -- $77 million in capital 4 projects; we've made quite a progress in 5 our EIP program, and usually this is a very 6 noisy and problematic process; and we're 7 doing a great job and also making progress 8 with Middle States. 9 In talking to the community, we used a 10 variety of venues; including Newsday, radio 11 interviews, various newspapers, I've been 12 interviewed by the Long Island edition of 13 Distinction Magazine, we held a variety of 14 press conferences announcing important 15 events from our LIPA/NIPA stage to our 16 Veterans Plaza groundbreaking. We've 17 hosted a number of distinguished guests. 18 We had outreach efforts with the Kellogg 19 Foundation, the Gates Foundation and most 20 recently the Pharmaceutical Board. 21 I've also made outreach to the Hispanic 22 Advisory Counsel, the African-American 23 Advisory Counsel and we're working closely 24 with PRONTO. And I'm proud that this year, 25 for the first time, I issued my presence at 11 1 January 19, 2006 2 the Medallion Award. 3 As the face of the institution, I have 4 been a keynote speaker at several events. 5 I was actually in a public service 6 announcement with the Town of Islip, New 7 York Department of Education Working Group, 8 and, most recently, was selected to be one 9 of the 100 Most Influential Individuals on 10 Long Island. So my family is very 11 impressed with that. 12 This is maybe one of the highlights as 13 the president (indicating), throwing out 14 the first ball at the Long Island Ducks 15 game. 16 We are very much focused on retention 17 and recruitment. In community colleges 18 around the state, enrollment is, in fact, 19 down. The good news is that the cost of 20 some of the initiatives have really come 21 forth under Vice President Gatta. The gap 22 between the enrollment between last year 23 and this year is very small. But the gap, 24 without those initiatives, is significant. 25 And again, the gap is against last year, 12 1 January 19, 2006 2 not against the goal that we set. So we 3 will be making significant initiatives in 4 this area. I just wanted you to see what 5 some of the impact of that gap might be. 6 So 2004/2005, about $294,000, and just 7 looking at where we are now this year, it's 8 686,000, and it could be more depending on 9 where enrollment ends up. You should know 10 that we're monitoring the situation and 11 controlling costs to keep us in balance. 12 We've made some steps to address this 13 issue through a joint meeting with the 14 unions, the academic chairs and executive 15 council, and on January 25th, I'll have a 16 town hall meeting with the entire campus to 17 talk about what we'll do to move forward. 18 One of our most important initiatives 19 in this area of our College Success Program 20 is it continues to be an effective model. 21 We've also been involved in calling 22 institutions, coordinating our schedules 23 more effectively, trying to address the ESL 24 initiative. We've had an open-door 25 advisory policy, conducted special 13 1 January 19, 2006 2 meetings, extended business office hours, 3 and our faculty has been very supportive 4 calling students and encouraging them to 5 return and participate in our forum. 6 Part of our recruitment and retention 7 efforts goes to our articulation interests, 8 and we have at least four new ones. We 9 address them in dual enrollment programs. 10 We have two types; some with high 11 performing students and others with 12 students at risk. 13 An example of a program with high 14 performing students is our program with 15 Deer Park. Those students, at the end of 16 high school, will have one full year of 17 college credit. 18 West Hampton/Hampton is an example of a 19 program with "at risk" students, and the 20 idea is to get the students to see 21 themselves as potential college students 22 and to enroll at Suffolk County Community 23 College. We're looking at duel enrollment 24 and expanding it, and we're working very 25 closely with our unions in expanding it, 14 1 January 19, 2006 2 and I believe that we'll make this work; 3 right, Ellen? 4 Suffolk County is increasingly diverse. 5 We address these issues both in the county 6 and on the campus. We've hired a 7 multicultural affairs coordinator, created 8 a diversity council, conducted outreach 9 into the community, we provided training 10 for our blue and white color staff, we've 11 provided workshops for students, we're 12 looking at the level of quality and 13 achievement of diversity into our academic 14 curriculum, developing a sharing workshop 15 and creating a college-wide sociology 16 course that we believe will address bias 17 and multicultural diversification. 18 We're also moving forward in terms of 19 enhancing safety and security. As you 20 know, we had a college-wide task force that 21 met through May 2005. It had a number of 22 major accomplishments; including, the ID 23 cards for students, faculty, staff and 24 administrators. We decreased the number of 25 vacancies in public safety and also 15 1 January 19, 2006 2 decreased the lag time in terms of hiring, 3 and this was very important. 4 The campuses are taking over this 5 responsibility. Ammerman has met; they're 6 addressing a number of vacant issues; Grant 7 has met, they're addressing a number of 8 major issues; and the Eastern campus is 9 also moving forward. We will bring all of 10 this information back together in February 11 to make sure we're moving forward in our 12 goals. 13 Another area very important to the 14 campus is maintaining and improving our 15 facilities and grounds. This is essential 16 for enrollment and retention. It reflects 17 the stewardship to our donors; they want to 18 know we take care of what we already have. 19 Unfortunately, we have significant deferred 20 maintenance and staffing issues in this 21 area. The major initiative in this area 22 supports the renovation of the Veterans 23 Plaza in the Ammerman Campus, but we have a 24 range of projects we're involved in from 25 the Huntington Library to the Chemical Bulk 16 1 January 19, 2006 2 Storage -- whatever that means -- to the 3 Brookhaven Gym. 4 One project that I'm very excited 5 about -- and I'd like for all the persons 6 involved in this project, to please 7 stand -- 8 (Applause.) 9 DR. PIPPINS: Kreiling Hall is one of 10 the examples of some of the major 11 challenges we have in terms of deferred 12 maintenance on this campus. And it's 13 interesting, I've been here two years, and 14 I actually had never been in Kreiling Hall. 15 I thought I had been in Kreiling Hall, but 16 when I went to visit, I knew I hadn't. 17 Because, when I walked in that building, I 18 felt like saying Everybody in here go home; 19 I don't want you in a facility like this. 20 But we had some very talented people 21 that planned the renovation of that 22 building, and over the winter break, they 23 went in and addressed issues like this 24 (indicating), and now you see something we 25 can all be proud of. 17 1 January 19, 2006 2 A.P. Braxton, can you give us a little 3 more information on that initiative? 4 MS. BRAXTON: Sure. 5 Good morning. This is an initiative 6 that we're very proud of because it wasn't 7 just a one-campus operation. What we did 8 is that we combined all three campuses, 9 because we are one college, to work on this 10 project. And in a two-week time period, 11 they went in -- and I just want to list the 12 things they did: 13 They did the heating; they painted the 14 entire building; they -- it's an old 15 building from like World War II, and it had 16 beautiful brass door panels to walk in, and 17 they were just tarnished. One gentleman 18 took the initiative on his own, and if you 19 walk in the building now, those brass 20 panels are polished, beautiful, and you can 21 actually see your face in them. 22 They also completed the entire 23 cleaning, brand new doors, floors, all the 24 cabinets. They did the ceiling, the 25 lighting, and they changed the counter tops 18 1 January 19, 2006 2 for the laboratories. That was only 3 Phase I. We have Phase II that will take 4 place this summer to do all the 5 laboratories as well as the lecture halls 6 as well. 7 The thing that's important when you 8 have a project of this phase, is that you 9 have to have a leader. And the leader for 10 this project -- I'd like to have him stand, 11 and there was someone right by his side -- 12 the new facilities director at the Ammerman 13 Campus is Ed Benz -- 14 (Applause.) 15 MS. BRAXTON: -- but the man who was the 16 mover and the shaker and the one who had 17 all these people work in a collaborative 18 effort was Mr. Lou Pedota, the assistant 19 director. 20 (Applause.) 21 MS. BRAXTON: And, Dr. Pippins, because 22 everyone needs their 15 minutes of fame, I 23 would like to say the names of all the 24 individuals who did such a fine job. 25 Mr. Matt Kral, Mr. Jesse Maino, 19 1 January 19, 2006 2 Mr. Emilo Yglesias, Kevin Moore, Mr. Vinny 3 Vicidomine, Mr. Paul Marcus, Maria Sobral, 4 Matt Bambach, Jeff Patten, John Salvate, 5 Miguel Espinal, Steve Satorino, Colin 6 Connor, and two people who couldn't be with 7 us today because they are back working at 8 their campus, is Jim Greco and Fred Stein. 9 I thank you all. 10 (Applause.) 11 DR. PIPPINS: These ladies and 12 gentlemen did a wonderful job. I visited 13 this project periodically, and when she 14 says the floor, she means every single 15 floor in that building, tiles across the 16 floor, and they worked very hard and 17 tirelessly. And they did all of this with 18 one day of overtime. I mean, just an 19 astounding and impressive piece of work on 20 their part. So I want to applaud them 21 again. 22 (Applause.) 23 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you very much. 24 This is an excellent example of what we can 25 do. 20 1 January 19, 2006 2 And in concluding this section, you 3 will see some more in terms of the 4 air-conditioning issue that we mentioned to 5 you earlier. And I believe this will help 6 with retention and recruitment. 7 It has been a very exciting and 8 rewarding year. So many exciting things 9 have happened; the capital budget, the ER 10 Key Program; I'm happy with the pay 11 acquisition with the exempts; the 12 recognition of our faculty; the second 13 Perspectives coming out from the 14 Foundation -- and that hadn't been out for 15 like three or four years, several years -- 16 the Mechatronics grants; the opening of 17 Sayville; the progress with Riverhead; the 18 Middle States commission; the Kreiling 19 Hall; and the honors program breaking the 20 500 number barrier. 21 I look forward to working with you. I 22 thank the Board for your endorsement and 23 confidence of my leadership with the 24 five-year contract, and I'm excited to move 25 forward. Thank you. 21 1 January 19, 2006 2 (Applause.) 3 MR. MOORE: Thank you, Dr. Pippins. 4 Great things, and more to come. 5 Okay. They wind me up and set me in my 6 way, and as we go along they hop us around. 7 So we're going to skip down to Item K, and 8 get a presentation regarding transportation 9 issues. Because, I see we've got 10 Legislator Fisher with us, and this is of 11 interest to her. So to transportation 12 issues, Jim Canniff and Mr. Kirschner. 13 MR. CANNIFF: To speak about 14 transportation issues, we have Legislator 15 Viloria-Fisher, who had met with students 16 during the fall semester. We have a 17 serious transportation problem getting them 18 to some of our campuses, but also going 19 between the campuses. And Legislator 20 Fisher has said to me that she has a plan 21 put together to try to address this 22 situation, so I think you'd like to hear 23 from her. 24 LEGISLATOR FISHER: Thank you. 25 There was a meeting in my office which 22 1 January 19, 2006 2 was attended by two students, Anna and 3 John -- is he also here? 4 ANNA: No. 5 LEGISLATOR FISHER: And the other 6 attendees and Dean Kirschner. And I have 7 to tell you that the people from whom I 8 learned the most at this meeting were the 9 two students who attended. They are the 10 users. They are the people out there 11 having to get to classes on public 12 transportation. 13 And what was astounding to me was -- 14 now I'm going to speak loudly because I 15 know there's a lot of you here -- what was 16 astounding to me was that these students 17 were sometimes spending three hours on the 18 road each way, and still they managed to 19 carry a full load of classes, and work, and 20 -- as Anna can demonstrate -- take a 21 leadership role in the campus community. 22 And as we spoke, and spoke in terms of 23 problems that occur with students such as 24 Anna, who is taking advanced science 25 courses where she must go to the Ammerman 23 1 January 19, 2006 2 Campus for the science courses, getting to 3 Brentwood is not that much of a problem for 4 her because that's closer to her home -- 5 but having to travel to the Ammerman campus 6 is what is demanding this kind of extensive 7 time travel for her. 8 So I spoke with Congressman Tim Bishop 9 about this because I said the County is 10 stretching its dollars, but here we have a 11 situation where we have two educational 12 institutions who are looking at multicampus 13 education: Suffolk Community College which 14 has the Eastern campus, the Ammerman 15 campus, the western campus which require 16 links; and now we're looking at the State 17 University as well who is looking at the 18 Eastern campus in Southampton. 19 And what I asked Dean Kirschner to 20 do -- and I don't know if he has completed 21 that -- is to do a student survey to see 22 what kind of need there is among an 23 intracampus need of transportation. If we 24 could have a transportation system that 25 links the campuses, then we can have -- 24 1 January 19, 2006 2 even though students who are taking courses 3 at Brentwood and Ammerman -- if students 4 who live near the Brentwood campus can get 5 themselves to Brentwood and then use that 6 intracampus connection, it could curtail 7 some of their time in public transportation 8 because it could be an express from 9 Brentwood to Ammerman. So those students 10 wouldn't be on the regular busses that have 11 to make all of those stops between 12 Brentwood and the Ammerman campus. 13 I'm not sure, Dean Kirschner, how far 14 you got -- 15 MR. KIRSCHNER: I'm still working on 16 that. 17 LEGISLATOR FISHER: Okay. So we're 18 waiting for that input. When we have that 19 information on the use, I would like to 20 propose a plan for a grant from the federal 21 government. And Tim Bishop said he would 22 be a good key person to take this back to 23 congress because he is a member of both the 24 education and transportation committees, 25 and he is very open to partnering with the 25 1 January 19, 2006 2 County to help develop this transportation 3 program. 4 Some of the questions that we've asked 5 to be included in the questionnaire -- and 6 this was in our dialogue -- was the student 7 ID number, the student zip code to help 8 tell us where students are coming from who 9 are using public transportation. 10 The questions would be: Do you take a 11 bus? If yes, how long is your trip? How 12 many credits have you taken on campus? We 13 want to determine, are these part-time 14 students, full-time students. Is the 15 length of their trip diminishing the number 16 of courses that they are able to take? 17 This is very critical because students who 18 would like to have a full schedule cannot 19 take late afternoon courses because our 20 Suffolk County transportation system does 21 not travel in the evening. It doesn't 22 operate in the evening hours. So students 23 could not take a 3 o'clock class if they 24 are limited -- when is the last bus, Anna? 25 ANNA: 6:30. But Brentwood is really 26 1 January 19, 2006 2 not... 3 LEGISLATOR FISHER: Okay. They can't 4 take the 6:30 bus because they wouldn't be 5 able to transfer. 6 By the way, I don't know if you are 7 aware that the Suffolk County transit 8 system only permits one transfer. So 9 somebody who has to take three busses -- 10 and many people do -- have to pay one fare, 11 the transfer, the twenty-five cents for the 12 transfer, and then another fare. So if you 13 are multiplying that round trip, it's $5 a 14 day; okay? So we're adding that to the 15 cost of tuition and all of the other 16 requisite costs that you have for students. 17 So I want to continue to look at this. 18 I wanted to tell you what we have done so 19 far. If you have any ideas, I would like 20 to you to share them with us. I guess Dean 21 Kirschner is the lead on this. And please 22 know that we in the County are there to 23 support any of your efforts. And I want 24 this dialogue to continue. Thank you for 25 your time. 27 1 January 19, 2006 2 (Applause.) 3 MR. TROTTA: Do we have any idea, just 4 a guesstimate -- I know the surveys aren't 5 done -- how many students are affected? 6 MR. KIRSCHNER: It's a large 7 proportion. And as you may know, parking 8 is very tight on campus, so that forces 9 some of the students to take the bus. 10 MR. TROTTA: When do you anticipate 11 having the surveys? 12 MR. KIRSCHNER: I would say by the end 13 of February. 14 MR. OCHOA: Vivian, good morning. 15 Thank you very much for your leadership 16 in this area, which has been the hallmark 17 of your stewardship as legislator and as an 18 educator. 19 I just want to bring your attention, 20 and to the dean, that in today's edition 21 that arrived yesterday in Suffolk Life, 22 there is an insert about Dowling College. 23 And the interesting aspect is that the 24 insert is they now have two campuses that 25 offer courses in a variety of disciplines. 28 1 January 19, 2006 2 No longer is it the Brookhaven Campus of 3 Aviation and Flight Training; it's masters, 4 NBA education and a variety of 5 undergraduate. 6 My understanding of the Dowling College 7 experience is that they have a dedicated 8 bus service between both campuses. My 9 understanding of what they do is, even the 10 class schedule is altered. So if the class 11 begins at two, it will begin like at 2:10 12 to allow time for students to go to either 13 campus in the course of a day. 14 In addition, if you live in Islip and 15 drive to Oakdale, you can have a class in 16 the morning in Oakdale, but if you have a 17 2 o'clock class in the Brookhaven campus, 18 which is 22 miles away, you don't have to 19 drive. You can get on that bus and go 20 over. 21 MR. KIRSCHNER: So it's like a shuttle. 22 MR. OCHOA: So there's like a shuttle 23 activity that goes seven days a week 24 because both campuses have dorms. 25 I'm not suggesting the Dowling College 29 1 January 19, 2006 2 solution, but it is a labor that should 3 respond to our request for information, 4 since we are a constant feeder of their 5 students. 6 And then down the street from my home 7 is St. Joseph's College. And that one I 8 don't have a clue, Dean, about how they 9 manipulate transportation, but it would be 10 worthy of asking them. And that school 11 also depends on us for students. 12 We're feeders for those two 13 institutions. So you may want to look at 14 those colleagues. I think Dr. Kate Rowe, 15 who is here, could be a good liaison 16 between one of the two communities that I 17 know of for sure, but I appreciate very 18 much your responding to student input to 19 put this on the agenda. 20 LEGISLATOR FISHER: Thanks. We began 21 this conversation, and I began to speak 22 with Suffolk County about it because the 23 thought was regarding a shuttle to connect 24 the campuses. But as we learned more and 25 more about basic commutation problems, we 30 1 January 19, 2006 2 saw that it might be a bigger problem and 3 we saw that it might be able to address a 4 variety of educational institutions in this 5 County. 6 By the way, David, I have very good 7 news. I don't know if you recall, we had a 8 panel at the Holocaust Center -- remember 9 there were several students -- 10 MR. OCHOA: Oh, yes. 11 LEGISLATOR FISHER: -- and there was 12 one high school student, an immigrant, from 13 I think Alstonia -- 14 MR. OCHOA: Right. 15 LEGISLATOR FISHER: -- the young lady 16 from Ward Melville, she was one of the 17 Intel semifinalists. 18 MR. OCHOA: No kidding? 19 She was on the diversity panel that our 20 family sponsors. 21 Legislator Fisher: Right. That 22 diversity panel -- I was one of the people 23 on that panel -- 24 MR. OCHOA: Right. 25 LEGISLATOR FISHER: -- and she was one 31 1 January 19, 2006 2 of the students who spoke. 3 And when we looked at the cover of 4 Newsday, my daughter said, "Oh, that's the 5 girl we met." 6 But I just wanted to let you know that 7 she was one of the Intell semifinalists. 8 MR. OCHOA: Thanks. 9 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 10 Let's move along here. Unless I'm told 11 I'm jumping to a different place, I'm back 12 to Item C on our agenda, and I'll entertain 13 a resolution to approve the minutes of our 14 December 8th meeting. 15 MR. TROTTA: I'll make that motion. 16 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 17 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 18 (Whereupon, all in favor respond 19 "aye.") 20 MR. MOORE: Now we are going to hop out 21 of order here -- and I apologize to 22 everyone -- we are going to enter Executive 23 Session for the purpose of discussing 24 employment and certain litigation matters. 25 And for that, we've got to close the room. 32 1 January 19, 2006 2 Depending on what pops out there, maybe 3 we'll have time to do the tour after that. 4 DR. PIPPINS: Or maybe they can do the 5 tour while we're doing this. 6 MR. MOORE: Well, we'll miss the tour 7 that way, but -- 8 MR. GATTA: We want the Board included. 9 MR. MOORE: That's what I figured. 10 So if we send you guys out for 11 Executive Session, if it works, we'll join 12 you after that work. 13 DR. PIPPINS: In case we lose him, I 14 would like to recognize Reverend Adams, who 15 is here. He's our president to our 16 advisory committee. He's also the 17 president of Brookhaven NAACP, and he's 18 also my pastor. So I would like to show 19 appreciation of him this morning. 20 MR. MOORE: Nice to have you. 21 (Applause.) 22 MR. MOORE: At this time, I would 23 entertain a motion to go into Executive 24 Session. 25 MR. HAZLITT: So moved. 33 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. MATTACE: Second. 3 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 4 (Whereupon, all in favor respond 5 "aye.") 6 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 7 (Whereupon, Executive Session was 8 held from 10:09 a.m. to 10:43 a.m.) 9 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 10 We're back in open session. 11 At this point, I'm going to entertain a 12 resolution to approve -- okay, we've got 13 our bodies here. 14 Trustee Hazlitt, you wanted to make one 15 observation on Item 3 before we vote on 16 that? 17 MR. HAZLITT: Yes. 18 For the record, I would just like to 19 state that the good Dr. Milligan (phonetic) 20 is the medical examiner for the Stony Brook 21 Fire District under the contract which I 22 vote on -- I have voted on. 23 MR. MOORE: I'll entertain a resolution 24 to approve Items 1 through 9, which are 25 2006.1 through 2006.9 at this point. 34 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. OCHOA: So moved, Mr. Chairman. 3 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 4 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 5 (Whereupon, all in favor respond 6 "aye.") 7 MR. MOORE: As for Item 10, I'm going 8 to offer an amendment for the language of 9 Item 10. It's the very last paragraph, the 10 "Resolved" paragraph. We will delete the 11 language "and take effect immediately," and 12 insert instead, "adopts the salary plan and 13 its effective dates..." and those dates 14 are set forth in that salary plan, which is 15 an attachment to the resolution. I will 16 make a copy. 17 MR. HAZLITT: You want a roll-call 18 vote? 19 MR. MOORE: Fine, we'll do a roll-call 20 vote, and feel free to comment on 21 Resolution 10 as your heart so moves you. 22 Do I have a motion to move Resolution 23 10? 24 MR. OCHOA: So moved. 25 MR. KANE: Second. 35 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. MOORE: Trustee Ware? 3 MS. WARE: Yes. 4 MR. MOORE: Trustee Trotta? 5 MR. TROTTA: Yes. 6 MR. MOORE: Trustee McCarthy? 7 MR. McCARTHY: No. 8 MR. MOORE: Trustee Kane? 9 MR. KANE: Yes. 10 MR. MOORE: Trustee Ochoa? 11 MR. OCHOA: No. 12 MR. MOORE: Trustee Mattace? 13 MR. MATTACE: Yes. 14 MR. MOORE: Trustee Hazlitt? 15 MR. HAZLITT: Yes. 16 MR. MOORE: And from Trustee Moore, I 17 vote yes. 18 MR. KANE: Six? 19 MR. MOORE: Six. The resolution 20 passes. 21 (Whereupon, the resolution passes 22 6:2.) 23 MR. MOORE: I will comment on this. 24 Since no one took the opportunity, I will. 25 There is an outstanding concern of this 36 1 January 19, 2006 2 board with respect to its role as a board 3 of trustees in the context of State 4 Education Law and the regulations 5 associated with it. And there has been 6 some discussion, and I've been concerned 7 with the notion that the tail wags the dog 8 and who gets the authority. It seems to be 9 my understanding that the terms and 10 conditions of employment are in the 11 authority within this board to set. And in 12 this instance, it can appear as though the 13 authority is elsewhere and we are just 14 tagging along. It's a matter of concern. 15 It's for institutional autonomy for the 16 future of the institution and to see that 17 it runs efficiently. 18 We have had prior Plan C discussions 19 with representatives of the legislature and 20 the County Exec., and that's going to 21 continue so that we can really iron out and 22 have a common understanding of what the 23 role of the College is, what the role of 24 Board of Trustees is, so that we're not 25 considered one more department of the 37 1 January 19, 2006 2 County. Because, we would take great 3 exception to that notion. With that, the 4 resolution does pass. 5 DR. PIPPINS: I would add, in all due 6 respect to all of the hardworking exempts, 7 that this is no reflection of the Board's 8 feeling about your performance. It's a 9 reaction to the policy issue that the 10 Chairman just put forward. 11 MR. MOORE: That's very true. I hope 12 the college staff administration, top to 13 bottom, knows how much this board respects 14 everything you do and your tremendous 15 efforts and the achievements going on. And 16 it's great fun to work as a trustee for an 17 institution like this. So thank you, 18 Dr. Pippins, for making that observation. 19 We put you guys out in the hallway. 20 What's your pleasure? Do we continue on 21 our way and then take our tour, or have we 22 lost those who are -- 23 DR. PIPPINS: Let's move on. 24 MR. MOORE: Okay. 25 Let's continue on our agenda, then. 38 1 January 19, 2006 2 If I'm in the proper order, we've 3 approved the resolutions. I entertain a 4 motion to adjourn for a moment our trustee 5 meeting and convene our Board of Directors 6 of the Association meeting. 7 MR. OCHOA: So moved. 8 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 9 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 10 (Whereupon, all respond "aye.") 11 (Whereupon, the meeting of the 12 Board of Trustees was adjourned and 13 the meeting of the Board of 14 Directors commenced at 10:47 a.m.) 15 MR. MOORE: Okay. 16 Let's see what we've got for 17 resolutions there. 18 I'll entertain a motion to approve 19 Resolution 2006.A1. 20 MR. OCHOA: So moved. 21 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 22 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 23 (Whereupon, all in favor respond 24 "aye.") 25 MR. MOORE: So moved. 39 1 January 19, 2006 2 And there were no minutes to approve of 3 the Association? 4 MS. KOPP: Right. 5 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 6 I'll entertain a motion to adjourn our 7 directors' meeting and reconvene the 8 trustee meeting. 9 MR. OCHOA: So moved. 10 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 11 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 12 (Whereupon, the meeting of the 13 Board of Directors was adjourned 14 and the meeting of the Board of 15 Trustees reconvened at 10:48 a.m.) 16 MR. MOORE: Okay. 17 Take that hat off and put the other one 18 back on. 19 The finance report, I presume, will 20 come from Chuck. 21 MR. STEIN: In your packets you have 22 your monthly finance report. You will 23 notice that our revenues are just slightly 24 projected ahead. Our enrollment has been 25 down a bit, and that's causing a drag on 40 1 January 19, 2006 2 the revenue. But we're about 140,000 ahead 3 from the budget overall. 4 On the expenditure side, we're 5 projecting from this moment being 400,000 6 or so. So that's where we are in the 7 finance report. 8 I wanted to point out to the board that 9 we have received, tentatively, the new 10 health insurance rates. Upon examination 11 of those health insurance rates from the 12 County, it actually looked as though, if 13 implemented, we would be in the hole by a 14 considerable amount of money. As you know, 15 when we had this discussion back in the 16 summer, I had concern about that. 17 I contacted individuals in the Budget 18 Office and the Budget Review Office, and 19 had long conversations with them. And it 20 appears as though they recognize there may 21 be something wrong with those rates that 22 came to the college. So they are examining 23 them. Hopefully, in the next week or 24 two they will have it resolved. 25 The resolution you voted on today was 41 1 January 19, 2006 2 for the December bill, which was under the 3 old rates. So we have not authorized any 4 payments under the new rates yet, and 5 hopefully, we'll get it resolved with the 6 County. 7 MR. OCHOA: You think it's a mistake, 8 though. 9 MR. STEIN: Well, we think that there 10 were things that they did not take into 11 consideration in establishing the rates. 12 For example, we pay the Medicare 13 portion directly whereas the county 14 departments, the rate assigned to each 15 county department, takes into account that 16 the County pays the Medicare, getting back 17 to the whole Plan C issue. 18 But it appears as though the way the 19 rates were established, it did not take 20 into account those expenses that we pay 21 directly. So both the Budget Office of the 22 County Executive and the Budget Review 23 Office of the legislature are working 24 together to resolve the issue, and we 25 should know within a couple of weeks. 42 1 January 19, 2006 2 And also in a couple of weeks -- this 3 was last year's booklet for the capital 4 program. It's being produced now. You 5 should have it by the end of this month. 6 At the February 4th meeting, you will 7 be asked to vote on the program that we're 8 putting forward for the capital approach. 9 One of the things -- and Paul's going 10 to discuss this a little bit -- we have had 11 meetings at the college with the 12 Facilities' Committee, and we're -- the 13 goal is to try and hold onto the projects 14 that we currently have. In addition, if 15 you remember, there was a presentation at 16 the retreat of the Board dealing with the 17 athletic field. We're going to include a 18 capital project request for that. And last 19 week, when we went to the Economic and 20 Education Committee of the legislature, the 21 new presiding officer, Bill Lindsey, who is 22 in there, and both George Gatta and I were 23 talking about this facility as well as 24 Riverhead and the equipment and things 25 we're going to need for Riverhead, and 43 1 January 19, 2006 2 Presiding Officer Lindsey said "Well, your 3 capital program is coming up." 4 Taking that lead, we're going to 5 probably put something in that capital 6 program request. This will require county 7 support. We do know that we already have 8 some state support for the Riverhead 9 facility as a result of discussions with 10 Senator LaValle. So maybe that can serve 11 as an offset that the County can also 12 provide for us. And that's my report. 13 MR. HAZLITT: Did my report -- my 14 preliminary agenda show there were no 15 budget transfers this month? 16 MR. STEIN: In your packet you have a 17 list of budget transfers this month, and 18 that was Item 1. 19 MR. HAZLITT: Because, I had a sheet 20 that said "Budget Transfers," and there was 21 nothing on it. 22 MR. STEIN: That was probably a space 23 holder, but in your packet is the list. 24 MR. HAZLITT: Thank you. 25 MR. STEIN: Thank you, everyone. 44 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. MOORE: Thank you, Chuck. 3 I'll be brief in just a couple of 4 comments. 5 The Board is going to work at our next 6 meeting on some of the issues that relate 7 to Plan C, and I've asked the staff to help 8 identify for us some very concrete topics 9 of discussion that will be presented to the 10 Board for their consideration, all looking 11 toward making the operations leaner, meaner 12 and more efficient so that we can continue 13 on the quest to being a college of 14 excellence. 15 So more information is coming, and 16 we'll be talking about it openly at the 17 next meeting. Thank you. 18 Our Roundtable. Shall we go around 19 starting with Trustee Kane, and anything 20 you want to talk about for the Board to 21 think about? 22 MR. KANE: Pass. 23 MR. MOORE: Dennis? 24 MR. McCARTHY: No, sir. 25 MR. MOORE: Frank? 45 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. TROTTA: No. 3 MR. MOORE: Avette? 4 MS. WARE: At the back of each packet 5 there is an invitation which is issued to 6 the Board, from me, and its on behalf of 7 the Student Government Association on the 8 Ammerman campus. They are actually -- it's 9 the final page, I believe, on the right 10 side of the packet. 11 March 15th, the student government is 12 hosting a town hall meeting, at which time, 13 the -- Dr. Pippins is invited to attend and 14 I believe has already responded positively 15 as well as the campus administrators. I 16 don't have a list of who the student 17 government has included -- however, the 18 purpose is for the students available to 19 ask questions, make comments, whatever, as 20 to how they feel things are going; 21 questions, concerns, whatever they want to 22 discuss directly. And they have asked that 23 the Board of Trustees be included; not 24 necessarily to be on the panel, however, 25 just to show as a show of support. And if 46 1 January 19, 2006 2 there are any comments you would like to 3 make, it might also be a good opportunity 4 to speak to students to make them aware of 5 things that are going on that might be of 6 concern for the students or that they may 7 need to get involved in; such as voting, 8 when that time comes. 9 So I would just like to present that to 10 you and ask you to be there. 11 DR. PIPPINS: Are you all having 12 difficulty hearing? 13 MS. WARE: Oh, I'm sorry. 14 As we talked about the fact that the 15 students have been very amenable to having 16 the Board present on campuses just to 17 pretty much be there to show support. So 18 if you could be in attendance, it would be 19 greatly appreciated. 20 MR. TROTTA: Eleven to two? 21 MS. WARE: 11:00 to 12:15. Lunch will 22 be served. 23 MR. HAZLITT: We have to be aware of 24 the Ides of March. We're liable to be 25 assassinated (laughing). 47 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. MOORE: Well, go down for a good 3 cause. 4 Next on the table. 5 MR. MATTACE: I'd like to put it on the 6 record that one of the most difficult 7 decisions I had to make was in the last two 8 weeks, officially. I will be running for 9 an open seat in the state assembly, and the 10 decision I had to make was that after I'm 11 elected, is that I will have to step down 12 from the Board. 13 After spending -- this is my fortieth 14 year in Suffolk College. It was really 15 heart-wrenching. It bothered me. But at 16 this point, my concern is at the state 17 level, to do whatever I can and be a voice 18 for Suffolk. 19 MR. MOORE: Hear; hear. 20 MR. MATTACE: And work on Plan C. 21 (Laughter and applause.) 22 MR. TROTTA: We heard from the 23 assemblyman; now we'll hear from the 24 senator. Notice they are sitting next to 25 each other. There's a little division in 48 1 January 19, 2006 2 between, because they are two different 3 houses. 4 (Laughter.) 5 MR. OCHOA: I'll help you on the senate 6 side; okay? 7 Mr. Chairman, just two items. One 8 is -- as I indicated to you earlier -- I 9 will be leaving momentarily and I want to 10 be part of the conversation of the Uniform 11 BOT meeting time and I also wanted to be 12 part of the conversation for the hard work 13 we've done for the undeveloped property 14 update. And I wonder, if it's okay with 15 the president, that those things be 16 discussed at the next meeting. 17 But also, in asking you that, I also 18 know that we've asked ourselves to allow 19 time for the conversation at the next 20 meeting regarding the Plan C conversation; 21 that this issue was brought to our 22 attention in executive session. So I'm 23 sort of torn by asking for the delay. 24 But on the other hand, if it's delayed 25 two months from now, at least on one of the 49 1 January 19, 2006 2 issues, the issue of undeveloped property, 3 the president may have a different view, 4 and I would respect it. 5 DR. PIPPINS: I would like if you could 6 stay a few minutes to just move -- all I'm 7 asking on this undeveloped land criteria 8 today is that the Board would authorize me 9 to move forward to develop policy 10 reflecting the content of this document, 11 which I think you have all seen. So if you 12 can just stay for a couple minutes after -- 13 MR. OCHOA: And that, I will heartily 14 endorse; especially after the hard work 15 we've had at the task forces and the 16 committee meetings that we've held. That 17 would be an action that I would certainly 18 recommend to you as colleagues. 19 MR. MOORE: Well, we can be at that 20 point right now, I suppose. 21 DR. PIPPINS: Don't forget Walter. 22 MR. MOORE: Sir Walter, I'm sorry. 23 MR. HAZLITT: Yesterday, I read the 24 retirees' brochure that they sent out, and 25 there was one item in it that caught my 50 1 January 19, 2006 2 attention that I thought was very, very 3 topical with the identity theft question 4 that everybody worries about. And there 5 were certain things in there, suggestions, 6 that I thought were very, very worthy of 7 consideration; only putting the last four 8 numbers on your check when you are sending 9 in your bills. And I would say that it was 10 worth the effort of reading it, I tell you 11 that. 12 MR. MOORE: Now, which brochure was 13 this in? 14 MR. OCHOA: It was mailed to us in our 15 packets. 16 MR. MOORE: Thank you. 17 I just haven't thought about retiring 18 yet, so perhaps that's why I didn't put it 19 at the top of my reading list. 20 (Laughter.) 21 MR. MOORE: Anything else? 22 MR. HAZLITT: No. 23 MR. MOORE: Okay. 24 We'll jump into the undeveloped land 25 discussion. 51 1 January 19, 2006 2 DR. PIPPINS: You have before you -- I 3 believe you all have a copy -- of the graph 4 criteria for the use of undeveloped land. 5 And I've chaired previously -- I've held 6 several meetings, both with the community 7 and with the groups interested in using the 8 land and with local officials who have 9 interest in this topic, and present for 10 your consideration this document. I'm 11 requesting your authorization for legal 12 counsel to begin to draft policy which 13 would come back to the Board for approval. 14 Any questions about any items in this 15 document? 16 (No response.) 17 MR. OCHOA: Mr. Chairman, if I may beg 18 to make a comment of the process. 19 It's such a difficult task to have 20 outreach and to be inclusive in the 21 conversation to make a decision, and I'm 22 not so sure how Dr. Pippins and her staff 23 managed to achieve that goal with 24 excellence. We had opposing views, fixed 25 views, don't know views. But the 52 1 January 19, 2006 2 conversation and the meetings included 3 legislators, civic associations, 4 neighborhood folks, organizations that want 5 to have their heritage parades, and when 6 you get all that input, this document 7 reflects that. So I think it speaks well 8 of the College and how it's respected and 9 its leadership. And Belinda and I, as 10 trustees, were faithful to the process in 11 your behalf. And I think if Belinda were 12 here, she would echo my comments. Because, 13 we both feel that it was a positive 14 experience to have outreach and inclusive 15 decision-making. And now it's in our lap, 16 and I would certainly recommend that we 17 take the next step and have something hard 18 put before us so we can go from there. 19 MR. MOORE: I appreciate that. 20 I know it's very easy to say "no 21 events" and just close the door to the 22 public opportunity, and that would have 23 been easy because I know there are deep 24 concerns about an event that can escalate 25 into such -- a wonderful event can get so 53 1 January 19, 2006 2 big and much larger for the venue than it 3 really can serve it faithfully. And the 4 community around the college was right to 5 be concerned about that. But I'm glad that 6 we decided to come up with this compromise 7 which leaves the campus open and makes us 8 part of the community in which we're 9 situated. I think it's great; knock down 10 the walls and be open to the community and 11 yet sensitive to the community of which we 12 are members. So job well done on a lot of 13 hard work, to echo David's comments on 14 that. 15 DR. PIPPINS: I appreciate your 16 support. 17 MR. OCHOA: Move to authorize staff to 18 move forward? 19 MR. MOORE: Sure. 20 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 21 MR. MOORE: All in favor? 22 (Whereupon, all those in favor 23 responded "aye.") 24 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you. 25 MR. MOORE: Oh, it must be time for a 54 1 January 19, 2006 2 stand-up routine; am I right? 3 I'm just reading down the agenda. When 4 I see Mr. Cooper's name, I just know... 5 Is that what's next? 6 (At this time, Trustee Ochoa and 7 Trustee Mattace left the meeting 8 room.) 9 (Whereupon, a computer presentation 10 was put up on a screen for all to 11 see.) 12 MR. COOPER: I'd like to show you some 13 of the projects that are in progress that 14 we've done in the past year. 15 This is the roof of the Brookhaven Gym 16 which we replaced this year (indicating). 17 This is the floor of the Brookhaven Gym 18 being sanded (indicating.) This is the 19 finished process (indicating). In the last 20 two years, we replaced the roof, the 21 lighting, the mechanisms in the floors. 22 The next time you have a board meeting at 23 Ammerman, I suggest you stop by the gym. 24 These are the automatic doors we 25 installed as part of the project for 55 1 January 19, 2006 2 Americans with Disabilities Act 3 (indicating). We did a number of 4 buildings. 5 This is sidewalk repairs (indicating), 6 part of the Ammerman Campus Site 7 Improvement Project. Over the past summer, 8 we renovated the faculty offices in the 9 Language Arts building. 10 This is a learning center (indicating). 11 Basically, it's a computer room that we 12 built in the Smithtown Science building. 13 It was part of the original design, but it 14 wasn't let out to bid. Since the job came 15 in under budget, it was bid on last summer 16 and it's nearly complete. This big new 17 window is the centerpiece of it 18 (indicating). 19 Here's some modular buildings 20 (indicating). This year we put a modular 21 building on the Grant campus. We have 22 received an occupancy permit; it will be in 23 use next week. We put a modular building 24 on the East campus which will be complete 25 probably next week. Tomorrow we are 56 1 January 19, 2006 2 scheduled to have fire alarm testing, and 3 will be applying for the occupancy permit 4 right after that. 5 We have a project called Mechanical 6 Improvements College Wide, which is for 7 ripping out pumps and boilers and motors 8 and air handlers, and this is a -- rather 9 than showing you what we are putting in, 10 this is what we ripped out (indicating). 11 We also have a project in Huntington 12 Library where we renovated that building 13 with new chillers and pumps and air 14 handlers, and that's nearly complete. We 15 have also, as part of Mechanical 16 Improvements Project, this is a new air 17 hander (indicating). We have a project to 18 replace cooling towers college wide. This 19 is the Smithtown Science building 20 (indicating). 21 We've have a project to waterproof the 22 buildings. This is separate from our 23 roofing project. This is the greenhouse on 24 the roof of the Smithtown Science building 25 being waterproofed (indicating). 57 1 January 19, 2006 2 We have project that renovated the 3 electrical distribution system on all of 4 the campuses, but most of the work is at 5 Ammerman. This is the generator work at 6 Ammerman (indicating). There are nine new 7 generators, nine new transformers, new 8 light bulbs and switches, new switch gears 9 in some buildings so that each building 10 will have enough power for the increased 11 load caused by computers and by 12 air-conditioning. And we're replacing 13 40-year old equipment. 14 This is a LIPA pole that was leaning 15 towards the NFL building a little further 16 than we wanted (indicating). 17 (Laughter.) 18 MR. COOPER: My class measured the 19 angle and it's leaning more than last year. 20 But we put underground service to this 21 building and replaced that. 22 We have a project based on energy 23 efficiency, basically all the work is done. 24 This is a training session 25 (indicating). Before we started, we had 58 1 January 19, 2006 2 full-day training sessions, three full 3 days, and it was mostly theory and it was 4 more than people could absorb. We're doing 5 a bunch of one- or two-hour sessions with 6 smaller groups of people, and this, they 7 really enjoy. And this is one of those 8 sessions (indicating). 9 This is the plaza, which people are 10 likening to Beirut because there is huge 11 piles of sand and debris. But it's going 12 very well. If that remains, we'll be 13 substantially complete by the end of May. 14 That is Kreiling Hall (indicating). 15 That's it. Thank you. 16 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you, Paul. 17 (Applause.) 18 MR. MOORE: Informative. Not funny, 19 but informative. 20 DR. PIPPINS: By the way, graduation 21 for the Ammerman campus will be held on the 22 Grant campus at 3:30. The date is the 21st 23 of May. We'll get more out to you. But 24 the question was on the state of the plaza, 25 and obviously that will not be ready. 59 1 January 19, 2006 2 Dr. Canniff, will you give us a couple 3 of minutes of update on the retreats, 4 please. 5 MR. CANNIFF: Last week, we had three 6 days of retreats for three different 7 groups. As you know, since Dr. Pippins has 8 come here, one of the activities that she 9 has asked us to engage in is to come 10 together and discuss issues about how the 11 College operates and where we're going in 12 the future. 13 Now, this past Tuesday, we had all of 14 the academic chairs from all the college, 15 and we had them in for a day talking about 16 a variety of different issues. This was 17 their third meeting with us, and there will 18 be future meetings this semester. The 19 reports I'm getting is that they are very, 20 very happy to be included, and that's one 21 of the things that we're trying to do. 22 On Wednesday of last week, for the 23 first time, we had the major student 24 affairs people from all three campus in to 25 spend the day talking about future student 60 1 January 19, 2006 2 services, where it's going, what some of 3 the issues are and what some of the 4 problems are. Dr. Pippins was there with 5 us for the entire day. She was also there 6 the day before with the academic chairs. 7 The third day, which was Thursday, we 8 had a retreat for the executive council and 9 the associate deans. There was, I'll say, 10 probably 40 of us there in the room; again, 11 talking about the same issues. 12 However, one of the nice things that's 13 happened is we're connecting the three 14 days. We're connecting what the academic 15 chairs discussed on Tuesday with what the 16 student affairs people discussed on 17 Wednesday with what the administrative 18 group is discussing on Thursday. 19 Dr. Pippins will be appointing two 20 follow-up groups to deal with follow-up 21 issues. We'll be having George 22 Denninghoff (phonetic), our consultant, 23 come back in late February or early March 24 to spend more time with us. 25 I think this is a very healthy sign for 61 1 January 19, 2006 2 us. I think we're including many more 3 people than we ever have in discussions 4 about the future, and that's what people 5 feel good about. 6 Any questions? 7 (No response.) 8 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you, Dr. Canniff. 9 Vice President Stein wanted to add a 10 point on the budget. 11 MR. STEIN: I just wanted to make a 12 clarifying statement. I misspoke before 13 when I was giving the financial report. I 14 reversed the expenditures and the revenues. 15 On the revenue side, we're down because 16 of the enrollment situation. We're down 17 about $460,000 overall. 18 On the expenditure side, we're to the 19 good about $140,000 at this point. So I 20 just wanted to clarify that. 21 DR. PIPPINS: Kate, can you give us an 22 update on enrollment and retention. 23 DR. ROWE: I can. I hate that word 24 "down." It just gives me the goose bumps. 25 DR. PIPPINS: That's just because I 62 1 January 19, 2006 2 call Kate every morning before she leaves 3 the house and ask her, "What do the 4 enrollment numbers look like? What's 5 happening?" 6 MS. ROWE: I'll just talk a little bit 7 about the landscape we're looking at now, 8 the environment. 9 If you look at our FTE, what you would 10 see is a series of peaks and valleys, each 11 extending from four to six years. It's a 12 very regular pattern, actually. At the 13 moment, we are just coming off a peak, 14 which, of course, when you come off a peak, 15 you may be going into a valley. We hope to 16 avoid that. 17 The two factors that are tied to this 18 history of enrollment are really the Long 19 Island economy and how it's doing and the 20 size of the graduating class. 21 When the Long Island economy begins to 22 improve, the 20- to 35-year-olds, who 23 actually are about half of our enrollment 24 at the college, begin to decline. Their 25 enrollment begins to decline. We get few 63 1 January 19, 2006 2 of them in recruits, and we hold onto 3 fewer. And we could probably posit that 4 it's because they have gotten more overtime 5 or they were able to get a job without the 6 education that we provide. But we're not 7 really sure. That's what happens when the 8 economy begins to improve; we see that 9 slacking off in the 20- to 35-year-old 10 group. 11 The high school graduating size is 12 increasing, and it's projected to increase 13 at least through 2008, so that group is a 14 very positive note. And traditionally, in 15 the Suffolk high school number, we get 16 about 20 to 22 percent of the graduating 17 class. So that's a very strong network for 18 us. As those numbers rise, our number of 19 traditional-age students rise. 20 This is a fact not only for Suffolk 21 Community College. Many community colleges 22 are having a hard time meeting enrollment 23 goals, or increasing enrollment for this 24 reason. So we have to respond to that, 25 obviously. And one response will be we 64 1 January 19, 2006 2 have to really reach out to this 20- to 3 35-year-old group. We have to reach that 4 adult network. At the same time, we really 5 can't let go of the high school network. 6 We have to nurture that. 7 One of the ways do that is to look for 8 and stimulate interest in high school 9 partnerships so we can bring juniors and 10 seniors to our campus and enroll them in 11 courses. We like to bond them early in 12 Suffolk. So those partnerships lead to 13 some very, very healthy enrollments. So we 14 don't want to let go of that. 15 But at the same time, we really need to 16 strengthen our network with the corporate 17 areas. And I'm going to be working with 18 George Gatta to make sure that we don't 19 send mixed messages between training and 20 credit programs. And also getting out to 21 the civic associations to tell them 22 Suffolk's story; to make sure that everyone 23 is aware of the benefits we can offer. So 24 those are some of the recruitment efforts 25 we're going to be making to increase our 65 1 January 19, 2006 2 20- to 35-year-olds, which, as I said, is 3 half of our enrollment easily. 4 And then finally, on the retention 5 side, we are working on enhancing services 6 for adults. These adults largely come in 7 the evening or on the weekends. And if you 8 want to see what's pulling our enrollment 9 down, we're about a quarter of a percent 10 off a hundred percent of last year's 11 enrollment at the same time. It's really 12 our evening enrollment both full-time to 13 part-time. That's when the 20- to 14 35-year-olds attend. So we're looking at 15 enhancing services for adults so that those 16 students feel comfortable on the campus, we 17 can bond with them, keep them coming back, 18 serve their needs and help them reach their 19 goals. 20 The other thing is to intensify, or 21 commit to intensify information. We send a 22 lot of communications to students already. 23 We're enhancing that this fall, with Karl's 24 help. We called all students to ask them 25 how they are doing. It sounds like a small 66 1 January 19, 2006 2 thing, but with 20,000 students, that's a 3 personal connection that sometimes is hard 4 to make. So we're calling them to let them 5 know how we feel and to ask if they have 6 questions. 7 We're also communicating a lot more 8 with them on financial issues, enrollment 9 issues, upcoming deadlines. So we're 10 really enhancing that because we want to 11 keep the students we already have. 12 So this is serious business, certainly 13 for me and for the institution. And those 14 are just some of the ways that we're 15 heading in a very general sense. I don't 16 want to take any more of your time, but I 17 would be happy to answer any questions that 18 you have. 19 MR. McCARTHY: The date of 2008, we 20 know what type of pool we're going to be 21 expecting thereafter. One of the real dark 22 years, is that from 2008 to -- 23 MS. ROWE: 2012. 24 MR. McCARTHY: -- 2012, and that's a 25 concern? 67 1 January 19, 2006 2 MS. ROWE: It begins to drop off then, 3 yes. 4 MR. McCARTHY: Yeah. And that's a 5 major concern for most institutions, I 6 understand. 7 MS. ROWE: Yes. And for us certainly. 8 Because, as the economy continues to 9 improve and the size of high school 10 graduation class decreases, we're going to 11 have some real challenges in keeping our 12 enrollment up. And that's one of the 13 reasons why we really need to go after dual 14 enrollment projects to look at partnerships 15 with high schools wherever we can. 16 And that's a real benefit to high 17 school juniors and seniors, to get some 18 college under their belt, to get some idea 19 of how it is. Because, it's usually a 20 shock to kids. They get here and they're 21 like, wait a minute, you didn't tell me the 22 paper was due today. So it helps them 23 acclimate to college, and, of course, it's 24 good for our enrollment as well. 25 MR. McCARTHY: How important is the 68 1 January 19, 2006 2 advanced placement courses as a tool for 3 you? Is that important to be able to get 4 the availability of those credits in high 5 school? 6 MS. ROWE: Well, yes. Right now we 7 have other SUNY units offering credits in 8 our Suffolk County high schools -- I get a 9 little belligerent when it comes to this. 10 You'll have to forgive me -- when Albany is 11 offering credit courses in our backyard, 12 and in some sense getting recognition from 13 those students, "Oh, I can go to Albany," I 14 don't like that. I think it should be 15 Suffolk. 16 MR. McCARTHY: The prep schools do the 17 same thing. I mean, you can get an advance 18 in Manhattan College -- 19 MS. ROWE: Dowling does a whole 20 freshman year. 21 MR. McCARTHY: -- Gordon University -- 22 MS. ROWE: -- Saint Johns, Adelphi. 23 MR. McCARTHY: How unusual is it that 24 we don't do it? 25 MS. ROWE: Well, for every school that 69 1 January 19, 2006 2 does it, there are at least one or two on 3 Long Island that don't. So it's not as 4 though we're the only school that doesn't 5 do it. There are a number of schools that 6 don't do it. 7 But, how important is it that we get 8 into this market? I think it's very 9 important for us. 10 MR. McCARTHY: Thank you. 11 MS. ROWE: Any other questions? 12 DR. PIPPINS: As I mentioned, that's 13 one of the issues that we're working on, 14 and we'll be in great shape. We've got 15 some good models for that. 16 I just want to pass this around 17 (handing). George and I were talking -- 18 this is a Long Island Economic Outlook -- 19 which I think emphasizes the challenge 20 again. And this says that recent census 21 data shows that the number of persons 22 between 25 and 44 declined by 65,000 in the 23 four years between 2000 and 2004. This is 24 people who are leaving Long Island -- you 25 know, the cost of living, the affordable 70 1 January 19, 2006 2 housing -- which means that the times of 3 building recruitment in that population 4 will be very difficult. 5 But you will see, I always talk about 6 defining moments. I think this is a 7 defining moment for Suffolk County 8 Community College and that, in many ways, 9 we'll have to redefine ourselves to remain 10 competitive given the arena in which we are 11 now operating. We have lots of talented 12 people, and I'm sure that we'll rise to the 13 occasion. 14 That concludes my report. 15 MR. MOORE: Okay. 16 I understand we're going to have 17 another Executive Session, but we'll do 18 that after our tour. And, Ilene, there is 19 no action being taken after Executive 20 Session? 21 MS. KREITZER: No. 22 MR. MOORE: So we can take our tour and 23 then we're free to disband, except for the 24 Board will come back for Executive Session. 25 MR. HAZLITT: Motion to close. 71 1 January 19, 2006 2 MR. CANE: Second. 3 MR. MOORE: We are adjourned. 4 (Time noted: 11:23 a.m.) 5 (Whereupon, a tour of the Sayville 6 building and Executive Session were 7 held after adjournment.) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 72 1 2 C E R T I F I C A T E 3 4 STATE OF NEW YORK ) :ss 5 COUNTY OF SUFFOLK ) 6 7 I, LORI ANNE CURTIS, a Notary Public within and for 8 the State of New York, do hereby certify: 9 That the meeting hereinbefore set forth is a true 10 record of same. 11 I further certify that I am not related to any of 12 the parties to this action by blood or marriage; and 13 that I am in no way interested in the outcome of this 14 matter. 15 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand 16 this 29th day of January, 2006. 17 18 19 LORI ANNE CURTIS 20 21 22 23 24 25