NPC Minutes of the Board of Trustees Meeting
August 26, 2020
The National Park College Board of Trustees met in regular session on August 26, 2020. The Finance Committee began at 3:15 p.m. followed by the regular meeting at 3:30 p.m. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held virtually via Zoom. Trustees present were Larry Bailey, Mike Bush, Joyce Craft, Gail Ezelle, Jim Hale, Don Harris, Bev Joe, Forrest Spicher, and Raymond Wright.
Staff and faculty members present were Latisa Beason, Anne Benoit, Leslie Braniger, Juanita Brewer, Blake Butler, Gwendolyn Carter, Ashley Clayborn, Chris Coble, Yolanda Cox, Sarah Day, Wade Derden, Cari Elliott, Kelli Embry, Roger Fox, Susan Gaither, Darlene Gentles, Bruce Hankins, Terri Helms, Nicole Herndon, John Hogan, Brad Hopper, Lisa Hopper, Jill Houlihan, Janice Ivers, Donna Kay, Toni Knupps, Melissa Krafft, Brian Kroening, Julie LaRue, Melony Martinez, Kat McCorkle, Susan Millerd, Scott Post, Kristin Quintanilla, Nathan Ritter, Abby Saveall, Jerry Thomas, Kristin Thompson, Darla Thurber, Steve Trusty, John Tucker, and Lynn Valetutti.
The media was notified of the meeting. John Anderson from the Sentinel Record was present. Raymond Wright presented the invocation.
Chair Spicher welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Dr. Hogan introduced the new Executive Assistant to the President, Ashley Clayborn. He gave a brief review of her credentials, welcomed her to campus, and allowed her a few moments to introduce herself to the Board.
Kelli Embry introduced Jessie Ellis, the new Health and Safety Officer, and Kristin Thompson, who will oversee the COVID screening stations on campus. Kristin will also be assisting in Human Resources part-time. There are currently seven primary screening stations as well as nineteen additional locations around campus.
Items for Action
- Mike Bush made a motion to approve the June 24, 2020 Raymond Wright seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
- Steve Trusty, Vice President for Finance and Administration, presented the May 2020 financial reports for Raymond Wright moved to accept the financial reports as presented. Mike Bush seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
- Jerry Thomas, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment, presented updates to NPC Policy 7.500 Sexual Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct. This policy was revised to align with the new federal Title IX regulations from the Department of These regulations went into effect on August 14, 2020. Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education.
- Julie LaRue, Interim Director of Human Resources, presented the ratifications of personnel actions. She noted that Melinda Thornton’s retirement date had been changed from December 31, 2020 to January 31, Mike Bush made a motion to approve the ratifications as presented. Joyce Craft seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Items for Report
- Board Chair Report – Chair Spicher shared that the Dogwood Hall virtual ribbon-cutting was a very special time for NPC despite not being able to invite the community to campus for the event. The facility is phenomenal and will be beneficial to our students.
- Building and Campus Development Update – Brad Hopper, Director of Physical Plant and Maintenance, gave a construction update. The remodeling project in Fisher is complete with only a couple of small items to ITC Makerspace will begin moving into their location next week. The Lab Science building interior is complete and the brickwork on the exterior will be finished soon. Dogwood Hall was completed on time and is functioning as planned. The USPS is currently delivering student mail to the bookstore and not directly to Dogwood Hall. Currently capacity is at 80% with several rooms being held for quarantine purposes if needed.
- President’s Report – Dr. Hogan stated that it was great to be back on campus with
the students. Excellent campus communication helped students adapt to the new environment
and provided a constant reminder to wash your hands, wear your mask, and to stay Our
students understand that education can make a difference in their lives and for generations
to come.
Dr. Hogan spoke on the past year’s growth regarding physical campus facilities. He asked the Board to reflect on the leadership that they have invested, the authorship or architecture that the students helped create, and the outstanding efforts of our staff and faculty to achieve what we have just in this past year.
A video was shown providing a visual summation of the progress on campus during the last twelve months, including the new entryway, the Student Commons, and the new quad completed last August. The Oaklawn Foundation Gymnasium, new sports medicine room, weight room, and batting cages which were completed last November. The new Marine Technology Center grand opening in January along with the parking expansion behind the Frederick Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences building. Students moved into Dogwood Hall last week, after breaking ground in July 2019. The Hospitality and Tourism Center is open for classes, a project made possible thanks to a $400,000 Oaklawn Foundation grant awarded last summer. A new physics/engineering lab and a new chemistry lab in the Lab Science building are nearly complete. The College broke ground on the labs in February. The NPC Makerspace will be completed soon.
Dr. Hogan remarked on future plans for NPC. He said that the “responsibility to face the future has not gone away, and the theme of that will be to continue to listen. Continue to listen to our students, our faculty and staff, to our board and our community about the kind of college they want NPC to continue to become. This is going to be an exciting time as NPC continues to build on the physical infrastructure, the employment infrastructure, and the strategic groundwork that we’ve laid up until this point.”
Chair Spicher added, “All of the stakeholders have listened to the students and they have been the driving force in transforming this campus. I think we will see the benefits this year and the years to come. In spite of a pandemic, as Dr. Hogan said, the ‘Nighthawk Grit’ is alive and well.” He gave special thanks to Melony Martinez and Cari Elliot for the outstanding video presentation. He reiterated the cascading effect that NPC has on our community, region, and the state of Arkansas.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m
Forrest Spicher, Chair
Joyce Craft, Secretary/Treasurer