The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, December 2, 2024, at 3:04 p.m., in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Tillman Dining Room. Dr. Theresa Banks, Chair, presided.
The following members of the Board participated: Joe Barwick, Michael Garrison, Tommy Justus, Himanshu Karvir, Matt Kern, David King, Judy Lewis, Roger Metcalf, Anthony Penland, Frances Ramsey, Roger Reid, and Glenda Weinert. John Parham participated virtually. Libby Kyles and Mariana Flores, Ex-Officio, were absent.
Others present for the meeting included: John Gossett, President; Dirk Wilmoth, Vice President for Business and Finance/CFO; Kerri Glover, Executive Director of Community Relations and Marketing; Cris Harshman, Vice President of Information Technology; Fairley Patton, Vice President of Student Services; Beth Stewart, Vice President of Instructional Services; Darryl Rhymes, Director, Employment & Employee Relations; Ashley Leonard, College Attorney; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.
Call to Order
At 3:04 p.m., Chair Banks read the ethics statement. No conflicts of interest were reported. Ms. Rice called roll; a quorum was present.
Consent Agenda
At 3:05 p.m., Chair Banks asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.
Mr. Kern moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. November 4, 2024, Board Meeting Minutes; and 1. B. Personnel Actions. Mr. King seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Resolution/Action Items
2. A. Dr. Dirk Wilmoth informed the Board that Policy 400: Sound Fiscal and Management Practices ensures that sound fiscal and management practices are employed in the operation of the College’s business office. During the fiscal year 2024-2025, the College had three months of non-compliance when it took over thirty days to reconcile the College’s bank statements for July, August, and September. Plans for rectification are now in place which will ensure business continuity going forward.
Dr. Barwick moved to approve the Bank Reconciliation Delays Acknowledgement. Mr. Karvir seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. B. Dr. Wilmoth then asked the Board to increase the budget for two State Capital and Infrastructure Funds (SCIF) projects by $100,000. The Sycamore Greenhouse roof replacement is being re-bid due to the unresponsiveness of the original contractor. Since then, the project cost has increased by $50,000.
The Dogwood Electrical upgrades project went out to bid recently, and the lowest quote along with the design costs now exceeds the original budget. The cost of this project has also increased by $50,000.
Dr. Wilmoth was asked and answered that the College receives SCIF funds bi-annually.
Mr. Kern moved to approve the Budget Increases for SCIF-funded projects. Ms. Lewis seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
2. C. Chair Banks and Dr. Gossett read and presented a Resolution of Commendation to Dr. Dirk Wilmoth for his dedicated and distinguished service to the College and the Asheville Community.
Dr. Wilmoth, who is retiring at the end of December, stated that he was honored by and appreciates the recognition from the Board. After working in several colleges, Dr. Wilmoth shared that A-B Tech was the only College most keenly in tune with its mission.
Dr. Wilmoth received a standing ovation and well wishes from all in attendance!
Trustee Business
Chair Banks shared that the Ad Hoc Committee (formed to address how to engage marginalized students in higher education) met and had a very productive meeting. The Committee will meet once a month, and a Doodle Poll will be sent to the full Board in January prior to scheduling the next meeting. All are welcome to participate in the Committee.
President’s Report
Dr. Gossett shared the following with the Board:
- Dr. Gossett offered Dr. Wilmoth his personal thanks from the Board, the College, and our students, stating that Dr. Wilmoth will be greatly missed by all.
- FEMA was on campus last week to view storm damage and to determine what damages the College may be eligible for reimbursement.
- Meetings have been held or are scheduled with our local legislatures to tell them how much we appreciate our enrollment growth funds. We are also discussing the very important need to hold our budget harmless for the next three years.
- Unfortunately, enrollment numbers have already decreased after the hurricane, and we are working hard to get the spring semester off to a good start.
- The NC Community College System Office has asked the College to prioritize our needs for construction funds. We are discussing the needs of all of our campuses, such as an expansion to the Madison Campus, renovations on the Enka Campus, and funds for building resiliency in case of another devastating weather event.
Great Colleges to Work for Employee Satisfaction Survey
Dr. Gossett then shared the following results from the Great Colleges to Work for Employee Satisfaction Survey with the Board:
- Our employees took the Survey in March, and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) has reviewed and discussed the results.
- 300 out of 600 employees invited to participate in the Survey responded, which is good!
- The Survey is conducted every other year.
- Employee satisfaction has trended up three percent since 2017.
- The following ten areas were surveyed, with the data split by the type of employee (faculty/staff):
- Communication: 59 percent of our employees were satisfied with our communication.
- Confidence with Senior Leadership: 57 percent of our employees have confidence in ELT.
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusiveness, and Belonging: 74 percent of our employees are satisfied with the work we are doing in this area.
- Employee Wellbeing: 81 percent of our employees agree that their supervisor shows interest in them, appreciates the College’s flexibility in work/life balance, and feels valued by their peers.
- Job Satisfaction: 71 percent of our employees are satisfied, feel that their jobs are meaningful, that they have the needed resources to perform, and value the interaction with our students and each other.
- Mission and Pride: 76 percent of our employees are proud to work at A-B Tech!
- Performance Management: 53 percent of our employees are satisfied that they have the ability to move up or be promoted at the College.
- Supervisor/Department Chair Effectiveness: 77 percent of our employees are satisfied with their supervisors. This shows that our Deans and Chairs are doing a good job of leading their teams.
- Peer Comparisons: Our peers outscore us. We have a lot of work to do to increase employee satisfaction, and that work has already begun.
To conclude, Dr. Gossett stated that he and ELT will work on collaboration, performance management, and employee confidence in senior leadership. Dr. Gossett has made it a point to be more visible on campus, and ELT has started working on the issues. We hope that improvements made will lead to better results on the next satisfaction survey.
The Board can help Dr. Gossett improve by sharing issues that they may hear about outside of the College, with him directly.
Staff Report
Mr. John Bradley, Information Security Administrator, updated the Board on the College’s Annual Information Security Report. Mr. Bradley shared the following information:
- According to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, all colleges are classified as financial institutions. The Act mandates that the College reports security risks annually to the Board.
- The College has made updates in response to Federal Trade Commission Safeguard requirements.
- Risk assessments have been implemented through several national and local grants.
- Employees are required to train annually on security awareness.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is in use. MFA is an additional step one must take to access a webpage.
- Improvements to our network equipment have been made.
- Unsupported switches have been replaced.
- The fiber optic infrastructure has been improved.
- We have added new firewalls and security tools.
Mr. Bradley concluded by sharing that the College discovered a lot of things that did and didn’t work after the storm. After all, communications went down, and water wasn’t available to keep machinery cool, the IT Department met and discussed how to fix these challenges for the future and for business continuity.
The Board thanked Mr. Bradley for his report and for all he has done to keep the College safe.
Closed Session
At 4:06 p.m., Mr. Garrison moved that the Trustees enter closed session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(a) (1) and (3) in order to discuss confidential personnel matters pursuant to G.S. 115D-27-29 and to discuss matters protected by the attorney-client privilege.” Dr. Justus seconded the motion which passed unanimously
At 4:46 p.m., Ms. Lewis moved to return to the Open Session. Mr. Karvir seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Handouts
The 2024-2025 Tracking Measures Scorecard, Division Updates, and the State and County Budget Report as of October 31, 2024, are in the Handouts.
The next Board meeting will be on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at noon in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Tillman Dining Room.
Adjourn
Upon a motion properly made, the meeting adjourned at 4:48 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary