The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 3:01 p.m., in the Brumit Center for Culinary Arts, Tillman Dining Room. Dr. Joe Barwick, Chair, presided.
In addition to Dr. Barwick, the following members of the Board participated: Theresa Banks, Michael Garrison, Matt Kern, Libby Kyles, Judy Lewis, Roger Metcalf, Anthony Penland, Roger Reid, Ben Teague, Drew West, Glenda Weinert, and Robert Uhren, Ex-Officio. Himanshu Karvir and Frances Ramsey were absent.
Others present for the meeting included: John Gossett, President; Deborah Bailey, Vice President, Economic and Workforce Development and Continuing Education; Kerri Glover, Executive Director, Community Relations and Marketing; Cris Harshman, Vice President of Operations/CIO; Darryl Rhymes, Director, Employment & Employee Relations; Beth Stewart, Vice President of Instructional Services; Ashley Leonard, College Attorney; and Carolyn Rice, Secretary to the Board.
Call to Order
At 3:01 p.m., Chair Barwick read the ethics statement. No conflicts were reported. Ms. Rice called the roll; a quorum was present.
Consent Agenda
At 3:03 p.m., Chair Barwick asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.
Chief Penland moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. September 3, 2025, Executive Committee Meeting Minutes; 1. B. September 8, 2025, Board Meeting Minutes; and 1. C. Personnel Actions. Dr. Banks seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Resolution/Action Item
2. A. Mr. Harshman assured the Board that the college is using sound fiscal and management processes in the operation of the college’s business and shared that A-B Tech has sufficient funds to cover all institutional obligations. We continue to send student balances as debt set off to the Department of Revenue, and we have ample liquidity to offset this unplanned negative fund balance.
Mr. Kern moved to approve the Negative Fund Balance Report as of June 30, 2025. Dr. Banks seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Budget Update
3. A. Ms. Beth Gentry discussed Article 46 Funded Projects with the Board. The college met with the architect, the county, and Vannoy last week. We should have the plans in January for the construction projects scheduled to start on campus in June 2026. Upgrades are planned for fourteen buildings on the Asheville campus, and the lighting in the Conference Center will be upgraded as well.
The county is in the bidding process for the countertop upgrades for the Vet Tech facility, as well as for the cooling towers in the Allied Health building. An engineering company has been selected, and we hope to replace the cooling towers this winter so that the air conditioning will be ready for the summer of 2026.
The Board discussed Article 46 and its potential sunset in 2027. If Article 46 is allowed to sunset, the college will be funded by the county’s general fund. If we pursue extending Article 46 past 2027, Buncombe County must support the bill and ask the General Assembly to extend it.
3. B. The General Assembly hasn’t passed the state budget yet, so the college will continue to operate on last year’s budget. We did have growth in our enrollment, so we hope the budget will reflect that when it is passed.
Trustee Business
4. A. Dr. Barwick commended and congratulated all employees of A-B Tech on achieving a perfect ten-year reaffirmation from SACSCOC. No recommendations are very rare!
4. B. Dr. Barwick then shared that two topics were widely discussed during the NCACCT Seminar in September. One was Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the importance of everyone learning how to use it. The second is collaboration with other community colleges. A-B Tech is ahead of the game in both areas. We are already teaching and using AI, and we collaborate with seven of our local community colleges on leadership development.
4. C. The Board discussed required attendance at meetings as well as the meaning of “justifiable” absences. The Executive Committee was asked to meet and to bring back a proposal regarding attendance requirements to the November 3 meeting.
President’s Report
Dr. Gossett shared the following with the Board:
- Most of our energy this past month was spent on SACSCOC, and thank you to Chair Barwick for acknowledging all of the hard work done by Dr. Stewart and our employees, who made the visit successful.
- The SACSCOC team was scheduled to arrive on a Monday and stay through Thursday of the same week. They requested moving the exit interview to Wednesday afternoon to let us know that all went well.
- The QEP (PEAK) was not part of the evaluation process. The new SACSCOC President put reviews of QEPs on hold and is reviewing all of SACSCOC’s requirements in an effort to increase efficiency. We received a survey asking us to review every requirement as well and to provide feedback on the process.
- All of our employees who worked to make the reaffirmation visit a success were treated to either a culinary luncheon or dinner. The grounds crew as well – they worked very hard to make the campus beautiful and appreciated the recognition for their efforts.
- The Governor recently signed a provision allowing us to stay with SACSCOC as our accrediting body.
- The Economic Development Administration grant for the Futures Factory was submitted and was up for review right before the government shut down. We hope to have more information soon regarding the next steps.
- Fortunately, even with the government shutdown, our students are still able to receive their Pell Financial Aid. We do have three employees who are federally paid, and ELT will address this on Wednesday.
- We continue to watch out for our students and employees regarding the aftermath of the storm, and the next all-campus professional development session will focus on how to help our students.
SGA Report
SGA President Robert Uhren shared that it’s been an exciting first month! Fifteen charters have recharted in addition to the creation of several brand new charters, such as Future Leaders of America.
From a student’s perspective on the SACSCOC visit, Mr. Uhren met with the visiting team, who had very nice things to say about the college. The overall impression was positive, and the visiting team appeared to be generally impressed.
The SGA has held several events recently, including Voter Registration, Constitution Day, Tie Dye Day, and the Fall Festival, where over 900 students and employees were fed! Overall, the student body is getting into a comfortable groove, and it is good to be on campus.
Informational Items
The 2025-2026 Student Success Scorecard and Divisional Updates are included in the Board packet.
The College won gold in the Best of Asheville awards for the third year in a row.
Please attend Autumn in Asheville on October 16. It is a wonderful event and a great fundraising opportunity for the college.
Dr. Gossett stated that copies of the Statements of Economic Interest (SEI) are always provided to appointing agencies to notify them appointing agency that a Board member is in good standing.
The next Board meeting will be on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. in the Brumit Center on the Asheville Campus.
Adjourn
At 4:04 p.m., Dr. Weinert moved to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Banks seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary