The Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Board of Trustees convened a meeting on Monday, September 8, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, 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, Judy Lewis, Roger Metcalf, Anthony Penland, Frances Ramsey, Roger Reid, Ben Teague, Drew West, and Robert Uhren, Ex-Officio. Himanshu Karvir, Libby Kyles, and Glenda Weinert 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; Fairley Patton, Vice President of Student Services; 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 3:00 p.m., Chair Barwick read the ethics statement. Mr. Teague stated that he had a conflict with Resolution/Action Item 2. A., and would recuse himself from the discussion. Ms. Rice called the roll; a quorum was present.
Swearing-In
At 3:05 p.m., Mr. Robert Uhren, Ex-Offico, was sworn in and welcomed to the Board.
Consent Agenda
At 3:08 p.m., Chair Barwick welcomed Mr. Uhren and asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda.
Chief Penland moved to approve Consent Agenda items: 1. A. August 4, 2025, Board Meeting Minutes; and 1. B. Personnel Actions. Mr. West seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Resolution/Action Items
2. A. Dr. Gossett discussed the Futures Factory and the status of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Grant with the Board. Dr. Gossett then showed the Board the same presentation on the Futures Factory that he gave to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners in August.
The Futures Factory project is supported by the Governor, the U.S. Department of Commerce, our North Carolina Senators, and Buncombe County. Dr. Gossett then asked the Board to say yes to a vision for Western North Carolina’s prosperity, and to agree to be the lead applicant on the EDA grant. Buncombe County has agreed to be the co-applicant.
The Board discussed matching grant funds, the donation of the land to the College by Biltmore Farms, the ownership of the building, and, if funded, who would run the building.
Mr. West moved to approve the College as the lead applicant on the EDA Grant. Chief Penland seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Mr. Teague recused himself from the discussion and vote.
Budget Update
3. A. Current Article 46 Funded Projects include approval for the new cooling tower for the Allied Health Building, and the reallocation of $5 million from the Pratt & Whitney project to the Futures Factory. The stormwater projects at the Sunnicrest and Chestnut buildings are underway.
3. B. Due to the lack of a new state budget, there is no budget update.
Trustee Business
4. A. Mr. Kern requested that the Board discuss the Attendance Policy during the October 6 meeting.
President’s Report
Dr. Gossett shared the following with the Board:
- Enrollment is looking good, and registration is still in process for late start and second-eight week classes. The budget FTE is looking good as well.
- The SACSCOC reaffirmation team arrives on Monday, September 15, and we are ready for their visit. Dr. Stewart and numerous employees have been working hard to make the visit a success. Our grounds and maintenance crew have worked wonders to make our campus even more beautiful!
- A-B Tech Enka has been without air-conditioning, and we are working to rectify that as quickly as possible. We are also meeting with our architects to see what can be done with the building.
- The Belk Endowment held a meeting focused on Western North Carolina Recovery in August. Several community college presidents attended as well as several charitable funding organizations. One of the funders in attendance was the Leon Levine Foundation, to whom we will be submitting a grant in an effort to continue our counterbalance work.
- There are seven community colleges involved in this year’s Western Carolina College Leadership Academy (WCCLA). WCCLA is designed for department chairs, deans, etc., who are the rising leaders of the future.
- The College will be commemorating the anniversary of Hurricane Helene with an art installation created from hurricane debris. Banners have been created for students and employees to write their experiences on, and will be available at all campuses. The banners will be included in a time capsule at the base of the art project, which will be placed on the King's Common when completed.
SGA Report
SGA President Robert Uhren shared that the SGA has hit the ground running and has already held a meeting. Preparations are underway for the Fall Festival, and all clubs are scheduled to participate. Six out of twelve clubs and societies have recharted, and others are in process. Several students are interested in forming new societies focused on history and criminal law.
Our first event was a popsicle giveaway on the Beech Tree Deck. About 80 students participated, and it was a great day. We are off to a good start!
Staff Presentation
Ms. Judy Fleming presented the following information about the College’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to the Board:
- PEAK Performance is A-B Tech’s Success Coaching QEP for 2024-2029.
- PEAK stands for:
- Proactive Outreach and Strengths-Based Coaching.
- Empowering Students with Information About Their Own Unique Strengths and Talents.
- Achievement – Coaching and Guiding Students to Achieve Their Educational and Career Goals.
- Knowledge – Building Academic and Meta-Academic Skills to Optimize Achievement.
- Success coaches will be embedded in specific divisions to provide individualized guidance to students.
- Coaches will use proactive outreach, workshops, and appreciative advising to support students.
- Students will develop a personalized education plan.
- Coaches will assist students by monitoring progress toward academic, career, and personal goals.
- Case management systems will help coaches track interactions and analyze impacts.
- Coaches will receive continuing professional development.
- This coaching model will improve student outcomes like persistence, performance completion, and equity gaps.
- PEAK Performance conveys the goal of empowering students to reach their full potential through proactive coaching.
- Students will benefit from:
- Developing confidence.
- Creating clear, personalized plans for graduation and career/transfer goals.
- Early proactive intervention before small issues become barriers.
- Having a trusted point of contact to guide them to help.
- Learning skills and tools that persist beyond graduation.
- To date, PEAK Performance Success-coached students had an average GPA of 3.53 versus 1.97 for their non-coached peers.
- Retention of coached students is 89 percent versus 55 percent for their non-coached peers.
The Board thanked Ms. Fleming for her hard work and excellent presentation.
Informational Items
The 2024-2025 Student Success Scorecard and Divisional Updates are included in the Board packet.
The next Board meeting will be on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. in The Brumit Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality on the A-B Tech Asheville main campus.
Adjourn
At 4:44 p.m., Mr. Kern moved to adjourn the meeting. Chief Penland seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn H. Rice
Board Secretary