The Grand Rapids Community College Board of Trustees met on Monday, Sept. 18, to discuss updates from the finance department, human resources, student government and an enrollment increase.
Fall 2023 enrollment has increased by 3.2% over the previous year and could increase slightly with more seven-week courses being offered later in the semester. President Charles Lepper was happy to share this news with his colleagues and said he hopes to see a further increase in the future semesters.
“At my last look, we were ahead of many of the community colleges,” Lepper said during the meeting. “Some had declining enrollment or were neutral, but we feel very happy about the 3.23% increase.”
GRCC has experienced a double-digit increase in Hispanic/Latino and Black or African American student enrollment, with an 11.3% and 11.89% rise since last year. As of Sept. 13, GRCC‘s enrollment is at 12,157, with almost 4,000 new students.
The executive director of human resources Christine Coon gave an annual update on the GRCC Treatment of People report. This report presents the latest demographic data on new hires, promotions and separations, as well as workplace improvement goals at GRCC. Read a Collegiate article about that report here.
Shelia Jones, the interim provost and executive vice president of academics, started the meeting by introducing Cameron Buck, the new executive director of GRCC’s Lakeshore Campus.
Buck earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching, and a master’s in educational and instructional technology, both from Western Michigan University.
He also holds K-12 Administrator Certification from the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals’ Path to Leadership program. For the past three years, he has worked in the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency as executive director of career and technical education.
“The folks in Holland are thrilled to have you,” Lepper said to Buck. “We look forward to working with you, and we know you’ll do great things serving our community.”
Alex Miranda, president of Student Government, announced that a majority vote approved their proposed allocation budget during their first town hall meeting earlier that day. Miranda also told the board that he and Vice President Micheal Zazzo will travel to Washington D.C. in October for professional development.
In other news, the board approved all allocations for the general fund, special fund, purchases over $100,000, and an easement for Consumer’s Energy to replace a faulty generator that has posed a danger to the many areas across campus.
“This easement will allow (Consumers Energy) to place a transformer that will significantly help some of the electrical issues that we’ve been having for the past many years,” said Lisa Freiburger, vice president for finance and administration. “It has some significant impact on our industrial power structure and has done some damage. Most recently, it caused a fire in our chiller plant (a centralized air conditioning system for a building or for a collection of buildings.)”
While the generator comes free of charge, the college will be responsible for maintaining the property around the generator and ensuring it is in good condition.
General Fund
- A purchase order of $70,000 was issued to provide payment for 2023-2024 audit services.
- A purchase order of $29,907.84 was issued to provide payment for additional lawn care.
- A purchase order of $33,075 was issued to provide payment for Anthology Ally for Learn.
- A purchase order of $29,467.18 was issued to provide payment for Blackboard Intelligence Student Management. Blackboard and all its components are used to facilitate all academic programs.
- A purchase order of $35,418 was issued to provide payment for Panopto Renewal FY24.
- A purchase order of $51,739 was issued to provide payment for Cadence texting services.
- A purchase order of $81,275.49 was issued to provide payment for Microsoft server licensing for existing servers.
- A purchase order of $91,000 was issued to provide payment for the Student Forms platform.
- A purchase order of $69,625 was issued to provide payment for snow plowing services 2023-2024.
- A purchase order of $28,600 was issued to provide payment for consulting government representation and lobbying services.
- A purchase order of $28,600 was issued to provide payment for Nursing Central Access for students for the fall, winter and summer semesters.
- A purchase order of $66,405 was issued to provide payment for uniforms for culinary, hospitality and brewing students.
- A purchase order of $47,500 was issued to provide payment for MCCA membership.
Other Special Funds
- A purchase order of $34,648 was issued to provide payment for billboards.
- A purchase order for $34,492.75 was issued to provide payment for 25 Microsoft Surface Pro tablets with detachable keyboards.
. Purchases over $100,000
- A purchase order of $139,000 to provide payment for Meet & Confer Compensation review.
- A purchase order of $548,250 to provide payment for AE services for natatorium pool conversion.
The next board of trustees meeting will be held on Oct. 16 at 4:15 p.m. in the Board Library on the fifth floor of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall.
