Board Report from the March 29, 2017 meeting of the CF District Board of Trustees

BOARD REPORT FROM THE MARCH 29, 2017, MEETING OF THE CF DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The meeting was held at the Vintage Farm Campus in Ocala. The board members toured the farm prior to the meeting.

RECOGNITION
The District Board of Trustees recognized faculty member Allan Danuff for his service as advisor to the Kappa Nu Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa for 10 years. Dr. Saul Reyes, vice president for Student Affairs, introduced the Mr. & Ms. CF 2017 scholarship winners to the board. Morey Lewis represented the African-American Student Union and Shelby Willard represented the Student Ambassadors, Citrus Campus.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
■ Approved the Florida Department of Transportation Utility/Drainage Retention Area Easement at the Levy Campus.
■ Approved an agreement between Kryterion Test Centers and the College of Central Florida.
■ Approved the naming of a building at the Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus. The St. John Educational Center will be named in honor of the St. John family, whose donation assisted the Foundation in purchasing land for the Levy Campus.
■ Approved the revised summer workweek hours from May 8-Aug. 4, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with one unpaid hour for lunch from Monday through Thursday.
■ Approved the purchase of the Levy Campus furniture from OEC Business Interiors.
■ Approved the Marion County Hospital District Memorandum of Understanding for the proposed Health Sciences Center. Rob Batsel, general counsel and director of Governmental Relations, said that the agreement reflects the district’s $6 million commitment over an eight-year term, which will strengthen CF’s position in obtaining funding from the Florida Legislature.
■ Received the Monthly Financial Summary Report and List of Warrants.
■ Received an update on the Patriot PRIDE initiative from Dr. Vernon Lawter, who shared that satisfaction on student surveys has increased from 71 percent to 88 percent between 2013 and 2016.
■ Received an update on the Vintage Farm Campus from Dr. Jim Henningsen and Chris Knife, executive director of the CF Foundation. An anonymous donor has issued a challenge gift to help the Foundation raise $3.5 million for a new arena, eco-friendly parking and an equine center on the property. The Foundation was gifted the 103-acre farm near the Ocala Campus that will help grow equine and agribusiness programs at the college.

TRUSTEE COMMENTS
Trustee Ron Ewers said the Patriot PRIDE results were very impressive. Trustee Joyce Brancato thanked Tommy Morelock, director of Facilities, for doing a great job with the Vintage Farm Campus. Trustee Don Taylor said that many great things are happening at CF.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
■ GreatValueColleges.net has ranked the College of Central Florida No. 30 on its 2017-2018 list of “50 Best Colleges for Adult Education.” The ranking was developed from the 50 most affordable colleges on the U.S. News and World Report’s list of 100 colleges and universities with the highest percentage of students over age 25. In addition to affordability and student age (CF’s average student age is 27.3), the site ranked colleges on the number of bachelor’s degree and online programs, student-faculty ratios, student retention, and programs and services offered to nontraditional students. The organization was particularly impressed by CF’s flexible online and on-campus degree programs.
■ The Marketing and Public Relations team hosted the Ministerial Alliance in the Health Sciences Simulation Center on Feb. 23. The group of faith-based and community leaders heard college updates, presentations on Health Sciences programs and the CF Educational Opportunity Center, and saw our patient simulators in action. Thank you to Debbie Becker, Peggy Recanzone and Keith Bracey for sharing information.
■ The first spring Shop Talk Breast Cancer Awareness program was held Feb. 27 at the Ocala Campus with more than 130 community members in attendance. The theme was “A Conversation Worth Having: Improving Quality of Life for Patients and Families.” Two representatives from Hospice talked about quality of life and preparations for the last stages of life, even when not imminent.
■ The 29th Taste of Ocala Diamond Jubilee celebrating the college’s 60th anniversary was held March 4 in the Ewers Center. With more than 300 attendees, the event raised over $50,000 to establish three new endowed scholarships in allied health programs: two radiography technician scholarships for the new program and a surgical technician scholarship.
■ CF’s Marketing and Public Relations team was recognized with bronze honors for Website Redesign in the Collegiate Advertising Awards. The award highlights the redesign of the college website for accessibility and mobile responsiveness.
■ CF has two students nominated in the Student category and 10 instructors nominated in the Instructor category for Ocala Magazine’s annual Celebration of Nurses event on April 20 at the Livestock Pavilion in Ocala. The event is sponsored by the CF Foundation. Peggy Recanzone, the college’s Health Sciences recruiter and outreach specialist, will be there with an information table.
■ The Associate Degree Nursing program recently completed an on-site accreditation visit to evaluate the new curriculum. The exit report was positive, and the college is awaiting the site visitor’s report and final decision. The Paramedic program was awarded continuing accreditation through 2022 by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
■ The CF Debate and Forensics team competed in several tournaments this spring on the state and national levels. Students Madeline Ginn and Shelby Korynta both ranked third in Poetic Interpretations on the state level, student Stephanie Templeton ranked third in Poetry Slam and student Noah Widmann ranked fifth in After Dinner Speech on the national level. Thank you to Associate Professor and Forensics coach Courtney Wood-Harvin for her work with these students.
■ Seventeen CF students, along with Professor Richard Kirk, his wife, Dawn, and director of Student Life Marjorie McGee, spent their spring break volunteering in Asheville, N.C. Two days were spent at Western Carolina Rescue Ministries serving meals to the homeless, preparing food boxes, and helping with pick up, along with meeting/sharing fellowship with members of the mission. A day was spent volunteering at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue and several days were spent at Camp Rockmont (the host camp) helping with landscape work in preparation for the upcoming season.
■ The Citrus Campus welcomed approximately 300 guests at its annual Preview Night on March 9. Participants attended workshops on dual enrollment, financial aid and college readiness. Those attending a “Getting Started at CF” workshop received an application fee waiver.
■ The college celebrated at its 60th Anniversary Showcase & Career Expo at the Paddock Mall in Ocala on March 24. The event was coordinated and funded by XCEL-IT. Twenty programs and departments from the college provided the community with information related to college services, using the event as an opportunity to recruit students to CF. XCEL-IT collaborated with 34 nonprofit organizations to provide a venue to reach the public. Over 500 tickets for mall giveaways were handed out and over 100 participants signed the registration sheet. Mall guests were treated to music from CFs Patriot Jazz Band and Jazz Combo. Greg Snider, adjunct professor with the Visual and Performing Arts department, directed the 16-student combo.
■ In Appleton Museum news, many families spent part of their Spring Breaks enjoying the Leaping Lizards, Drumming Up Diversity and ARTSpace programs. The Frida Kahlo exhibition and related events continue to attract large crowds; the March 16 Baila Miller presentation on Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera, was attended by more than 70 people. Theodore Waddell demonstrated how he draws dogs for his children’s books during First Saturday in the ARTSpace and he also presented a talk on his mixed media sculptures on display through May 7. More than 60 students from Tavares High School visited the museum in March, taking guided tours and creating art in the ARTSpace. The museum’s Trips ’N’ Tours staff organized a successful trip in March for 53 people to visit the Orlando Museum of Art and the Chocolate Museum.
■ In CF Foundation news, the Foundation hosted a private tour on March 1 for major donors to the Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus. A room-naming opportunity at the campus was raised during the tour, adding to the private support for the college’s newest campus. The Foundation has designated $50,000 from the Promise for the Future Levy Endowment to be used to provide up to 100 recruitment scholarships for students attending in fall 2017.
■ In Athletics, the Florida College System Activities Association/National Junior College Athletic Association District Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship was held March 8-11 in the gymnasium. This was the first year of a new three-year agreement and this year’s event saw huge crowds over the four days cheering on 16 teams. Although the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the tournament, both lost in the opening round. Baseball has continued to struggle, but the Patriots are trying to get to the third place standing and earn a trip to the state tournament playoff game. The Lady Patriots Softball team is ranked fifth nationally, fourth in the state and second in the conference, with a record of 36-9 overall and 9-3 in the conference. Well on their way to qualifying for a state tournament appearance in Vero Beach April 27-30, the program will make its fourth state tournament in the last five years.

The next board meeting will be held Wednesday, April 26, at 3 p.m. at the Citrus Campus Learning and Conference Center in Lecanto.