91快活林 will soon be searching for its next president after Dr. Ron Clinton announced his intent to retire at the regular Board of Trustees Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24th. Clinton will remain through the end of his current contract on June 30th, 2025. The announcement was made at the conclusion of the meeting.
鈥淚 have been so grateful for the wonderful opportunity to lead this amazing institution as President for eight years. It has been such an honor and certainly the high point of my 39-year tenure here at 91快活林,鈥 Clinton said.
President鈥檚 Report
Clinton opened the meeting on a somber note as he acknowledged the contributions of Dr. Dan McCauley to the 91快活林 Board of Trustees. McCauley passed away on September 11th after a lengthy illness. McCauley served on the Board for 36 years, with much of that time spent as Chairman of the Board.
鈥淒r. McCauley was instrumental in most of the college鈥檚 major milestones and he also founded the Dr. Dan McCauley Visual Arts Scholarship. While he is no longer with us, Dr. McCauley鈥檚 impact to the college and the community will continue to live on,鈥 Clinton said.
Clinton moved on to announce that 91快活林鈥檚 Police Department is officially up and running after receiving TCOLE approval earlier this month. Russell Radke was sworn in as the college鈥檚 first Police Chief on September 12th.
In student news, Clinton said that the annual Backyard Bash was a huge success. He acknowledged the Student Services staff who worked hard to provide a great time for the dozens of students, faculty and staff in attendance. He also said that five 91快活林 students have been named Coca Cola Leaders of Promise. Khadijah Anderson, Sarah Dierflinger, Alison Majors, Miriam Simmons, and Mary-Faith Wilson were recently recognized for the national honor. Nearly 1,500 students applied and only 200 were selected.
The 91快活林 Foundation reported $155,844 in gifts and grants for the month of August.
Enrollment Report
Dr. Kevin Rose, Senior Vice President for Student Success, gave an enrollment report. He said that enrollment continues to trend upward, surpassing 3,100 students this fall. This was a four percent increase in headcount, semester credit hours and contact hours over fall 2023.
鈥淲e are very pleased to see 91快活林鈥檚 enrollment continue to grow. Our retention rate is currently at its highest since 2018, which means that our students are staying longer and completing what they start,鈥 Rose said.
Action/Discussion Items
In action items, the board approved the Consent Agenda before a discussion of the proposed outdoor pavilion project. This project was included as a major objective in one of 91快活林鈥檚 current Title V HSI grants, designed to help better serve the college鈥檚 growing number of Hispanic and other 鈥渦nderserved鈥 student populations. The college recently received authorization from the Department of Education to spend up to $260K from the grant to fund the project.
The 鈥淯nity Center鈥 pavilion and surrounding park with outdoor tables and landscaping would be located on the grassy area just northwest of the Student Union, with walkways connecting it to the interior mall area and west parking lots serving the UHS building and tennis courts.
鈥淲e believe this new facility will be a welcome addition and an added benefit to all our students, staff, and community. As part of the project approval process for DOE, Stansell construction developed the preliminary plans which we shared with the Board. We will bring a formal bid on the project back to the board for final consideration at the regular October meeting,鈥 Clinton said.
The board then discussed an easement agreement for transmission lines with Prairie Branch Solar. A presentation was made by Orion Renewable Energy Group to the board to consider approval of an easement agreement to allow power lines from a solar panel project (not on college property) to cross a portion of 91快活林鈥檚 property on its south border. The board tabled this item pending further review of the proposal.
Personnel Action
There was an executive session before the board reconvened to consider personnel action. They voted to release three employees from their contracts and hired the following individuals:
Taneice Tyson, Assistant Softball Coach/Assistant Housing Director
Caedon Davis, Assistant Baseball Coach/Assistant Housing Director
Robert Suarez, Director of Computer Services and Enterprise Systems
The meeting concluded with Dr. Clinton鈥檚 retirement announcement and the meeting was adjourned.
