MAC board of trustees convenes for April meeting
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Head softball coach C.J. Wright (left) receives a token of recognition as the April Champion of Excellence Award recipient. Lisa Brotherton-Barnes
The Mineral Area College Board of Trustees convened on April 10 for their monthly meeting at the Park Hills campus in the VanHerck Boardroom.
Trustees Allan Wells and Mit Landrum were sworn in for their additional two-year terms of service for Subdistrict 1. The slate of officers for the next two years was proposed and approved as follows: President Ms. Camille Nations, Vice President Mitt Landrum, Secretary Alan Wells, Treasurer Scott Clives, Treasurer Pro Tem Chris Hulsey, and Dr. Joe Gilgour as a member.
Champion of excellence
President Dr. Joe Gilgour announced that Softball Head Coach CJ Wright had been nominated and selected as the April award recipient. Nearly the entire softball team was in attendance to see their coach receive the award. Dr. Gilgour explained to them that the Champion of Excellence Award is a peer-nominated recognition of significant contributions to the college, its mission, and the surrounding community. The award highlights excellence in leadership, service, philanthropy, or advocacy that positively impacts the college and its students.
“Your coach was nominated for this award for his work revitalizing the MAC softball program, and nearly single-handedly ended up building the softball clubhouse there,” he said.
Additionally, Wright’s nominee said of him, “Since joining MAC, his passion has ignited incredible growth and excitement within the softball program. His dedication has fostered a thriving team environment and a strong desire for players throughout Missouri–and beyond–to become a MAC Cardinal. He invested a lot of sweat equity to build an amazing clubhouse, locker room, and training facility for the team. His leadership and the respect he commands from his team make him an invaluable asset to MAC Athletics and the entire college.”
Math competition report
Mathematics Department Chair Lauren Kieschnick said the mathematics competitions had been restarted using the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics guidelines. She said students who placed in the contest would progress to regionals, state, and nationals. Thirteen schools and 124 students participated. Approximately 20 students from the area are going on to State. Due to high demand, there are plans to split the elementary and middle school competitions and start a high school competition.
She expressed her enthusiasm for the response and the number of participants. “We had to turn away schools. We ran out of room in the tech building and didn’t even have the high school with us. We’re going to have to split the elementary and the middle school, because we had them together, so we can have all the people who want to come. Then we’re going to start including high schools.”
Science fair report
Science Fair Coordinator Jodi Dillon presented the report about the 40th annual event, expressed her enthusiasm about the fair’s success, and shared an unexpected reunion.
“We were so excited, and we got so many compliments from families who came for the open viewing the whole day. This year we had eight schools. We added a couple of new schools and different schools, and had about 125 students. One of my favorite moments of the day felt so full circle because one of my former students is a teacher now, and she brought her students to my science fair. I was so excited that she brought her students to participate in our fair and just remembering being a student on our campus. My heart just exploded. I’m always so thankful that our administration keeps supporting this science fair. I want to continue to see it grow. And I’m just so appreciative that the fair keeps getting the support that we do have,” Dillon said.
Phi Theta Kappa report
Dr. Gilgour read from the PTK report for Director of Career Services Alison Sheets, who was attending the PTK awards ceremony in Columbia. Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Keith Zoromski and Dean of Student Services Julie Sheets accompanied her.
“She wanted to report that the Lambda Chapter, which is our chapter, recently attended the Heartland Regional Convention at the Metropolitan Community College in Nebraska. Our Lambda Chapter received five out of five stars in the five-chapter development program, which is a big deal at PTK to be named a five-star program. Second place in the most-improved chapter award, we have your regional officer, Vice President of Service, Carly Saunders, from Mineral Area College at the national level. Alyssa Sample was recognized for completing the PTK Competitive Edge and Healthcare Edge programs. Two members and Advisor Allison Sheets will attend the Catalyst event in Kansas City.
“That was last week, or a couple of weeks before that, which was a big deal. The attendees celebrate the Hallmark Awards, educational forums, college, and career fairs. Alison’s doing great work on the PTK,” he said.
Women’s Cross Country National Championship
The women’s cross country team won the national championship in the fall. On April 23, the team will be recognized on the House and Senate floors in Jefferson City, where they will receive their championship rings. This is the first Women’s National Championship at MAC.
Legislative updates
Dr. Gilgour said the transfer bill, designed to facilitate community college student transfers to four-year universities, passed the House with a vote of 153 to 2. The bill is currently in the Senate, but there is concern about amendments being added that could jeopardize its passage.
“Right now, it’s been in committee, and it was on the floor two days ago in the Senate. Somebody tried to add a bill to it, and so Mike Henderson withdrew from discussion our bill because he didn’t want them adding on to it, but we’re hoping that’s still going to pass,” he said.
He also said the House budget includes a 1.5% increase in core funding for higher education, which would amount to approximately $97,000.
“We have a $40 million budget, so $97,000 doesn’t do much, but we’ll put it to good use. We’re hopeful the Senate increases, and the funding will be somewhere between 1.5 and 3 once they go to conference about it. So, I’m hoping for a higher number. We believe the Senate’s going to recommend a 3% increase. Funding for the MAC Tech expansion project at the Ste. Genevieve site is currently in the budget, while funding for the Cape Girardeau site is not. We appreciate Senator Henderson for his support of the college and community.”
Upcoming events
Dr. Gilgour made note of the dates for upcoming events.
-Law Enforcement Graduation: May 15 at 5 p.m. at the Cardinal Center.
-Nursing Pinning: May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Field House.
-College Commencement: May 16 at the Field House.
-Law Enforcement Graduation: May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Cardinal Center.
Professional staff and faculty forum (PSFF) report
SSS/EXCEL Director Dan Jaycox presented the PSFF report and started by expressing appreciation for the salary equity included in the budget.
“Students and instructors are finally headed down the home stretch of the spring semester. I think we enjoy our time here, but some students are ready for summer. Summer and fall enrollment are well underway. I want to appreciate the hard work of the math and science departments. I know bringing that math competition back was some real work, and the science event is such a wonderful event,” Jaycox said.
“PSFF elections close tomorrow, so we’ll have a new slate of officers for our next meeting. This will be my last one. I want to express my appreciation to Ms. Lori Patterson for your hospitality in coordinating everything for us and doing these reports. I’d also like to thank the administration and the board for being so welcoming and keeping this avenue of communication open for us. If we keep these lines of communication open and have these opportunities to collaborate, great things happen for our students and staff.”
The board approved a procedural change to become effective in Fall 2025 for grade recalculations when a student repeats a course. The current policy counts the most recent grade, which sometimes harms students who retake courses. The proposal suggests changing the policy to count the highest grade received, regardless of when it was earned. It was noted that this is important for students trying to get into competitive selection programs like nursing or moving on to four-year institutions, enabling them to advance in their academic careers.
The board approved the proposal to adopt a new student payment portal called Transact, which will integrate with the existing Jenzabar student information system. Benefits to students include a wider array of payment methods, simplified billing processing, the ability to tailor payment plans, the acceptance of payments from 529 educational savings plans, and secure credit card transactions. Parents can make payments through the system without logging into Jenzabar.
A processing fee of 0.95% is added for card payments, which will be passed on to the user. The payment plan fee will increase to offset the costs associated with Transact.
Campus expansions to Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau Counties
The Board approved expanding MAC Tech programs in Cape Girardeau County and Ste. Genevieve County. A formal resolution was created to document the Board’s approval for expansions to those counties, providing necessary documentation for community partners. Funding for the Ste. Genevieve site is currently included in the budget, but funding for the Cape Girardeau site is not yet secured; however, there is significant support from industry and business leaders in Cape Girardeau County for the expansion.
The next board meeting is scheduled for May 15 at 11 a.m. in the VanHerck Board Room at the Park Hills Campus. The meeting is open to the public.
Lisa Brotherton-Barnes is a Daily Journal and Farmington Press staff writer. She can be reached at lbarnes@dailyjournalonline.com.
