The Seminole State College Board of Regents approved a resolution to support the current law regarding firearm restrictions on college campuses and ratified the naming of the Trojan home baseball field at their meeting on Feb. 15.

During her report to the Board, President Lana Reynolds discussed campus events, personnel changes, progress on the Wellness Center Construction project and legislative activities.

President Reynolds introduced two staff members who gave special presentations to the Board: Director of Enrollment Management Edie Cathey and Director of Information Technology and Chief Information Security Officer Marc Hunter.

Cathey shared information about enrollment trends and strategies to increase student numbers. Hunter spoke about campus cyber security and the measures taken to protect the College’s data and systems.

President Reynolds spoke about the nursing program’s December graduates, who recently achieved a 100 percent pass rate on their licensure exams. This was a positive step for the program, which was placed on Conditional Approval by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing in November of 2023. The status was the result of three years of graduates receiving low NCLEX (board testing for the awarding of RN degrees) passage rates in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Conditional Approval means that the College cannot admit new students to its program until it can provide evidence that deficiencies have been corrected. However, President Reynolds stated she believes the College will have a strong case for their appeal considering the last two cohorts achieved pass rates of 83 percent and 100 percent.

With the first action item on the agenda, the Board approved a resolution supporting current restrictions on firearms on campus. The resolution reads: “The members of the Seminole State College Board of Regents support maintaining the current law regarding weapons on campus, in which the President has the discretion to allow individuals to carry weapons on campus when the individual circumstances warrant it.”

The Board then reviewed and ratified the naming of the SSC Trojans home baseball field “Lloyd Simmons Field” at the Brian Crawford Memorial Sports Complex. SSC Educational Foundation trustees will also be asked to approve this effort to honor Simmons at their meeting later this month.

“The branding of the field is part of an effort by Trojan alumni to raise funds for several enhancements to recognize Coach Simmons’ major contributions to our baseball program,” President Reynolds said.

The Board then entered an executive session to discuss a pending legal matter with the College’s legal counsel, Assistant Attorney General Whitney Herzog Scimeca. Upon voting to return to open session, the board approved the terms discussed regarding an EEOC charge — numbered 564-2023-02134. The executive session is authorized by Section 307(B)(4) of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

On the consent agenda, the Board approved two program modifications for psychology and criminal justice.

Following the meeting, members of the Board toured the original site of the College’s old natatorium and saw progress on the construction of the new campus wellness center.

Board members present at the meeting were: Chair Kim Hyden, Marci Donaho, Curtis Morgan, Ryan Pitts and Robyn Ready. The next meeting of the SSC Board of Regents is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2024.