The Seminole State College Board of Regents approved a salary increase for all full-time employees, alongside the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at their meeting on June 15.

During the meeting, President Lana Reynolds provided an update on personnel changes, end of the academic year campus activities and sports teams’ postseason performance.

With the first item on the agenda, the Board approved a contract with Arctic Wolf for $63,932.48 for the purchase and implementation of a detection and response information security monitoring system, pending review and subsequent changes by the College’s legal counsel in the state Attorney General’s Office. Updates to the College’s information security infrastructure are necessary to meet federal requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

With the second item on the agenda, the Board approved the budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Following a directive from the state legislature and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education related to new funding this year, faculty will receive significant increases in pay with specific emphasis on positions in STEM, Health Sciences and other high-demand competitive job market areas. At SSC, all full-time faculty will receive at least a $4,000 raise. While the new funds for higher education institutions are earmarked for faculty pay increases, SSC’s budget for the upcoming year will also include a three percent increase for all full-time professional and classified staff. The raises will be implemented with no increase in student tuition.

“I want to commend Vice President for Fiscal Affairs Melanie Rinehart, along with Human Resources Director Holly Wilson-Byrd and other members of the administrative team, for working through the nuances of preparing the budget,” President Reynolds said in a memo to campus following the meeting. “The support of the SSC Board of Regents demonstrates that we value our employees and want to show appreciation for their dedicated service to the institution.”

“We feel very fortunate that our finances are stable enough that we were able to propose this action,” President Reynolds said. “The hard work, passion, and commitment of our employees drives the success of our students. We greatly appreciate the Board’s support of our employees with these salary increases. The raises will help us retain and attract employees by becoming more competitive in a tough job market.”

Under the consent agenda, the Board approved the holiday schedule and a contract with Brightspace for use of its online learning platform.

Board members present at the meeting were: Chair Ryan Pitts, Marci Donaho, Kim Hyden, Curtis Morgan and Robyn Ready.

The next SSC Board of Regents meeting is set for Wednesday, July 20, 2023.