At their meeting on April 9, the Seminole State College Board of Regents revised a policy regarding administrative leave and approved emeritus status for four former employees.

The meeting was conducted using the Go To Meeting video conferencing application.

To open the meeting, President Lana Reynolds informed the Board about the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on campus and reported on online instruction and availability of labs to students. She stated more than 75 percent of employees are working from home. She reported that business office operations have been uninterrupted and enrollment for future terms is underway.

With the first action item on the agenda, the Board ratified changes to Board Policy II-4-19 regarding administrative leave. The changes expand the College’s ability to extend such leave for absences beyond instances dealing with inclement weather.

The Board then granted emeritus status to four former SSC employees recommended by President Reynolds. The four former employees recognized were Maintenance Services Coordinator Kelly Chastain, Associate Professor of Life Sciences Dave Helseth, Enrollment Management Advisor Cynthia Yerby and the late Paula Rutledge, who served the College as the Math, Science and Engineering Division Chair and a Math Instructor.

Chastain began at SSC part-time, and was quickly hired into a full-time position in 1988. He held his role in the maintenance department until his retirement in 2011. In that time, he served as an HVAC tech, maintenance tech, maintenance coordinator, and eventually oversaw the maintenance department. For several years, he was the sole maintenance tech on campus.

Helseth began as an adjunct instructor at SSC in 2001 and became full-time in 2006. He taught microbiology and biology and also served as division chair for his department. Prior to SSC, he served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Family of Faith College in College, where he also taught high school science. In 1990, he retired as a U.S. Army officer.

Rutledge began at SSC in 2000 and passed away while actively employed in 2011. She worked at the college as a math instructor and also served as chair for the Math, Science and Engineering Division in 2006. She formerly taught at East Central University for 19 years.

Yerby began at SSC in 1978. During her 31 years, she served as a recruiter, a cheerleader sponsor, sponsor of the Native American Student Association and Student Services Coordinator. For 28 of those years, she served as the sponsor for the Student Government Association.

The final phase one project for a Guaranteed Performance Contract with Energy Solutions Professionals (ESP) was approved by the Board. A committee comprised of SSC Regents Curtis Morgan, Kim Hyden and Ray McQuiston, along with Vice President Tony Crouch and President Reynolds, have been working on this energy savings proposal with representatives of ESP over the past several months. Upon a full audit of the campus, ESP developed an energy savings and maintenance plan. When implemented, these recommendations will help SSC drastically reduce costs in the coming years as well as address long-needed maintenance and repair issues. One of the main expenses reported in the evaluation were costs associated with the campus pool – which currently needs many updates and repairs. One of primary issues is the need for a ventilation process to be installed in the natatorium at an estimated cost of $270,000.  Necessary repairs to the building’s roof could not be done without addressing the ventilation problem, if the pool were to remain open. Roof repairs for the area with the most damage between the gym and natatorium were estimated to cost $220,00.  Roof repairs for the entire building are estimated at $590,000.  There are additional issues with the pool operation, including minor leaks in the 40-year-old underground piping and a crack in the bottom of the pool due to concrete deterioration. 

“After much painful consideration, I am authorizing the closure of the SSC swimming pool,” President Reynolds said. “It is my hope that over time, the natatorium area maybe refitted and upgraded to provide alternate outlets for physical exercise.”

With the last item on the action agenda, the Board accepted the resignation of Vice President for Fiscal Affairs Tony Crouch. Crouch will be taking a position at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. His resignation will be effective April 30.

“Vice President Crouch has served this institution well and will be greatly missed. We are pleased to share in his excitement about his new position at a private four-year college in Kansas,” President Reynolds said.

Upon the recommendation of the President, the Board named Human Resources Director Courtney Jones as Interim Vice President for Fiscal Affairs. 

“Ms. Jones is very capable of overseeing this area and has previously handled many of the VPFA duties on a temporary basis.  She is a very intelligent and trusted member of our administrative team,” President Reynolds said.

Since 2009, Jones has served as SSC’s Human Resources Director. Prior to that role, she held the position of GEAR Up Advisor for one year.

Two items were then approved on the consent agenda from the Academic Affairs area. First, the Board approved a request to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to offer the current Business A.S. degree online. Secondly, the Board approved a request to replace two outdated courses in the Associate of Computer Science program.

Board members present at the meeting were: Chair Curtis Morgan, Bryan Cain, Marci Donaho, Kim Hyden, Ryan Franklin and Paige Sherry. The next meeting of the SSC Board of Regents is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2020.