Fall 2018 Meeting Summary

Laverne Hays - Blackhawk Technical College

Our In-service was held at FVTC’s Public Safety Training Center in Appleton. It was dedicated to Board Development and Understanding the Responsibilities of a Position of Power and Influence, and was very well presented by Employment Law Attorney Jennifer Mirus of Boardman & Clark in Madison. As leaders of our Technical Colleges, we ‘set the tone’ about our Institutions workplace morale. In doing our jobs, we have a legal liability and must strive not to purposely influence or intimidate others. A hostile work environment can include verbal, nonverbal, or physical behavior that interferes with a person’s job performance - as interpreted using a ‘reasonable person standard’. We are liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act [WFEA]. It is notable that the City of Madison has an Equal Opportunities Ordinance that is much more stringent than State or Federal Law and further includes such things as discrimination against Familial status, unemployment, and credit history. HR must be familiar with these laws, and annual training for HR and Board members should be a priority. Affirmative defense (U.S. Supreme Court Farragher/Ellerth) can limit or avoid liability where reasonable care – including policy, training, and enforcement – is in place. Regarding social media, ‘off the record’ is not a defense. Any awareness must be reported and acted upon.

After the in-service, we had a tour of the campus and the FVTC Public Safety Training Center and the training grounds that included a driving track, a simulated village, train derailment and aircraft emergency training for police and fire personnel.

We then went to Pierce Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck, that manufactures up to 1400 fire and rescue vehicles a year. We learned that China sometimes orders 70-80 trucks at a time! They offer 250 shades of red/yellow and 100 shades of white for their finished product – sometimes accentuated with 13 carat gold trim! FVTC contracts nearly 400 hours of student/personnel training with Pierce and Oshkosh Truck, and specializes in aluminum gas metal arc welding- aluminum is used for weight reduction in the vehicles.

At our Evening Banquet, three awards were bestowed. The first was a Student Ambassador recognition to FVTC student Thong Xiong, who came to the USA from Thailand in 1993. He is enrolled in Early Childhood Education. The 2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Larry Turba – a Graduate of Mid-State Technical College with an Associate Degree in Accounting. Larry currently serves on MSTC’s Foundation and on their Scholarship Grant committee. He is also a member of their Alumni Association. He reminded us of an excerpt from the past: Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can! The third recognition was the 2018 Legislative Leadership Award to David Murphy – the Fox Valley/56th Assembly District Representative. He serves as Chairman of the Colleges and Universities Committee and was instrumental in the funding of the $320000 on-going ‘micro-grants’ emergency aid to students.

Saturday Morning Reports

WTCS System Board: Jim Zylstra reported on behalf of Morna Foy, thanking her and Carla Hedtke for working on the Budget request and emphasizing advocacy and student outcomes.

WTCS Presidents Association: Bonnie Baerwald reported on their group’s discussions on misconduct polices, Foundations and how donations are received for Capital Projects. I noted this might be a good topic for Board Development. She also informed us that Ashly Furniture is reaching out to all sixteen districts looking for partnerships and ‘trades curriculum’ offerings.

ACCT: Dawn Garcia reported that there will be four presentations from Wisconsin Technical Colleges at the Leadership Congress in New York with approximately thirty Trustees attending. Dawn also noted that ACCT will be focusing on six areas of National concern; Workforce needs, Campus safety, combating poverty and promoting diversity, new pathways to student success, Partnerships and Collaboration, and Strengthening College governance.

WTCS Insurance Trust: Ron Bertieri distributed a History of the Districts Mutual Insurance Trust.

By-Laws: The Committee did not meet this time.

External Partnerships Committee: Dawn reported sixteen members from 10 Colleges attended. They learned that FVTC’s partnership with Pierce Manufacturing all started with a request for website assistance! Their advisory committee meets twice each year with FVTC.

Internal Best Practices Committee: Chair Lori Laberee reported nineteen members from 8 Colleges and summarized: Greg Kilgus (HR-Moraine Park), Barb Keiffer (HR-FVTC), and Ken Simek (Mercer Symetra Health/Benefits) reported on the Wisconsin Technical College Employee Benefits Consortium. Northcentral will be joining in January bringing the number of members to eight. WTCEB now offers a suite of programs including Medical & Prescription Drugs, Vision – even Pet insurance – with projected medical/Rx savings of 3.2% and stop loss renewals of 12%, equating to $7.5 million. Note that each College owns their own reserves and that HSA contributions can continue until Medicare begins.

Note there will be no Committee meetings in January at Madison to allow more time for Legislative visits.

President’s Report: Carla reported that the System Board, in working up its 2019-21 Budget request to the State, will be asking for increases to both direct funding and student financial aid. More info can be found at www.districtboards.org

Assistant Director Report: Steve introduced Ann Anderson, our new Executive Assistant, and noted there were 55 in attendance including 8 Presidents.

Executive Director Report: Layla reviewed our Annual Planning meeting. More emphasis s/b given to Board Development – including individual “I am a Trustee because …” philosophy to use when communicating directly with legislators and business community. Each Board should consider aligning with five ‘high-profile’ employers in their district to advocate for and support their College.

Board of Directors Meeting: Reviewed Budgets, strategic focus areas, and association goals for the ACCT Leadership Conference and the NLS in Washington.