CCC board presents update on firm for president search

Before the Clovis Community College (CCC) Board of Trustees hire a new president, the board needs to decide on hiring a consulting firm to help them find qualified candidates for the job.

Board Chair Lora Harlan presented an update on progress toward choosing a firm at the Wednesday’s regular board meeting.

In July, the board voted to appoint Trustee Jan Bradburn and Harlan to seek out proposals from companies that can help them in the search. The proposals will include the cost, what each company is going to do, and the timeframe each can provide.

Harlan said that she and Bradburn had taken the past month to compile a list of companies, along with their qualifications.

“At this point, we will be looking at that information and then we expect to schedule a special study session after we have looked over this information so that we can make that decision,” Harlan said.

She asked that the board be ready to make a decision on which company to hire within the next few months.

Then, she said, “The community as a whole will have some idea of where we are in the process and that we are continuing to move forward, whether it's slowly or quickly, or where we are today.”

The board also heard a presentation on campus security from Richard Benevidez, director of campus security.

Benevidez explained that there are currently two security patrol units, four security golf carts for outside parking perimeter patrols, a fully functional radio system, and a fully functional camera system.

Some of the daily functions for the officers include checking ID cards for students, staff, and faculty, patrolling parking lots and the interior of the buildings, and working with their car booster.

“If their car isn't running or they can’t start their car, we have a booster that will actually get your car started,” Benevidez said. “They may have locked their keys in the car, even. We're able to gain access to their vehicle through this equipment that we have.”

Benevidez said that on a daily basis, his department escort students, staff, and faculty to their cars when requested, complete property checks of both the president’s home and Mesa Theatre, respond to on campus car accidents and other incidents, issue citations for improper parking and speeding, and “wake up” and lock down the campus at the start and end of the day.

Their security camera system, called Verkada, consists of 150 cameras and has alarms that can activate at all times of the day and night.

All of the cameras on campus are monitored from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each day. Benevidez said security staff are constantly watching out for anything or anyone out of the ordinary to help prevent any incident, but most of all, an “Active Shooter Situation.”

In his presentation, Benevidez also discussed laptop recovery and Clery Act Reporting.

The Clery Act “requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, support victims of violence, and publicly outline the policies and procedures they have put into place to improve campus safety,” according to the website of the Clery Center, a campus safety organization.

To comply with the Clery Act, Benevidez said security will report for the year 2022 this November, and the department will investigate any incidents and document all accidents and incidents that occur on campus, including physical assaults, auto theft, and burglary.

Benevidez also discussed campus security involvement in laptop recovery, which occurs when students fail to return laptop computers at the end of the semester, and Help Desk and TRIO have made unsuccessful efforts to recover them. Sometimes, the security officers will resort to filing a police report for stolen property, Benevidez said.

In other items of business at Wednesday’s meeting:

• The board approved the summer graduation list that consisted of 38 associate degree earners, 15 certificates of completion earners, and 16 certificates of achievement earners for a total of 69 graduates.

• The board discussed the employee benefit plan which consists of two tax-sheltered benefit plans – the 403(b) plan, a retirement savings plan in which eight employees participated, contributing a total of just over $37,000, and a flexible spending plan that provides money that employees can use for child care and medical expenses. A total of 31 employees participated in the flexible spending plan, using $38,200. Unspent funds that revert to the college totaled $720.

• The board heard a presentation on marketing CCC given by Nicolle Holcomb, director of communication and marketing. Holcomb went over CCC’s marketing goals and strategies, current advertising, and marketing to internal and external audiences.

• In her final remarks, Interim President Robin Jones said CCC has hired on 70 new faculty. She also talked about a cultural arts kickoff on Aug. 24 at the Mesa Theatre, and presented the August campus calendar. Classes begin on Aug. 21.