November Board of Trustees Meeting Sees Lots of Action
The November Board of Trustees meeting was proven eventful with the Board approving three new programs for Illinois Central College and an emergency expenditure of $770,000 being approved.
At the end of the meeting, a motion was approved for an emergency expenditure for the Pekin campus. During the demolition of part of the campus’ building, termite damage was found.
The price for the repair of the damage amounted to $770,000. In an interview with Scott Steffen, the Carpenter Superintendent at Peoria Metro Construction Inc., he explained the full story of finding the termites.
The demolition was to remove the Dryvit from the exterior of the building. The construction workers removed the Dryvit and found that the plywood at all the windows was gone from termite damage. What had been a mission to destroy got flipped onto its head and then became a mission to also build and repair.
The termites had been discovered before the demolition. Before the demolition had begun, two fences were built by the same workers. To make these fences, the crew had to drive wooden stakes into the ground. A week later, the stakes were removed and covered in termites.
Steffen notified Illinois Central College about the damage. After being notified, the entire building was treated for termites, and they were all exterminated. However, it was too late, and the damage was done.
“They, ICC, called I think Orkin maybe, to come out and have the entire building treated,” Steffen said during the interview.
The board then moved to approve three new programs during the meeting.
The motion was approved during the meeting and the three new certificates were made available for Illinois Central College students. The new programs include the Artificial Intelligence Certificate, the Cisco Networking Professional Certificate, and lastly, the Cybersecurity Analyst Certificate.
In an interview with Student Trustee Leon Belmont, he said he thinks that the programs are an important addition to Illinois Central College.
“These new programs are a prime example of ICC continuing to adapt to the needs of our community and country,” Belmont said. “I admire the fact that Dr. Swaim and the team responsible for these programs can recognize that.”
Dr. Charles B. Swaim, the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, added that the new programs will help students who are looking for employment.
“Our new program focus includes providing different length programs,” he said. “What I mean is that more students and future employers are interested in programs that do not take two years to complete. Like the new programs just approved, these are certificates and not degrees. They are intended to give enough knowledge, skills, and abilities to their graduates so that can be immediately employed and/or sit for a certification exam which also makes them very employable.”
Before all of these items were approved, the November Board of Trustees meeting started out by celebrating Harbinger Student Media’s achievements from the ICCJA conference. Students Micah Weidner and Sophia Larimore spoke to the board about the achievements, explaining that they took home six awards.
Weidner and Larimore spoke about their experiences in Harbinger, discussing the changes it has made for them. Weidner even said that he is now considering minoring in journalism because of his experience in Harbinger.
The board congratulated Harbinger, and President Shiela Quirk-Bailey spoke, saying that she thinks that Harbinger is “an amazing piece.”
“I’m so happy that you came here this evening to tell us this. It’s terrific to hear it from you directly. I do read it [Harbinger] every time I get ahold of one. I can’t thank you enough.”
To see further coverage and more information on the annual ICCJA conference, check out ICC Harbinger’s website. The full article can be found here.