Cabinet Minutes
9 December 2003

Present: Rick Johnson, Duane Elms, Julie Morales, Tony Macias, Chris Casey, Barbara James, Christie Miller, Julie Miller, Kathie Gilbert, Donna Rees, Jerry Harmon, Carmen Maynes, John Counts, Gwen Cassel, Chris Farren

• Success means always reaching beyond where you are--our quote for today.



• President Counts thanked all those who made the service awards ceremony special.
  
  
• The announcement ceremony in ABQ for the Zia Award went well. About 500 were in attendance. Only two Zia Awards were given: to WNMU and to a cement company in ABQ. Gila Regional won a Pinon recognition. Our team of examiners were all there and congratulated us. In attendance from Western were President and Barbara Counts, Faye Vowell, Kathie Gilbert, Chris Farren, Former Regent David and Mary Darling, and Regent Bud Davis.



• An award ceremony will be held in March in conjunction with the QNM annual conference.



• President Counts is being asked to lead a session at the QNM conference.



• Faculty and staff are encouraged to commit to becoming a QNM examiner. Touch base with Kathie Gilbert if you are interested.



• Cabinet discussed how to build on and enhance the spirit and energy generated by the QNM process.



• Rick Johnson suggested building on the QNM process by asking the legislature to reward us for our efforts. He suggested that we ask for a significant appropriation for campus beautification award. He showed pictures of areas on campus that could present a better face to the world. Donna Rees suggested that we ask for money to provide for more access to students in terms of faculty incentives for distance classes, and support for staff to help faculty create such classes. We could ask for accessibility and safety issues that need to be addressed.



• Build on quality efforts by departmental meetings to continue the education. The Presidents' addresses to the staff were also well received.
  One key learning from the WNM visit is that we know how to present ourselves well to an outside team. Our team is very stong and deep; numbers of people were available and able to answer questions.



• > Kathie Gilbert handed out a copy of the continuous improvement scorecard that we did in August 2003 in the QNM format.



• We will try for the Baldridge in three years.



• > Graduation planning is going well: the script is done. Bob Glennen is the graduation speaker.



• Next Monday the final part of the level 3 switching network will be totally implemented.



• Rick Johnson and Gwen Cassel mentioned an issue with IP addresses.



• There is an audio conference on copyright issues on Thursday.



• > The Community Relations meeting will be tomorrow.



• > On Dec 18, there will be a legislative forum in the GRC.



• > The Diesel mechanics program is still under discussion as is a possibility of offering computer classes to military personnel at military bases in TX and NM.



• Leticia Chambers is the new executive director of CHE.



• Women's basketball won against Highlands on Saturday; the women will be playing here again this weekend.



• Staff Senate is working on a salary and classification recommendation that will come to the President this week. The rewards and recognition committee is putting together an incentive program for not using sick leave.



• The SHSHP meeting is tomorrow. On the agenda is a recommendation for a faculty cultural event in the spring. There are also some safety concerns for night in the parking lot in Watts as well as accessibility issues when the upstairs part of Watts Hall is not open. Because this is a GO bond year, we may get some money to address accessibility issues.



• Rehab students are doing special projects as part of their field work and could work with faculty in regard to how to accommodate students with disabilities.



• Faculty from the SHSHP will be doing a one credit course on career opportunities in health care for concurrent students in the RUS schools. Autumn will be the coordinator.



• Julie Morales came and spoke to the OTA student success classes on public announcements. The students wrote public announcements that will be shared with the AOTA.



• Alumni will host the cookies and punch reception after graduation in the McCray Gallery.



• ABQ alumni chapter will attend the men's basketball in early January.
  A group of people are discussing the formation of a pep club or spirit club for students.



• Mobile Media classroom equipment is being delivered to Deming by Garth Gerstein today.



• Libraries in the state are going forward with another bond request next year.



• Library is holding extended hours for students this week.



• We need to have an AQIP quarterly meeting. Kathie Gilbert is looking now at either Dec 15 or the first week we are back in January.



• We need to begin serious work on the AQIP system portfolio.



• The Measurement PMT meets tomorrow. Their work product will be shared with the faculty and staff senates.



• Velva Hurt would like to start another scholarship for Western students. This would be the second scholarship she has sponsored.



• Donna Rees has been working on public relations visibility in regard to the Extended University sites: WNMU is a Gallup Public Radio Sponsor. We have sponsored a very successful Indigenous Conference for Bilingual Education with 202 participants; we made $2800 and recruited 25 students who registered for credit. Thanks are due to Roy Howard for the initiative and Clorinda and her staff for managing the conference. We will do this again. In TorC we have a new sign for the construction project done by the concurrent enrollment class. <



• Donna Rees talked about efforts in regard to the Playas center. We are discussing a Southwest Regional Technical Institute which would serve as a model for distributed education delivery for concurrent enrollment for this quadrant of the state. We would be the primary supplier of an educated workforce for Playas and also serve a broader place bound student. On Wednesday, 17 December at noon in the Juan Chacon conference room a group will meet to draft a position paper.



• Cabinet discussed the needs to serve students with disabilities and the extent to which we currently offer support. Professional development for faculty is needed.



• NCATE preparation continues. A Candidate Information Management System is being implemented. The fourth draft of the institutional report will be done over the holiday. The reviewers need the draft by Feb 17--60 days before the visit.



• A walk through of the Martinez building is being scheduled prior to the visit.



• Our team has not been identified yet. It should be here soon.



• Yesterday the summer and fall schedules were due.



• > Jerry Harmon is participating in a Renaissance conference call to offer a Wingspread Conference this summer on differentiated staffing.



• The LESC meets on Monday and Tuesday to discuss how community colleges and four year schools have created create common competencies, common admissions, and common advising. NM is the first state in the nation to do this.



• A new SOE web page is under development and will be unveiled in the spring.



• We will have electronic and paper exhibits for our NCATE visit.



• The SOE voted to move forward with EdS degrees in Ed Leadership, School Psychology and Curriculum and Instructional. SOE is also discussing the possibility of offering an Ed D.



• Education deans would like the Presidents to invite Jeff Bingaman to a meeting to discuss Title II . The President agreed to do this.



• > We have a new recruiter on campus: Leslie Arnold. She worked in Admissions when she was a student here.



• > Overall, in terms of pre-enrollment, 1549 students are enrolled compared to 1324 last year the same date. In terms of new students, we have 385 applicants compared to 287 last year. We are looking at our capture rates by high school and are calculating a recruiting cost per students by primary, secondary, and tertiary recruiting areas.



• Feedback for the party on Friday night. We might need to give out earplugs. The presents need to be given out before the dancing starts. Kathie Gilbert suggested that drawings for the gifts be done on the basis of an employee name and not a ticket.



• Duane Elms and Chris Farren are discussing a plan to get last two residence halls on line.



• Only three areas that receive student fees were at the meeting to discuss how they are using those fees. Areas that did not make the meeting need to consider going to the next meeting early next semester.



• We will place a sticker on the furniture and technology paid for with student fees that says "paid for (or paid for in part) by student fees.”



• We have a new Mustang editor, Alvelino Maestes. His plan is to put the newspaper online.



• The Board meeting is on Friday.



• > Carmen is revising the Affirmative Action Plan. It needs to be finished by April to go to the Board in May.



• Our next cabinet meeting will be on January 13.



• Happy Holidays!!