NWFSC BOARD OF TRUSTEES: August 21 Meeting Synopsis
8/22/2012
The Board of Trustees of Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) met in regular session August 21, 2012.
At their business session, the governing board of the college approved the establishment of a scholarship endowment for students pursuing an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, through a $15,000 gift to the college's Foundation by Bryan and Nancy Hough of Fort Walton Beach in memory of their son Geoffrey Scott Hough.
Geoffrey, a 2008 graduate of Fort Walton Beach High School, was attending NWFSC when he was tragically killed in an automobile accident at age 21. He had been enrolled in the college's EMT program, a career field he was inspired to pursue following the expert care he had received in 2009 from emergency personnel following an accident. The naming gift agreement approved by trustees noted that the scholarship will help students to pursue a career in public service, just as Geoffrey had planned to follow his father and uncle, who both serve in the Fort Walton Police Department and another uncle who is an Okaloosa County Sherriff.
In other action, trustees approved a new weighted point system to determine admissions to the college's new firefighting vocational certificate program since the pool of eligible applicants to the program is now exceeding the number of seats in the limited access program. The college admits 24 students each fall for the firefighting program and offers specialized training facilities such as a burn tower to train current and future firefighters.
In other college business, the NWFSC Board of Trustees approved:
•A change order for $417,263 and extension of the completion date to December 10, 2012 for the final phase of the Student Services Center project -- the renovation of building K, the former College Mall. The change order involves modification of building space in the new campus bookstore that will be located in the facility for the addition of a café and other modifications requested by Barnes and Noble, whose college division now operates the campus stores at the Niceville and Fort Walton Campuses;
• Continuation of agreements for the Okaloosa and Walton County School Districts for NWFSC to provide early college/dual enrollment opportunities for academically qualified high school students and to offer credit toward certain NWFSC technical programs for high school or GED graduates who completed certain high school career academy or certifications;
• A retirement resolution honoring the service of Ronald (Ron) Walls of Niceville for 25 years of service as a staff and faculty member in various areas of the college, including service as an instructor in the electrical engineering program, and innovative work in instructional technologies including creation of the college's eCampus and Learning Technologies web portals;
• Approval of a competitive proposal by BBVA Compass to provide banking services for the college and the NWFSC Foundation for a three year term beginning October 1, 2012;
• Approval of a budget amendment to transfer $2.78 million toward the eventual $7.6 million purchase of the Banner product from Ellucian. Banner will provide a new college enterprise wide computer operations system to control finance, registration and all college operational processes. The product replaces a 15-year-old product that had been developed and maintained through a consortium of state colleges that is no longer adequate for the needs of the college for the coming decades; and
• Approval for the sale of a small lot in Walton County owned by the NWFSC Foundation for $4,010 to an individual who submitted an offer $510 over the minimum asking price.
At their business session, NWFSC Trustees also met as the governing board for the college's Collegiate High School and approved various items related to the operation of the charter school.
The NWFSC Board of Trustees meetings are open to the public. For information, see www.nwfsc.edu/BoardofTrustees. The board normally meets on a monthly basis at 4:30 p.m. for business meetings in the Student Services Center, room 302, on the college's Niceville campus, except twice a year when the Board meeting rotates to an alternate location among the college's seven campuses and centers. The Board of Trustees is also the governing board of the Collegiate High School at NWFSC and normally meets as the Collegiate High School's Board for a regular business session immediately prior to meeting as the college's Board. Remaining dates for 2012 Board of Trustees meetings include September 25 in Niceville; October 16 at the college's Fort Walton Beach Campus, and November 27 in Niceville. ##