The Navajo County Community College Governing Board convened Jan. 17. During the meeting the board received an update on scholarship applications from NPC Friends and Family Director Betsyann Wilson. Wilson explained that the Spring 2023 semester was the first semester NPCFF used a single application method, which allows students to fill out just one application to apply to all available scholarships. “This is the first semester we have asked students to self-identify their race, since several NPCFF scholarships are designated for Native American students only. This allowed for the most complete analysis of NPCFF applicants, applications and awardees to date.”

NPCFF received 67 applications, 54 of which were complete and qualified for assessment by scholarship review committees.

Northland Pioneer College welding instructor Wesley King provided the board with an update on the welding program and how he tries to get students out into the world. “One thing that I’ve noticed working here is that a lot of our students, especially students here at NPC, haven’t gone out of this area. When I took students earlier this year to Phoenix for a leadership conference through SkillsUSA, half of the students that I took had never seen an escalator,” stated King, “So the one thing that I like to do is try to get them out and see other things and see what’s out there in the world.”

King also talked about a contest a few welding students were able to attend called Welding Thunder, where they made an offset barbecue smoker. “They did a really good job and had such a good experience.”

Director of Construction David Huish gave an update on the Show Low Skills Center, stating work is continuing but current weather conditions are creating hardships. “It’s really muddy between the bunkers and the main building and so that has created a condition that has made it really difficult to access and it might extend the construction schedule because we just can’t get it dried out to be able to pave the concrete.”

Huish also discussed the Winslow Head Start building, which is now 95% complete. “NACOG (Northern Arizona Council of Governments) has some things that they need to do inside the building before we can get a final inspection from the city.” Huish stated the building will hopefully be ready by the first week of February.

The board elected Chair Kristine Laughter as the Arizona Association of Community College Trustees (AACCT) representative for Northland Pioneer College. The AACCT provides collaboration among Arizona’s community colleges governing boards and with the Arizona Community College Coordinating Council.

Assistant to the Vice President for Administrative Services Terrie Shevat was awarded the Emeritus Service Award. “Terrie has been a great assistant from the beginning, her insights about the culture of NPC and the role of the VP were very helpful to me as I was thrust into this position,” stated Vice President for Administrative Services Maderia Ellison, “She was the ying to my yang and I will miss her dearly.” Shevat has worked at Northland Pioneer College (NPC) since 1998 and will retire Feb. 1.

In other business, the board:

* Accepted an additional $126,059 for the Open Textbooks for Rural Arizona grant awarded through the US Department of Education. With the initial award of $101,898, this will bring the three-year grant award total to $227,957.

* Approved the purchase of laptop computers from SHI International, Corp., for a total cost of $232,868.

* Approved modifications to the Certificate of Proficiency (CP), Certificate of Applied Science (CAS), and Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Cosmetology.

* Approved modifications to the Associate of Arts in Early Childhood, Certificate of Proficiency in Early Childhood Studies, Certificate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Studies, and Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Studies.

* Approved modifications to the General Education Program. These changes affect the following degrees throughout NPC: Associate of Arts, Associate of Arts in Early Childhood, Associate of Arts Elementary Education, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Business, Associate of General Studies, Associate of Science and Certificate of Applied Science.

* Approved the list of external hearing officers for 2023. The list of hearing officers is provided by the college attorney and these individuals have agreed to serve if called on.

* Approved Chair Laughter and board member Derrick Leslie to attend the Association of Community College Trustees National Legislative Summit.

* Approved the Bachelor of Applied Science Early Childhood Education degree.

* Approved extending the contract with The Registry, not to exceed an additional $67,200, from Feb. 11 – May 12, to continue working with Ann “Shenethia” Manuel as the interim-associate vice president of Human Resources.

* Accepted the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. This report focuses on the financial audit and financial condition of the college. The audit opinion for this report is “unmodified,” which is positive, and no findings related to the financials were identified.