The Navajo County Community College Governing Board held a regular meeting last Tuesday, during which the board selected Dr. Von Lawson as Northland Pioneer College’s (NPC) new president. The motion passed with Chair Everett Robinson and board members Rosie Sekayumptewa, Kristine Laughter and Derrick Leslie voting in favor, and Frank Lucero voting against. Chair Robinson was approved to be the liaison in discussing the contract with Dr. Lawson, again with all but board member Lucero voting in favor.
The approval of Dr. Lawson followed after two executive sessions, the first for discussion and consideration of the employment for the position of president and the second for consultation with and provide direction to the attorney regarding a possible contract with the presidential candidate. No action was taken after the first executive session.
Dr. Lawson comes to NPC from Mt. San Jacinto College in California, where he served as the dean of instruction for the People, Culture and Public Service Pathway, and had the overall responsibility for providing day-to-day supervision and leadership to the social sciences, career and technical education programs, instructional personnel, expenditures, and facilities at the San Jacinto campus.
Dr. Lawson had program oversight district-wide across four campuses and a 1,700-square-mile service area with administrative responsibility for degrees, certificates and economic workforce program development. Additionally, he was responsible for Umoja and the Child Development Education Center, and worked in partnership with CalWorks, Eagles Landing, and the Food4Thought Pantry. Dr. Lawson has a strong background in the development and administration of apprenticeship programs, experiential learning, community/contract education, and economic and workforce development.
During the Classified Administrative Staff Organization (CASO) report, CASO President Melissa Willis stated its members were deeply satisfied with how the board conducted the presidential search thanked them for how they included CASO.
Northland Pioneer College Friends and Family (NPCFF) Director Betsy Wilson provided a report in which she said 50 scholarship applications were received. “What was a concern, especially in this round of applications, was how many of them, 58%, came in in the last hours of the six-week application deadline.” Wilson explained this prevented NPCFF staff from working with students to fix errors in their applications.
She added that notifications are sent out three times during the application season to notify students of deadlines and the application process. It was also noted that NPCFF offers support to students who need help with their applications and essays. “I’m going to say that this is not an NPC problem, and it’s not the fault of anyone at NPC other than the students themselves,” adding the importance of holding students accountable for future success.
Director of Facilities and Transportation Justin White provided a construction report reviewing the progress of projects at Goldwater Center on the Show Low Campus and the Painted Desert campus, as well as the Kayenta Center.
Updates in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation, as well as the college’s 2025-2030 strategic plan was reviewed as well.
Registrar Paul Hempsey provided an update on the Fall 2024 Full Time Student Equivalency (FTSE) report that showed a 13.1% increase in FTSE when compared to the fall semester from the previous year.
Board Member Kristine Laughter requested that the word “tribal” be removed from the college’s website in reference to centers on the reservation being listed as tribal centers. “It was brought to my attention that the word tribal can be offensive.” No action was taken on that request.
In new business and the consent agenda, the board:
* Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Navajo County Community College District and Northeastern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy for the Town of Pinetop.
* Approved an IGA between Navajo County Community College District and Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center.
* Approved an IGA between Navajo County Community College District and Northeastern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy for Navajo County.
* Approved the acceptance of $180,000 in grant funding from the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to purchase broadband technician training equipment. This is a one-time grant used to acquire equipment for training programs. As the broadband infrastructure is built out across northeastern Arizona, there is a need for a trained workforce to help install fiber optic lines to residential and commercial buildings. The funding received through this grant will allow the college to train broadband technicians through a quick-turnaround training program.
* Approved cancelling the Dec. 17 regular meeting.
Following the meeting, the board held a work session in which they reviewed the expenditure limitation and received an update to the college’s strategic plan and priority actions.
