The Navajo County Community College Governing Board met on Tuesday where the board provided and approved directives for President Dr. Von Lawson, which included instruction to develop and implement a 90-credit bachelor’s degree in business with initial enrollment to begin either on or before the 2028 fall semester. Exact titles and specializations will be determined during development. Development and implementation of a stackable agricultural science program leading to an associate of science degree was also listed, with credits transferrable to a state university agricultural science program or a future Bachelor of Applied Science degree program offered by NPC with initial lower division enrollment beginning on or before the fall semester of 2029. President Lawson was also directed to conduct a survey of healthcare stakeholders to determine the feasibility and sustainability of additional offerings in the allied health professions, including, respiratory therapist, sonogram technician, oncology technician and physical therapist, with the goal of launching new or enhanced course offerings on or before the fall semester of 2029. According to Board Chair Everett Robinson, in a discussion with constituents, multiple indigenous partners have told the board that the college needs to remove “Pioneer” from the college name, stating that the term is offensive. Due to this, the board instructed President Lawson to use input from students, alumni, stakeholders and staff, to investigate renaming the college to reflect the region’s diverse cultures and its expanding degree opportunities beyond the traditional two-year degrees. Discussion regarding exploring the use of mobile CTE labs to serve locations outside of the college’s four campus communities was included as well. “The president, or designee, shall report to the board quarterly on the progress of these requests,” stated Chair Robinson. During call to the public, Ed Wilson spoke in reference to his comments during the special meeting on July 28, stating, “Last month I expressed my concern of the sharp spike in exceeding mandated expenditure limitations and your choice to purposely pay the fine to do so.” Wilson stated his concern is that lack of future plans for change. “The issue is continuing to exceed the expenditure limitation with no plan for corrective action.” In her review of the financial position, Vice President of Administrative Services Maderia Ellison touched on the issues that Wilson presented. “I also want to point out that under state aid maintenance and operations, you’ll see that we had budgeted based on what the state had planned to provide, $1,430,400 and what we’ve actually received is $1,425,400. So this is $5,000 less, and if you recall, we did pay a fine in fiscal year 24, which did not show up until now. And so that is where the fine is assessed. All allowed under statue, we are not doing anything unethical or inappropriate.” Ellison stated later that the college is managing its funds in accordance with the annual budget. NPC Friends and Family (NPCFF) Executive Director Jessica Reeck stated during her presentation that the results of their yearly audit came back with positive results. “I’m happy to say that we once again had a clean audit with no findings.” With financials from the previous year wrapping up, Reeck stated that in Fall ’25, Spring ’26 and Summer ’26 semesters, NPCFF provided $251,630, “in support to students here at NPC through scholarships, testing fees, emergency funds and many grants,” noting it may change slightly as they wait for a few invoices to go through due to a new system being used within the college. Reeck added that the College Classified and Administrative Staff Organization (CASO) scholarship, as well as transportation grants, are now open for students to apply. An upcoming event of note is NPCFF’s annual fundraising event, Pedal the Petrified, which will be happening Sept. 26. “We are registering riders and still have spots available, so if any of you want to join or know anyone that wants to come cycle through the Petrified Forest National Park, it’s a fantastic day,” stated Reeck. Faculty member Jeff Strong was given Emeritus status to honor his 12 and a half years in the math department. “I just want to thank you for recognizing faculty, and at this point I look at 38 years of teaching total in a review mirror,” said Strong, adding that he wants to continue teaching and may return next year. An implementation update for the college’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration was provided by its Project Manager Colleen Marsh. ERP is the software that NPC is now using to manage most of its core infrastructure, including finances, human resources, student records, enrollment and other general operations. Associate Vice President of External Relations Rich Chanick, which included protentional future funding opportunities and community outreach. The board also entered into two executive sessions, one for the discussion regarding the employment, assignment, promotion, salary, demotion, dismissal, disciplining or resignation of a public officer related to President Lawson. The second was to consider its position and instruct its attorneys regarding pending litigation. No action was taken from either executive session. Board Member Derrick Leslie had to leave during the meeting. In new business, the board: * Approved a new five-year lease for facilities in Springerville from Aug. 1 to July 31, 2031. The monthly rental fee remains $3,050. Annually the cost is $36,600 and the total five-year cost is $183,000. * Approved a contract with Ellucian for managed services for the Office of Institutional Effectiveness for the period Aug. 24 to Nov. 30, for a cost of $78,988. * Approved a one-year managed services agreement with HyeTech to provide 24/7 managed services for the district’s networking, systems and collaboration infrastructure. The annual cost is $73,350. * Approved a one-year Microsoft volume licensing agreement with HyeTech Network & Security Solutions for Microsoft 365 A5 subscription licenses and related Microsoft licensing services. The annual cost is $83,471, including applicable taxes. * Approved a design contract with SPS+ Architects in the amount of $143,554 to renovate the libraries on the Snowflake, Show Low and Winslow campuses. * Approved of an increase in the design fees paid to SPS+ in the amount of $23,800 for the Winslow Cosmetology project due to increased scope of work, bringing the total design fees contract to $378,193. * Approved the acceptance of a $25,000 gift from Arizona Public Services to be used to match Federal funds for the resurfacing of the driving track. Accepting this gift does not require any matching expenditure from NPC.
