Dear Faculty and Staff:

During the past year, it has been inspiring to witness the extra effort put forth by faculty and staff who rallied during COVID-19 to implement process and schedule changes needed to continue meeting the needs of our students. Everyone was and continues to be adaptable, creative and determined in ways we never could have imagined. In recognition of your great efforts, at the Board of Trustees meeting last night, I recommended authorization for a one-time pay amount for employees who have been with the college since January 1, 2021. I am pleased to report that the Board approved $1,500 for each full-time employee and $700 for each part-time and emeritus faculty. Thank you for your extraordinary service to our students and our community.

The Board also approved approximately $500,000 in one-time expenditures. You may remember that last spring faculty and staff representatives participated in our annual budget and planning retreat where we reviewed a list of possible one-time expenditures identified by each area of the college. This list was reviewed and approved by the President’s Council at their May meeting. Based on a draft report of the audit for FY21, it was confirmed that sufficient ending year one-time funds were available to move ahead with each purchase. Thank you to everyone who participated in this planning process.

The September Board meeting is the first month of the year that we present a report from the faculty and learn about current events in student activities. My appreciation is extended to Associate Professor Bryonie Carter and Vice President Leenhouts for their excellent presentations. Please see the attached file for the faculty update.

Finally, at the meeting last night the trustees approved a motion to authorize Vice President Galbierz to move forward with the purchase of land in the western part of St. Charles County for the location of our new workforce & technical campus. Additional information related to this project will be located on our Prop CC website.

Last Wednesday, September 22, was the official first day of Fall, also known as the autumnal equinox. Based on the Latin word aequus, equinox means “equal.” As such, on September 22, day and night were approximately equal in length. The arrival of autumn carries so many wonderful memories for me. This weekend I unpacked all my Halloween paraphernalia and made a reservation to tour the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis. I understand that this site is considered one of the most haunted places in the region. For those of you who may not be aware, St. Charles Community College is listed on the National Paranormal Association website as one of the top 15 most haunted colleges in the country.

https://nationalparanormalassociation.blogspot.com/search?q=haunted+colleges
As a fan of Halloween and horror movies and books, I was thrilled when Associate Professor Bryonie Carter invited me to her Horror Fiction class for a discussion of Stephen King’s book, The Shining. Her students were amazing and very engaged in learning. It was the highlight of my week, indeed.

I hope all of you have a safe and fun-filled fall season.