The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Quarterly Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees Holds Quarterly Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Academic Affairs Committee Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Quarterly Committee Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The ӣ����Ƶ (BRTC) Board of Trustees recently met for their quarterly meeting on the Pocahontas campus.

BRTC President Martin Eggensperger opened the meeting by giving the President’s report. He reported that the college is closing its five-year plan and will soon start its next: “We have made significant progress on our last five-year plan and finished many of our goals at a faster pace than we originally expected,” Eggensperger stated. He reported that renovations were complete within the library, and a remodel of the Pocahontas welding facilities had begun.

BRTC Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Brad Baine reported that 340 students completed their degrees and certifications during the Spring 2024 semester and 530 credentials were awarded at commencement.

Rhonda Stone, Vice President of Finance and Administration, presented the board with the FY 24 budget to actual report. She informed the board that the bookstore and coffee shop on the Paragould campus have been combined and full-time employee Autumn Guillot is managing the new area.

The biggest project happening right now is the Law Enforcement Training Academy barracks. “Hopefully a schematic design and construction documents will be ready to go to bid in August and hopefully construction can start in September,” Stone said. She also reported that the college has received $9.2 million in federal grants since September.

Vice President of Student Affairs Jason Smith reported that admissions mobile registration accrued 75 pre-registered seniors for the upcoming Fall 2024 semester. He said the fitness studio had over 200 visitors this semester, and the Veterans Affairs Department recently underwent an audit that went impeccably well.

Smith added that the team involved with the Title III grant have made considerable headway on the project including career services, durable skills, and a re-engagement campaign. He reported that recently hired Director of Student Career Readiness Shane Copeland has already begun making strides having served approximately 189 students by finding experts to help students with resumes and mock interviews to get the students ready for the job market.

Another crucial part of the grant is about to begin. BRTC staff will go back five years and match students who did not graduate with the national clearinghouse to discern which students did not continue or finish their education at all after leaving BRTC. Staff will then reach out to those students and try to reengage them into programs at BRTC.

“I’m very excited about the results,” Smith said, “it’s certainly a worthwhile endeavor.”

He also reported the college in cooperation with NEA Intermodal recently held a successful career fair with approximately 150 attendees. “We also worked with career coaches at the local high schools to get graduating seniors to the fair and gave them an hour alone with employers,” Smith said.

Dr. Karen Liebhaber, Vice President of the Office of Institutional Advancement, thanked the board for attending the recent grand opening of the Mary Helen Jackson Children’s Reading Room. She reported that the BRTC Foundation’s Spring Soirée was the second largest in BRTC history. She reported the 31^st Golfing Fore Scholarships tournament will be held on September 27 with a rain date of the following Monday.

Executive Director of Human Resources Julie Edington reported the hiring of Walter Holland as a police officer, Laura Tribble as the administrative assistant for the office of the president and institutional advancement, and Jerri Blue as a community education program specialist.

Sissy Gray, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, reported that the annual assessment cycle is closing and she is looking ahead to the next planning cycle. She also reported grant that the Title III grant is moving along well. She said the workforce effectiveness skills have been narrowed down and curricula have begun to be formed. BRTC has also hosted meetings with businesses, industry, and stakeholders asking them what they want BRTC to teach. “We want to make sure that what we are teaching is meeting the needs of the businesses and industries in our area,” Gray said.

Executive Director of Workforce Training Priscilla Stillwell reported new customized training classes are continuously being added to workforce training and her office is working on bringing more industry training to Lawrence and Randolph counties. She also reported that the office received a Perkins grant for $107,000.

The board then approved:

• A resolution to approve the 2024-2025 course catalog
• A new concurrent instructional site
• The proposed FY 2024-2025 budget
• The 2024-2025 student handbook
• Changes to policies and procedures
• Renewal of employee contracts
• Employment of 44 provisional positions for FY 24-25
• A two-year employment contract for the position of president

The post BRTC Board of Trustees Holds Quarterly May Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

Approximately 60 people attended the grand opening thanking the Jacksons for their considerable donation to the BRTC student population.

“This reading room is going to be such a special resource for our students,” President Dr. Martin Eggensperger said. “So many of our students are parents and they needed a safe place to occupy their children. Children have a greater chance of success the more books they have in their home between the ages of seven and fourteen, so they can take a book home with them if they want to also.”

The Jacksons have been lifelong supporters of BRTC and donors for more than 30 years. John Jackson also served on the BRTC Board of Trustees for two terms/14 years.

The BRTC library is continuously taking donations of children’s books appropriate for children ages kindergarten to sixth grade.

For more information about the BRTC library and the Mary Helen Jackson Children’s Reading Room, visit blackrivertech.edu.

The post BRTC Hosts Grand Opening of its Mary Helen Jackson Children’s Reading Room first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The meeting opened with the president’s report. Dr. Martin Eggensperger told the board that the college is in year three of its five-year plan and has already met “the lion’s share of our long-range goals.” Those goals were to foster an atmosphere in which learning and working were exemplary, deliberate enrollment retention, fundraise for large projects, and expand programs in Paragould. “We serve as a leader in the workforce training industry,” Eggensperger said.

Vice President of Finance and Administration Rhonda Stone informed the board that BRTC stands on fiscally stable ground. She added that several new employees have been hired including Autumn Guillot in The Coffee Shop and Bookstore, and Kyle Dye as a police officer on the Pocahontas campus.

Jason Smith, vice president of student affairs, told the board that enrollment has only decreased by .7 percent. He also stated that the financial aid department is learning a new FAFSA simplification process.

Executive Director of Institutional Advancement Sissy Gray presented the annual assessment progress report. She included the results of the latest student satisfaction survey and noted the positive results.

She also informed the board that planning for the Title III grant is underway. An instructional designer, Scott McNamara, has been employed to create lessons for the desired Title III courses. She added that industry leaders came together to decide which skills were most needed in the workplace and the skills are now called, “workforce effectiveness skills.” The desired skills are communication effectiveness, personal effectiveness skills, professional effectiveness skills, and teamwork effectiveness.

Julie Edington, executive director of human resources, informed the board of several new hires. She also told them that a new Title IX training for faculty and staff will soon be implemented.

Communications Specialist Jessica Rainwater filled in for the vice president of institutional advancement who was unable to attend. She gave the board an update on the BRTC Foundation’s Spring Soirée which was headlined by RiverBank.

Workforce and Corporate Education Coordinator Dana Bradford filled in for Executive Director of Workforce Training Priscilla Stillwell who was unable to attend. She gave the board an update on the many corporate education training, events going on and the many more being planned.

In other business:

• The board approved a resolution to authorize expenses/reimbursements for board members.
• The board approved a resolution to authorize tuition and fee recommendations for FY25, a tuition increase of $6 and a fee increase of $1.
• The board approved updates to policies and procedures.
• The board approved FY26 annual plan.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees Hold March 2024 Quarterly Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The next meeting of the ӣ����Ƶ (BRTC) Board of Trustees is scheduled for Thursday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m.  The meeting will be held at the BRTC Paragould location in the Greene County Industrial Training Center, room ITC 105.

Visitors may access the board meeting via Zoom at.

For more information about the BRTC Board of Trustees, visit .

The post BRTC Board of Trustees Announces March Quarterly Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Quarterly Committee Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

BRTC Presidents (L to R) Richard Gaines, Dr. Eric Turner, Dr. Jan Ziegler, and Dr. Martin Eggensperger

ӣ����Ƶ (BRTC) celebrated its 50^th Anniversary Thursday with a drop-in reception and a Board of Trustees meeting.

The reception opened at 2:00 p.m. and the public poured inside immediately. People from all walks of life came together to celebrate a historic moment in the history of BRTC. People mingled until three when the Board of Trustees meeting was called to order.

BRTC President Dr, Martin Eggensperger opened the meeting by reporting on the 50 years of BRTC.

“It began in 1973 with 38 students in six programs,” said Eggensperger. “We currently have 1,600 credit-bearing students each semester and have given out more than 18,000 degrees and served thousands of non-credit students over 50 years.”

Harold Forehand of Walnut Ridge, one of the first BRTC students, was also on hand with his original homework.

Eggensperger closed by vowing to “stay true to our mission of transforming lives and enhancing the community.”

The board then approved four agenda items:

• Deletion of web design program
• Audit reviewed and approved
• Updates to policies and procedures
• Approved the GIN as an additional educational site

The post BRTC Celebrates 50 years with Reception and Board of Trustees Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.

The ӣ����Ƶ Board of Trustees will hold its quarterly committee meeting at 3:00 p.m. on December 14 in the Pocahontas Room of the Richard Gaines Business and Technology Building on the BRTC Pocahontas campus.

The post BRTC Board of Trustees to Hold Quarterly Meeting first appeared on ӣ����Ƶ.