January 16-17, 2004, Fresno, CA

 

Approved Minutes

The WESTOP Board of Directors Meeting was called to order on Friday, January 16, 2004 at 10:35 am.

• Roll Call

The following board members were in attendance:  Rowena Andrade, Trinette Briggs, Joy Brittain, Heba Griffiths, Caroline Cardenas, Irvin Coin, Darlene Conwell, Lee Fulmer, Janet Long, Joanne Madison, Janis Walker Marsh, James Oda, Damien Pena, Lydia Perez, Jessi Reyes-Murray.  Quorum was met.

The acting parliamentarian for this meeting was Rey Cuesta.

The following board members were not in attendance at roll call:  Jennifer Blackman, Munyiga Lumumba, Macheo Shabaka, Howard Willis, and Leonard Woods.

• Guest:  There were no guests in attendance.

• Agenda Revisions:  Approval of the October board meeting minutes moved to Saturday, January 17, 2004.  Breakfast will take place from 8:30 to 9:00 am and the meeting will begin at 9:00.  The board agreed upon the changes to the agenda.

President Conwell recognized Mr. Willis as present.

• Review of August Board Minutes

The August board meeting minutes were tabled until Saturday, January 17th.

• President’s Report - Darlene Conwell

President Conwell reported that she and Mr. Oda attended the COE board meeting.  She listed the following as action items:

• Annual reports will be emailed to the president 30 days before the annual conference.
• Treasurer’s report will be submitted at the conference.
• A template of committee reports will be sent to the committee chairs by end of       January.

Mr. Oda reported that he attended COE board training.  He will serve on the CAS Standards and  State Initiatives committees.  Mr. Oda also stated that there are scholarships available to states from USA funds in the amount of $4000 per state.  President Conwell continued with her action:

• Board members do their best to contribute their Fair Share.
• Board members report their institution’s participation on the CAS standards to Mr. Oda.
• Board members are asked to contribute $1 per week toward their personal contribution to COE.

Ms. Fulmer reported on the Corporate Development Committee.  Her report is on file.

• Chapter presidents should contact President Conwell to report when their areas will be having National TRIO Day events.  She also asked for the name, phone number, institution and email of the persons who will coordinate these efforts.  February 27, 2004 is the actual date of National TRIO Day.
• Committee Chairs were reminded to submit their reports on the WESTOP website.
• President Conwell will appoint a person to the COE International Committee.

Ms. Andrade forwarded the name of Morgan Jonas.

At 12:00 pm, the meeting was ahead of schedule and the board members agreed to continue.

• Chapter Reports.

Pacific Island Chapter – Rowena Andrade

The Treasurer’s report was added to the written report.  Also added under Updated Activities (item 13) was the submission of Morgan Jonas from FSM who is interested in representing WESTOP on the COE International Committee.  Action item:

• That WESTOP become another institutional member name as a source of advocacy for its members.

Mr. Coin recommended that Ms. Andrade submit a recommendation to move forward with action item 4 in the Pacific Island Chapter’s final report.

     Arizona Chapter – Lee Fulmer

     Ms. Fulmer reported no action items and report is on file.

     Central Cal Chapter – Jessi Reyes-Murray

     Central Cal now has a secretary and the position of parliamentarian is open.  There

     were no action items and report is on file.

President Conwell thanked Ms. Reyes-Murray for inviting her to the first Central Cal PD Seminar. 

    NorCal Chapter – Howard Willis

    Mr. Willis reported no changes or action items and report is on file.  Ping Chan is

    officially the NorCal Chapter treasurer and has been trained. The Treasurer’s Report

for January will be submitted after the NorCal January meeting.  Mr. Willis reported     that the missing check for National TRIO Day was from National Hispanic University and was retrieved in the amount of $1,140.  The check was sent to another institution in error.  It has been retrieved and posted to NorCal’s account.   NorCal is still without a President-elect.  Individuals under consideration declined due to other commitments. 

NorCal’s Student Leadership Chair is Brian Agular who also secured a $5,000 donation from Johnson and Johnson.  Mr. Willis also reported that NorCal has

     obtained information for a possible location of the 2007 conference.  President

Conwell stated that no commitment to a conference site would be made until the 2006

conference site has been determined.  Mr. Willis will report on the Governor’s proposed cuts.  President Conwell stated that Ping Chan emailed her that there was strong representation from the UCs, CSUs, Community Colleges and their students at the Outreach Reduction hearings.

Regarding the missing check, Ms. Reyes-Murray reported that the Central Cal members from CSU Monterey Bay request a public apology.  Mr. Willis stated that his investigation of the missing check was a fact-finding effort to find out whom and where the missing check was from.  All of this is reflected in the NorCal Chapter minutes.  Mr. Willis stated that he will honor the request because he realizes the importance of relationships remaining intact.  He stated that it is not the NorCal Chapter but the President taking on the responsibility of pursuing a missing item all the way through to fruition.  Mr. Willis again stated that, an apology would be made to the Monterey Bay Chapter because they are great colleagues.

SoCal Chapter Report – Trinette Briggs

Ms. Briggs reported no changes or action items and report is on file.

President Conwell thanked Ms. Briggs for inviting her to the SoCal PD Seminar and stated that she presented the family of Doreen de los Santos a plaque from WESTOP in honor of Ms. de los Santos.

The meeting recessed for lunch at 12:45 pm and reconvened at 2:10 pm. 

Ms. Blackman is now present.

• Technology Report – Damien Pena

No action items were reported and report is on file.  President Conwell requested that Mr. Pena work with Karen Morrell to submit a proposal for a workshop.  Mr. Pena stated that Ms. Perez has already been in contact with Ms. Morrell.  Ms. Perez will also report on the presentation of (TRIO ThinkQuest) awards.

• Communications Report – Joanne Madison

Ms. Madison submitted handouts on the history of WESTOP; one by Dr. Charles A. Ratliff; the other by President Juan Mestas.  Ms. Madison contacted past committee members for feedback or additional information that can be added.  Action items:

• Update the WESTOP board directory
• Add WESTOP chapters to the brochure.

Ms. Madison reported that there would be no further newsletters during this board year.

• Research Report – President Conwell for Macheo Shabaka

Mr. Shabaka communicated to President Conwell that he contacted Mr. Harley Baker regarding the process of getting Mathematica data.  Mr. Shabaka is waiting for Mr. Baker’s response.  Attaining the resumes of three qualified researchers is on hold until we know we can obtain the data.

• Legislation and Education Report – No report
• Bylaws Report – Janis Walker Marsh

No changes or action items.  Report stands as submitted.

XII.      Public Relations Report – Jennifer Blackman

Ms. Blackman reported no action items or changes.  Mr. Pena thanked Ms. Blackman for her hard work in attaining the donation of $750 for the 2004 WESTOP conference.

•   Professional Development Report – Heba Griffiths

Ms. Griffiths reported no changes to her report and that action committee items are listed in her report.  Ms. Griffiths shared that she received a response from Congressman Adam B. Shiff regarding the $5000 spending limit for Upward Bound and the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  The board members were cautioned that using grant funds for grant writing workshops is not an allowable expense.

• COE Fund Development Report – Carolina Cardenas

Action items are listed in report. Ms. Cardenas will submit a request to FAC for money to be put into her expense line item.

• CFO Report – Joy Brittain

Ms. Brittain reported that from the 2003 WESTOP Annual Conference, there is only one check left to reconcile.  Ms. Brittain thanked her administrative assistant for her assistance in closing the business of this conference.  Profit from the conference is at approximately $53,670 pending two final transactions. President Conwell will send a closing letter to the membership to let them know where we stand.  Mr. Oda thanked Ms. Brittain and her assistant for all their hard work in reconciling the WESTOP 2003 Annual Conference.

The status of the WESTOP finances is on file.   

As voted on by the WESTOP Board of Directors, Ms. Brittain contacted a Tucson, AZ law firm regarding the Radisson Hotel in Tucson.  The attorney verified that the law firm has had no connection or conflict of interest with the Radisson in Tucson.  Ms. Brittain then relayed WESTOP’s situation with the Radisson to the attorney.  Ms. Brittain submitted a copy of the unsigned contract between WESTOP and the Radisson, a letter and email correspondence regarding this issue.  After reviewing the documents, the attorney stated how he would proceed and sent an invoice for a retainer that has been paid.  As of this meeting, there has been one billing of approximately $760.  The retainer will be returned once all billings have been satisfied. Between October and this meeting, the attorney has been in constant contact with Ms. Brittain. The report was submitted into the record.  President Conwell will send a letter to the WESTOP membership addressing the findings of the attorney.  President Conwell thanked Ms. Brittain for moving forward in attaining legal information on the WESTOP 2004 conference contract.  Ms. Brittain will look into the cost of retaining an attorney for reviewing contracts or any issues pertaining to WESTOP business.

Mr. Pena made a motion to extend the per diem from two days to three days for the    January meeting only due to the president’s request for a hotel stay, providing board members have available funds.  Mr. Coin made a friendly amendment that a fourth day be added for the FAC Committee and the Executive Board.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Griffiths. The motion passed. 

Ms. Brittain reported that she was unable to file the WESTOP taxes because two   chapters were unable to submit their reports.  The IRS has stated that our fiscal year will have to go from January through December.  The six-month grace period will still apply to the WESTOP membership.

The meeting recessed at 5:02 pm and reconvened on Saturday, January 17 at 9:14 am.

Minutes were reviewed and will be approved over email by a timeline agreed upon by Ms. Long and President Conwell. 

The board took a brief recess and reconvened at 10:56 am.

• Membership & Credentials

Report is on file.  Mr. Oda has created a new form that will be used to create the WESTOP Directory.  Mr. Oda asked the board to formally accept the resignation of  Kuye Belelai.   Ms. Blackman has been appointed the Chair of WESTOP Fund Development.   Mr. Oda listed timelines for the election process and announced that there are several openings. The election timelines are listed in his report.  President Conwell asked that Mr. Oda change the election contact information to reflect that Mr. Oda is the contact person. 

Motion was made by Mr. Oda to accept Kuye Belelai’s resignation from the 2003-2004 board of directors.  Ms. Perez seconded the motion.  The vote passed unanimously.

As a point of clarification, President Conwell stated that Ms. Blackman accepted the appointment of Chair of WESTOP Fund Development.  She also praised Ms. Blackman for her hard work in securing a donation from Tutor Track for the annual conference along with committee members Matthew Benney, Lydia Perez and Reginald Stewart.

• 2004 Conference Report – Lydia Perez

Report is on file.  Ms. Perez gave a detailed summary of her report.  She also showed the board the sample backpack/duffle bag that may be given to conference attendees. 

Ms. Conwell will forward names of waived registrations to the registration and conference chairs. Ms. Perez will soon submit the information about the conference on the website.  With regard to the ADA update, Ms. Perez stated that most of the corrections to the hotel requested by WESTOP have been completed. 

President Conwell thanked Ms. Perez and her committee for their hard work. 

• Strategic Plan – Irvin Coin

Mr. Coin’s report on file.  President Conwell urged the chapter presidents to encourage their members to become engaged in the discussions of the Strategic Plan.  

The board recessed at 12:50 pm and reconvened at 2:20.

• Legislation & Education – Munyiga Lumumba

Report given by President Darlene Conwell.  Report is on file. 

• FAC Committee – Trinette Briggs

Report is on file.  Ms. Briggs listed the committee recommendations which resulted in the following motions.

Motion by Mr. Willis that the BOD approves the Pacific Island Chapter Budget

revisions. Seconded by Mr. Oda.  The motion passed.

        Motion by Ms. Reyes-Murray that President Conwell visit the Radisson in Tucson, Az with a maximum of $300 to be taken out of board travel.  The motion passed.

Motion by Ms. Griffiths and second by Ms. Reyes-Murray that WESTOP contribute up to $500 ($1000 for the PIC) for incoming chapter presidents to attend the annual Leadership Summitt.  The motion passed

Motion by Ms. Griffiths and second by Mr. Oda to pay Mr. Lumumba $100 towards the costs of delivering Congress at your fingertips.   The motion passed.

Motion by Ms. Griffiths and seconded by Ms. Fulmer to award the COE Fund Development Committee Chair $500 to purchase incentives for personal contributions to COE.  The motion passed.

Motion by Mr. Pena and seconded by Ms. Perez to allow Mr. Oda, our current WESTOP President-Elect to attend the COE Policy Seminar and that he may use his allotted board travel funds.  The motion passed.

Motion by Mr. Oda and seconded by Mr. Willis to approve the revisions to the 2004 WESTOP conference budget.  The motion passed.

In the interest of time, Mr. Willis withdrew his request to discuss California outreach budget cuts under New Business.

Mr. Oda is now conducting the meeting during President Conwell’s brief absence.

Fiscal Packet:  Changes to the Fiscal Packet were submitted to the board for review.

President Conwell has returned to the meeting.

Motion by Mr. Oda and seconded by Mr. Willis to approve revisions submitted into the 2004 WESTOP Fiscal Reference Packet made by the FAC.  The motion passed.

On behalf of the board, Mr. Coin expressed his appreciation to FAC and stated that he appreciates the time and effort that the FAC put into making these important changes to the Fiscal Reference Packet. 

• Unfinished Business

Removal of the President Elect – Howard Willis

In the October board meeting, Mr. Willis requested a list of duties for Mr. Oda with regard to his responsibility to attend COE board meetings.  In his fact finding, Mr. Willis found that there is no evidence to show that the Mr. Oda was derelict in his duties.  Therefore, Mr. Willis recommends that the duties of the President Elect should be clearly specified.  The motion was made by Mr. Willis and seconded by Mr. Pena that the duties of the President Elect are clearly specified in writing to include attendance at COE board meetings and timelines in accordance to fulfilling specified duties.  The motion passed.   

Central Cal  Conference – Joy Brittain

Ms. Brittain feels that the WESTOP board would not be showing support for the Central Cal chapter by having them wait until 2009 to host a WESTOP conference.  A motion was made by Ms. Brittain and seconded by Ms. Fulmer that the board look into the Central Cal conference being moved to the 2006 or 2007 timeframe.  A friendly amendment was made by Ms. Briggs that Central Cal host the WESTOP conference. 

After further discussion, the motion failed.

A motion was made by Ms. Brittain and seconded by Ms. Griffiths that Central Cal host the 2007 WESTOP conference.  The board discussed the issue at length.  Following the discussion, a friendly amendment was made by Ms. Fulmer that Central Cal host the WESTOP Annual Conference in 2006.  The motion passed.  A formal notice will go out to the membership that Central Cal will host the 2006 WESTOP conference.  A motion was made by Mr. Willis and seconded by Mr. Oda that NorCal host the 2007 WESTOP conference.  The motion passed.  President Conwell’s letter to the membership will reflect the motions.

August Board Minutes – Janet Long/Darlene Conwell

After further review, it was agreed that final corrections to the August board minutes would be submitted within two weeks. 

• New Business

FAC Committee – Trinette Briggs

Ms. Briggs set timelines on approving the new changes to the Fiscal Reference Packet revision.  The Fiscal Reference Packet will be ready for viewing by February 16th and corrections/changes should be submitted by February 24, 2004.  The changes will be disseminated to the members by March 4, 2004.

• New Business

A motion was made by Ms. Brittain and seconded by Mr. Pena that Munyiga Lumumba be removed as a director as specified by the bylaws.  President Conwell cautioned the board against this move unless a sitting board member agrees to take on these responsibilities.  After lengthy discussion among the board, the question was called for. Comments by board members were:  that board members should respect the integrity of the board by following the bylaws with regard to our responsibilities, that the decision we make will send a message to our membership and that this decision should not be taken personally, this was an appointed position and that the board member accepted the responsibilities of the position.  A silent vote was taken.  The motion passed with the vote of 13 yeas, no nays and 1 abstention.

President Conwell will now look at current board members and/or someone outside this board to take on the responsibilities of the Legislation & Education Chair.  She also asked that board members make recommendations for appointments.  President Conwell noted that other board members fall within the same situation.  Ms. Blackman stated that we should take careful consideration on case-by-case basis, considering each situation individually.  Ms. Briggs moved that board members ask for permission to leave a meeting.  The motion was not seconded.  

April BOD Meeting

Ms. Griffiths asked that the WESTOP board meeting be held on April 2-3, Friday and Saturday afternoon before the conference.  Annual reports will have already been submitted and should not take much time.

Announcements:  Ms. Long announced that she has taken a position at Riverside Community College as Project Director of their new Title V Program.  Ms. Blackman announced that Dr. Connie Baker has resigned her position as Director of Aspire effective January 23rd.  A farewell is planned for her on February 26th.  Mr. Oda thanked Mr. Cuesta for acting as parliamentarian (for two days) at this board meeting.  Mr. Cuesta thanked the board for inviting him.

The meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm.

Motions

Motion #1:            Move that for the January board meeting only, the board daily per diem be given for three days instead of two days due to the president’s request for an additional day’s hotel stay providing we have available funds in our individual board travel fund.  Friendly amendment to add a fourth day for FAC and the Executive Board members because they were asked to stay an additional day.

Move:            Damien Pena

Second:            Heba Griffiths

Friendly Amendment:            Irvin Coin

Vote:            Passed

Motion #2:            Move to accept Kuye Belelai’s resignation from the 2003-2004 WESTOP Board of Directors.

Move:                         James Oda

Second:                        Lydia Perez

Vote:                           Passed

Motion #3:            Move that WESTOP board of directors approve the Pacific Island Chapter’s budget revisions.

Move:            Howard Willis

Second:            James Oda

Vote:            Passed

Motion #4:            Move to accept the request submitted by President Conwell to visit the Radisson Hotel in Tucson with a maximum of $300 to be taken out of board travel.

Move:            Jessi Reyes-Murray

Second:            Howard Willis

Vote:            Passed

Motion #5:            Move that WESTOP contribute up to $500 ($1000 for PIC) for incoming chapter presidents to attend the annual Leadership Summit.  Friendly amendment to add incoming chapter president or person of the chapter’s choosing.

Move:            Heba Griffiths

Second:            Jessi Reyes-Murray

Friendly Amendment:            Lee Fulmer

Vote:            Passed

Motion #6:            Move to give Munyiga Lumumba $100 toward the cost of transporting the “Congress at your Fingertips” booklet to the SoCal PDS.

Move:            Heba Griffiths

Second:            James Oda

Vote:            Passed

Motion #7:            Motion to award the COE Fund Development Committee Chair $500 to purchase incentives for personal contributions to COE.

Move:            Heba Griffiths

Second:            Lee Fulmer

Vote:            Passed

Motion #8:            Motion to allow James Oda, current WESTOP President-Elect to attend the COE Policy Seminar in March 2003 and to use his allotted board travel funds.           

Move:            Damien Pena

Second:            Lydia Perez

Vote:            Passed

Motion #9:            Motion to approve the revisions to the 2004 WESTOP conference budget.

Move:            James Oda

Second:            Howard Willis

Vote:            Passed

Motion #10:            Move to approve the revisions to the fiscal Reference Packet made by the financial Affairs Committee.

Move:            James Oda

Second:            Howard Willis

Vote:            Passed

Motion #11:            Move that the duties of the President Elect are clearly specified in writing to include attendance at COE board meetings and timelines in accordance to fulfilling specified duties.

Move:            Howard Willis

Second:            Damien Pena

Vote:            Passed

Motion #12:            Move that Central Cal host the 2007 WESTOP conference. 

Move:            Joy Brittain

Second:            Lee Fulmer

Vote:            Failed

Motion #13:            Move that the WESTOP Conference be held in Central Cal for 2007.  Friendly amendment that the conference be held in 2006 instead of 2007.

Move:            Joy Brittain

Second:            Heba Griffiths

Friendly Amendment            Lee Fulmer

Vote:            Passed

Motion #14:            Move that the NorCal Chapter host the 2007 Annual Conference.

Move:            Howard Willis

Second:            James Oda

Vote:            Passed

Motion #15:            Move that Munyiga Lumumba be removed as a Director as specified by the by-laws.

Move:            Joy Brittain

Second:            Damien Pena

Vote:            Yeas 13, Nays 0, Abstention 1

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