September 24, 2021 Minutes SSE Board of Directors
Minutes
SONOMA STATE ENTERPRISES, INC.
September 24, 2021
MinutesMEMBERS PRESENT:
Ms. Ashley Blaylock Ms. Noelia Brambila Ms. Madison Green Dr. Kyuho Lee Mr. Neil Markley, Ex-Officio Dr. Karen Moranski Mr. Stan Nosek Dr. Judy K. Sakaki Dr. Gregory Sawyer Dr. Anastasia Tosouni Dr. John Urbanski Ms. Amanda Visser, Ex-Officio Mr. Fred Vaske
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Mr. Justin Arenson Dr. Mario Perez Ms. Emily Lusk Porter
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Jill Crenshaw Mr. Tyson Hill Mr. Bobby LaCour Mr. Jeremy Olsan Ms. Jessica Way
21.00 Call to Order
Mr. Nosek called the meeting to order at 1:07pm.
21.01 Seating of the Board and Introductions
21.02 Committee Appointments
Committees were seated with no objections.
20.03 Approval of the May 7, 2021 and Minutes
The minutes from May 7, 2021 were provided to the Board via email prior to the meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously with no changes.
21.04 President’s Report
Dr. Sakaki reminded everyone of the upcoming Chancellor’s visit. She also shared that Dr. Sawyer will be retiring at the end of this calendar year.
21.05 University Report
Dr. Moranski shared that the Office of the Provost is working on Spring enrollment, aiming for 400 new students in the Spring semester. Her office is also getting ready for Fall 2022 enrollment season and will continue to maximize transfer enrollment. It is crucial that we build back first-time, first-year student enrollees. 70% of classes will be held in-person in the Spring.
21.06 Vice President for Student Affairs Report
Dr. Sawyer shared that 5589 students are currently in compliance with the vaccination directive, with about 200 exemptions having been claimed. They are using various channels to communicate vacation requirements to the students.
21.07 Associated Students Report
Ms. Brambila told the Board that a survey on in-person and remote learning will be released to students, in an effort to gather data for the academic departments. Associated Students is also working on a student Bill of Rights.
21.08 Report from SSU Vice President for Administration and Finance/Chief Financial Officer and Chair of SSE Board of Directors
Mr. Nosek discussed the campus budget and enrollment goals. The budget deficit this year is around $12 million. In order to cover the deficit, the campus has identified one-time funds for 2021-2022. Planning for 2022-2023 has begun.
21.09 Chief Operating Officer’s Report
Mr. Markley reported that the ALLEX program helped bolster housing numbers. First-year student numbers need to be approximately 1200 to adequately support Culinary. Currently there are just under 600 first-year students. The number of culinary venues decreased in order to serve the campus population effectively. GrubHub is now operational at SIP. The culinary operations are meeting and exceeding food safety and COVID-related regulations. Self-service in the Kitchens will resume once the vaccine requirement date passes. Another challenge for Culinary is staffing. We are currently working with HR to remedy this situation.
21.10 Chief Financial Officer’s Report
Ms. Visser stated that there will be an upcoming Finance Committee meeting. 21.11 Conflict of Interest Presentation Non-Profit Integrity Act, Compliance, and Insurance SSE Counsel Mr. Olsan reviewed the non-profit integrity act.
21.12 ACTION ITEM: Review and Acceptance of the 2010/2021 Audited Financial Statements
Mr. LaCour reviewed the 2020-2021 audit findings. Dr. Urbanski presented a motion for the acceptance of the statements and Mr. Vaske provided a 2nd. All approved.
21.13 Updates on Operations and Financial Status
Mr. Markley reviewed the short-term solutions presented in the SSE Operational Model which was originally shared at the March 2021 board meeting. He also discussed long-term options for the solvency of the organization.
21.14 Other Non-Action Items
None.
Meeting was adjourned at 3:03pm.