Sonoma State University

March 16, 2018 SSE Board of Directors Minutes

Minutes

SONOMA STATE ENTERPRISES, INC.
Minutes
March 16, 2018

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mr. Yale Abrams
Ms. Grace Anderson
Ms. Madeline Cline
Dr. Kirsten Ely
Mr. Wilson Hall
Dr. Stacy Heldman-Holguin
Ms. Nicole Hendry
Ms. Joyce Lopes
Mr. Neil Markley, Ex-Officio
Dr. Judy K. Sakaki
Mr. Vince Sales
Dr. John Urbanski
Ms. Amanda Visser, Ex-Officio
Dr. Lisa Vollendorf

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Ms. Christina Gamboa
Dr. Patti Hiramoto
Dr. Kyuho Lee

OTHERS PRESENT:

Mr. Steve Higginbotham
Mr. Tyson Hill
Ms. Nancy Keller
Ms. Megan Konieczka

17.28 Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m.

17.29 Approval of the December 15, 2017 Minutes

The minutes from December 15, 2017 were provided to the Board via email prior to the meeting. Mr. Abrams moved to approve the December 15, 2017 minutes. Ms. Cline seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously with no changes.

17.30 ACTION ITEM: Appointment of Joanie Ly and Megan Varnadore as Staff Representatives to the SSE Board of Directors

Ms. Lopes welcomed Ms. Ly and Ms. Varnadore to the Board. Ms. Lopes gave a brief bio on the new staff representatives.
Ms. Heldman-Holguin moved to approve the appointment of Ms. Ly and Ms. Varnadore to the Board. Dr. Vollendorf seconded the motion. None opposed. The appointment of Ms. Ly and Ms. Varnadore was approved unanimously.
Ms. Ly will sit on the Audit Committee and Ms. Varnadore will sit on the Finance and Executive Committee.

17.31 President’s Report

Dr. Sakaki began her report by discussing the importance of the state-allocated CSU Budget which does not fully fund cost increases for next year. She deferred to Ms. Lopes’ report as she will go more into depth but wanted to stress the importance of understanding student’s needs and aligning the budget to support those needs.
Dr. Sakaki provided handouts to the Board to discuss a survey that was recently conducted on campus regarding student needs. She pointed out that 40% of students reported they were food insecure and 10% reported they did not have a secure place to live in the last 12 months. This survey will help refocus resources on campus to alleviate these needs.
The National School Walkout was held on campus and Dr. Sakaki was very pleased to see the advocacy and coordination by our students who took a stand. She was happy to report it was a peaceful walkout and hopes future walkouts and protests will be equally as uneventful.
Dr. Sakaki gave an update on the searches for various positions including: Vice President for Advancement, Dean of Arts and Humanities, and the Dean for Business. She announced that Dr. William Gregory Sawyer has accepted the Vice President of Student Affairs position. She also announced that a new Athletics Director and new Vice President of Strategic Communication will be announced shortly.
There has been a statue installed in front of the Sonoma State University Library at the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center. The statue of Lucy, a beloved Peanuts character, was donated by the daughter of Mr. Schulz. She welcomes the students to the library with outstretched arm with an inscription that says. “With an education, sky’s the limit”.
The Joan Baez art installation will now be held on April 15. There will be a ticketed dinner with Ms. Baez followed by an unveiling ceremony.
Commencement will have 6 ceremonies spread across the weekend of May 19 and 20. Dr. Sakaki shared her excitement and is looking forward to working with everyone on these two special days.

17.32 Chief Academic Officer/Provost Report

Dr. Vollendorf announced a search has been launched to find a new Chief Information Officer and she will keep the Board informed of any updates.
She also announced they are gearing up for commencement and she is looking forward to a great weekend.
Dr. Vollendorf gave a brief update on the Strategic Planning Process. She was happy to announce there were more than 4,000 points of input submitted, many of which reflected respect, love, and hope for Sonoma State University. There will be a kick-off event on May 9th but, until then, any new information will be shared on the Strategic Planning website.

17.33 Vice President for Student Affairs Report

Dr. Heldman-Holguin was happy to report that Dr. Sawyer, the new Vice President of Student Affairs, will be starting on April 2. She wanted to thank Dr. Harry LeGrand for his time served as “interim interim”.
Student Affairs’ has hired 6 new academic advisors and Dr. Helman-Holguin expressed her excitement for the group that is forming. A new recreation manager will start in April and two new teachers for the Children’s School have been hired. They have also offered positions to 3 postdocs in the fall to work at the Counseling Center.
Dr. Heldman-Holguin reported that offers have been submitted to students requesting housing for next year.

17.32 Associated Students Report

Mr. Hall informed the Board the Pizza with the Presidents event that took place last month was another success. By hosting the event in the plaza, they had a greater student turn out and has brought a lot more student engagement.
The Lobo’s Food Pantry has officially been opened. The pantry is directly addressing students’ basic needs and Mr. Hall was happy to see our campus putting resources to help out in this regard.
Members of the Associated Students traveled to Washington, DC on an advocacy trip. They were able to meet with various legislatures to discuss student debt, grants, and DACA. Mr. Hall reported it was a good trip overall and he was thankful for the opportunity.
Members of the Associated Students also attended the Cal State Higher Education Student Summit where the Lobby Corp was able to unite. They engaged in leadership and advocacy training and were able to focus on the issue of basic needs among our student body.
Mr. Hall reported the AS elections are ramping up and there will be new AS officers elected soon.

17.35 Report from SSU Vice President for Administration and Finance/Chief Financial Officer and Chair of SSE Board of Directors

Ms. Lopes shared the campus budget presentation with the board. Discussion ensued regarding the budget. Ms. Lopes explained where the Graduation Initiative 2025 money allocation was distributed in the budget and how it is being used on campus.
The campus is projecting a $1,600,000 budget reduction next year to offset Governor Brown’s budget funding deficiency for the CSU. The goal is to take a more holistic view as we move forward with our strategic budget plan. She emphasized the fact that “Your budget is your plan!” She has asked each department to develop a 5 year plan and a 2 year budget to ensure the departments are aligning with the strategic plan. Discussion ensued.

17.36 Chief Operation Officer’s Report

Mr. Markley began his report by praising Ms. Keller on her recent work with Hormel in which she was able to secure 500 cans of Spam to be gifted to Lobo’s Pantry. He is happy to say the Spam has been a very popular item. He also mentioned Ms. Keller will be attending the NACFUS conference to discuss how our culinary staff was able to work through the firestorms.
Mr. Markley gave an update on SSE’s sustainability. Beginning in fall there will be no more compostable plastic straws on campus (with exception to straws for smoothies and shakes) and paper straws will be available by request only. The culinary staff is working to better utilize the food left over after catering events and make it available to students. He would also like to ensure all service products are compostable. He also announced paper agendas will no longer be sent out prior to the SSE Board meetings and we will be transitioning to having the agendas and any supporting materials sent electronically and visible on a projector.
The beverage contract SSE currently has with Pepsi is expiring. An RFP will be sent out and we will be looking for a flexible vendor who aligns with our sustainability efforts.
Mr. Markley discussed some financial items of note:

  • The menu management system will be completed by the end of the year.
  • Procurement is working on the food truck contract. The food trucks will be available to help with various events on campus.
  • The GMC catering and concessions refrigeration will be installed and will allow for food and beverages to be cooled down more efficiently for GMC events.
  • A mobile food ordering system is in the works with Tapingo. This will be rolled out slowly over the summer.
  • Charlie Brown’s Café architects are meeting this week. The remodel won’t be done by the end of the fiscal year but there is progress.

The SSE Contribution Group led by Dr. Ely gave a brief update on the status of their report. A handout was distributed to the Board. The group anticipates to have a rough draft completed by April 9th and will provide the final report in May to the Board.

17.37 Chief Financial Officer’s Report

Ms. Visser reported the Finance Committee met earlier and reviewed the financial statements. The major areas of fluctuation on the statement of net position are due to timing. Ms. Visser anticipates we will be really close to ending right at budget this fiscal year.
As per Ms. Lopes request, the draft budget for the 18/19 fiscal year will be presented at the next Board meeting in hopes to have a budget approved prior to the start of the year. Ms. Visser discussed the 4.5% increase in the meal plan as we did not adjust the plan price for CPI this past year. Similarly, the budget will also reflect the negotiated Union salary increases discussed this fiscal year as well.

CSU auditors are coming to campus after spring break to talk with SSE leadership. An update will be provided if needed.

17.38 ACTION ITEM: Approval of the Investment Policy

Ms. Visser presented the changes to the Investment Policy. The Finance Committee has already reviewed and approved the policy. The purpose of the edits are to realign the positions in the policy with the current positions at the university.
Dr. Urbanski asked that the long term investment policy be reviewed in the future.
Dr. Ely moved to approve the updated Investment Policy. Mr. Abrams seconded the motion. The Approval of the Investment Policy passed unanimously with no changes.

17.39 Other Non-Action Item

None

Meeting adjourned at 11:04 a.m.

Mr. Neil Markley COO/Secretary  Ms. Megan Konieczka Recording Secretary