Weekly Wrap-Up

The Insider launches a new feature this week intended to help staff and faculty keep up to date on the discussions and decisions that shape LBCC. Designed to be a quick read rather than comprehensive report, it will include snippets on things like Board of Education decisions, College Council discussions, reminders of important events and deadlines – and whatever suggestions you have.

If you find there is information you’re not getting, let us know and we will try to work it in. If you are on a group or council and have information you’d like to share, you can share it here. Send to Insider editor Lori Fluge-Brunker at flugel@linnbenton.edu.

And now - our first try at this:

The college budget committee met last week and approved the proposed budget with no changes to the budgeted amount. Highlights included:

• Overall, the budget decreased by 21 percent from $122,098,774 this year to $96,392,221 due mostly to change in budgeting for Federal Direct Loans in the Financial Aid fund.
• The general fund budget decreased 4.85 percent from $46,004,671 this year to $43,771,330 next year. The bulk of that decrease on the resource side was due to the beginning fund balance declining from $4 million to $1.5 million.
• The budget committee also clarified the Board of Education directive to rebuild the fund balance to $4 million over the next 4 years. The change directs the college to make $600K of progress in restoring the ending fund balance in the next budget year resulting in a target for ending fund balance of $2.1 million at June 30, 2014.

The budget will now be published in area newspapers in summary form as a public notice. The Board of Education will hold a hearing and then vote whether to adopt it at the June Board meeting. The full 176 page budget document is available here: Review & Discussion of Proposed Budget Document.

 Mechatronics faculty member Denis Green explains new
equipment to Greg Hamann; Kip Much, NW Natural Gas
regional director; Secretary of State Kate Brown; Dan Lara,
dean, Business, Applied Technology and Industry; Dale Stowell,
executive director, College Advancement; and Dale
Bookwalter, Oregon Freeze Dry vice president, Finance.

Secretary of State Kate Brown took a brief tour of the Albany campus on Wednesday, learning more about Achieving the Dream, the advance diploma option that allows high school students to earn college credits, degree partnerships with OSU and OIT, and career and technical programs at LBCC including Automotive/Diesel technology, Welding and Mechatronics. Secretary Brown visited with staff, faculty, administration, representatives from local business and students.

The LBCC Foundation Board of Trustees approved $150,000, which, in addition to a $50,000 grant received from the Oregon Drive Foundation, gives the college funds to purchase an advanced dynamometer for the new Advanced Transportation Technology Center. This equipment will be use to both train technicians in the program and generate revenues for operating the ATTC through rental to industry. The dynamometer will be the only one of its kind between Vancouver, B.C., and San Francisco.

The Meyer Memorial Trust announced this week it was supporting the ATTC with a $350,000 grant. The grant is contingent on the college raising an additional $1.5 million from other sources. The college currently has a $1.5 million Economic Development Administration grant in a strong position for funding, pending the EDA resolving budget questions surrounding sequestration.

LBCC President Greg Hamann has joined the Board of the Corvallis Boys and Girls Club. In addition to his support of the organization, he hopes that his involvement can lead to strong pathways to education and training for area youth.

LBCC board members and college administrators participated in a statewide effort that led to passage of bill ending “adverse impact” provisions in Oregon law. In the past, these provisions have created barriers for community colleges to add new programs, giving proprietary colleges the right to claim that the program would create an adverse impact because they either had a similar program or were considering adding it.

Get your nominations in early! Nominations are now open for the Pastega classified staff and faculty member awards, and the college Distinguished Staff award, which are due by June 10. For nomination materials or questions, contact Dale Stowell at stoweld@linnbenton.edu.