Office of Administrative Services Update - March 2024

AC3

With all the orders for furniture for the new building placed, we are now in the process of ordering equipment. Any time we have an order for more than $114,500 from a particular vendor, we need to get approval from the Board of Trustees before we place the orders. We had two orders, one for Chemistry equipment and another for Engineering, that received board approval at the March meeting. We have orders with three more vendors going to the board for approval in April. This includes equipment for Biology, Environmental Science, Geology and Chemistry. We have one last equipment order going the May board meeting for microscopes for Biology and Environmental Science. In addition to these orders, we have many others orders that fall under $114,500 that we are working on. Our goal is to have all orders placed, with the exception of the microscopes, by April 12. Thank you to our Science Laboratory Coordinators Tyler Johns, Houa Xiong, Christine Garduno and Erin Vang for all their work on these equipment orders.

We received information a few weeks ago from Ridgerunner Engineering that water pressure was not adequate to run the labs in AC3. A booster pump has been ordered and we are awaiting pricing for the piping and installation costs. This was a surprise, but we expect the water to be boosted in time for fall classes. The contractor is currently working on metal ceiling panel install, lighting, and cabinetry/casework. We still anticipate a move in date for furniture and equipment in June, however, some technology set up will need to occur after furniture is in place, so move in of staff will most likely happen in July.

Budget Update

In January, the Legislative Analyst’s Office projected a $68 billion shortfall from 2022-23 through 2024-25, but in March they updated their numbers and now anticipate the shortfall to be closer to $73 billion. The Governor will release a revised budget in mid-May. The colleges expect to receive our allocation for 2024-25 from the District Office Finance Department any day, but the amounts we are allocated will most certainly change for final budget, since we will not have information from the Governor’s May Revise before our tentative budget is due.

Action Plans – Action Plan Funding Requests were reviewed by Department Chairs on March 1. We received requests for funding in the amount of $1,160,697. Our budget is $1,080,000, but ongoing requests totaled $648,390, so that left $431,160 available for funding the requests for 2024-25. The Department Chairs reviewed the requests and recommended projects and amounts to be funded to spend the $431,160. Actions Plans will go to Vice President’s Council for review on April 2 and to College Council for a First Read on April 4.

Governance Handbook

On August 17, I asked College Council for an ad hoc to review and update the Governance Handbook. The ad hoc included Dr. Teresa Mendes, Von Torres, Michelle Johnson, Caryss Johnson, Rebecca Kinlow and me. Those who chair committees and/or advisories were asked to send their updated operating agreements to Bonnie Boonthavongkham. She collected this information for the ad hoc to review. You may remember that we also had a Governance Handbook survey on spring Opening Day. We reviewed the survey information and operating agreements and then looked at the handbook to see if we wanted to recommend any changes to the document. We are making some recommendations for changes that we think will add clarity. The handbook went to College Council for a first read on March 7 and we plan have our second read on May 2.

New Employee Orientation

I had the pleasure, last month, of attending two New Employee Orientation meetings. At these meetings, new faculty and classified professionals meet with the college president or a vice president for lunch. I was able to meet with the following classified professionals:

  • Ivan Cobian – Custodian
  • Joe Vang – Custodian
  • Rudelle Gaje – Piano Accompanist
  • Matthew Navarro – Program Assistant
  • Joshua Hernandez – Evaluator
  • Cameron Ferrero – Senior Admissions and Records Assistant

It was nice getting to know this new group of classified professionals and I’m sure they will do well in their new positions.

Wake Up Clovis

On March 13, I attended Wake Up Clovis, an event put on by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce. Our president, Dr. Kim Armstrong, was the speaker and she shared information about our new building and how our college makes a positive impact on the community. Wake Up Clovis takes place the second Wednesday of each month at our Herndon Campus and they have excellent speakers from the Fresno/Clovis area.

State Center 2035 Open Forum

I attended the Vision 2035 Campus Forum on March 14. The Gensler Group shared with us the draft recommendations for landscape and building improvements for Clovis Community College. We had an opportunity to give input on the plan and make suggestions. I was excited to see so many classified professionals, faculty and administrators at this open forum. The next College Planning Meeting is Friday, April 5, where we will see final draft recommendations that have incorporated feedback received from the Open Forum. The final draft of State Center Vision 2035 facilities recommendations will be presented to the Board of Trustees for review at the Board Retreat later this month and the final draft State Center Vision 2035 will go to the Board for a first read in May and final approval in June.

National SBDC Day Luncheon

On March 20, I attended the National Small Business Development Center’s annual luncheon. The purpose of Valley Community Small Business Development Center is to provide one-on-one business counseling, technical assistance and training to entrepreneurs and existing business owners who want to start, grow, or expand their business. The SBDC is housed at Herndon Campus and serves Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Madera counties. It was exciting to hear about what these small business owners are doing and how the SBDC was able to assist them.

Maddy Associates Valley Legislative Update Luncheon

I attended this event on March 22. Speakers were California assembly members Juan Alanis from the 22nd district, Joaquin Arambula from the 31st district and Esmerelda Soria, from the 27th district. The assembly members briefly talked about their backgrounds and took questions from the audience.

Clovis Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting

I attended the Clovis Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting on March 26. We were given an update of upcoming events which included Big Hat Days which is scheduled for April 6 and 7 in Old Town Clovis. I will be working at the Clovis Chamber of Commerce booth on Saturday morning and Clovis Community College will have a booth at the event as well.

CPR/AED Training

We have scheduled AED/CPR training for April 26 from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. We will send out information on how to register in the next few days. This training is open to all faculty, classified professionals and administrators.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you.

Lorrie Nichols Hopper
Vice President of Administrative Services