LCCC Board of Trustees selects officers during meeting Jan. 18

The Lorain County Community College Board of Trustees met Jan. 18 at the Spitzer Conference Center and the highlight was the election of officers.

After a closed executive session that lasted nearly 40 minutes, the regular meeting began starting with election of board officers.

Benjamin Fligner was re-elected board chairman and Don Ortner was re-elected to his spot as board vice chairman.

The board then ratified the recent hiring of five new faculty and staff members: Helen Tagliaferro as the professional practice clinician; Brenda Bergman as assistant professor of health and wellness sciences; Annalise Gatautis as coordinator for the University Partnership Ridge Campus Outreach Learning Center; Bradley Ball as director of the culinary program; and Ariel Powell as program developer for the Engineering Business and Information Technologies department.

The board then voted to approve a policy change regarding rank, tenure and promotion.

The update to the policy permits faculty to provide alternative qualifications when applying for promotion to the rank of assistant professor.

Tracy Green, vice president of Strategic and Institutional Development at LCCC, said this change specifically is for faculty in fields that are not common in the highest levels of education.

“Typically, to move up in rank, a faculty member has to have a doctorate or other academic credentials in their field,” Green said. “We have some fields where there is not advanced education in such as our EMT and paramedic program.”

Green said there are no specifics to what kind of alternative application materials faculty can provide, but they will have to prove how their education or work experience has provided them the necessary qualifications.

The board approved bank depository agreements for nine different banks for the next five years.

It also approved a resolution that will allow for the college’s finances to be received electronically.

The meeting finished with a report from LCCC President Marcia Ballinger.

One of the highlights of the report was a presentation on a program that LCCC has partnered with Midview High School.

The program gives Midview High students experience learning about micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), which is an area of study that has taken off at LCCC after receiving funding through a program by Intel.

Ballinger also highlighted U.S. Congressman Bob Latta’s visit to LCCC to learn about the MEMS program.

She also noted that the college’s practical nursing program was named as the No. 2 program in Ohio by Practicalnursing.org for 2024.

Ballinger concluded the meeting by announcing the creation of the LCCC Hall of Fame.

Nominations can be made until Feb. 28 for the June inauguration.

To be eligible for induction, a nominee must have a degree or certificate from LCCC, have completed one year at the school before earning a bachelor’s degree from another institution or completed 30 credit hours at the college.

“The other part of the application is about how have they have exemplified our mission and values in their community by making extraordinary contributions through their professional career or volunteer work,” Ballinger said.