TORRINGTON – A new member joined the Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees, and the board visited the former EWC Cosmetology building during their regular meeting Tuesday. 

Dr. Judith Bartmann will represent board District 1, which was left vacant with the resignation of Kriss Hovis on Oct. 14. The tour of the former cosmetology building was to acquaint the trustees with potential uses for the building. 

The evening began with a public hearing on seven new and revised board policies. Bartmann was sworn in and took the oath of office before action was taken on agenda items. 

New employees, Kwin Wilkes, vice president for administrative services, and Rebecca Deen, GEAR-UP program technician were introduced before other agenda items were addressed. Wilkes assumed his duties on Nov. 13, although Ron Laher, former administrative services vice president, will remain on campus during Wilkes’ transition to his
new duties.

Laher reported a modified 2018 budget of $14,175,318, including a state appropriation of $9,130,100. The balance comes from tuition, grants, and other miscellaneous sources.

Completing a month’s long project, approval on final reading of seven new and revised board policies was voted on, one by one. Revised policies were: Policy 1.0 - College Mission and Vision; Policy 2.0 - Advisory Councils; Policy 6.3 - Use of college facilities; Policy 6.9 - Animals or pets on campus; and new policies, Policy 2.9 - Media relatons; Policy 2.15 - Exceptions to the No Alcohol Use on Campus; Policy 3.25 - Employee performance, coaching and discipline

A considerable discussion was held on declines in out-reach students, as well as reduced tuition from outlying areas. These were attributed to several reasons, including higher standards for teachers in concurrent classes for high school students, as well as changes in employment demands. 

Rex Cogdill, vice president for student services, and Roger Humphrey, acting vice president for academic services, agreed that these issues have been a challenge for the past two years, and that EWC staff continues attempts to correct them, including different delivery models. Another factor has been the decline in Wyoming’s employment and economy.

Providing an update on Institutional Development, John Hansen cited success in visits to the University of Wyoming James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Center at Lingle, working toward a Farm to Table project, along with Goshen County Economic Development Corporation, as well as the start-up of a community coalition for wellness, alumni activities, including a tailgate party at Torrington High School, and the EWC Foundation Donor Dinner.

Citing all of the contacts made by his office, Hansen said, “They are important because they can change lives and offer opportunities to students
and EWC.”

In wrapping up the trustee meeting, the board voted to nominate member Mike Varney for the 2017-18 Trustee Leadership Award, sponsored by the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees.

The next board meeting will be Dec. 12, and EWC President Lesley Travers will hold her next Community Roundtable, Thursday, Dec. 14.

Travers encourages the community to take advantage of the Roundtable discussions to get answers to their questions, or just learn more about the college in general. They are held at noon, the second Thursday of the month, in the CTEC Conference Room.