Central Community College
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Central CC Board of Governors-Central Community College is governed by an 11-member Board of Governors. Two members are elected from each of five election districts. One member is elected at-large. Members are elected to four-year terms with no limit on the number of terms.

College Cabinet- The College Cabinet is comprised of the membership of: College President, College Executive Vice President, Vice President of Administrative Services, Vice President of Human Resources, Vice President of Institutional Advancement/Foundation Director, Columbus Campus President, Grand Island Campus President, Hastings Campus President, a faculty representative, and a staff support representative.

​The voting members of the College Cabinet are the campus presidents.

The faculty representative and the staff support representative rotate each year between campuses.

Faculty Senate
Article I: Senate Name
The name of the organization shall be the Central Community College All College Faculty Senate, hereafter referred to as the ACFS.
Article II: Purpose
The purpose of the ACFS shall be:  To facilitate effective communication among the full-time faculty members of Central Community College.  To facilitate effective communication between the full-time faculty members of Central Community College and the administration of the College.  To facilitate effective communication between the full-time faculty members of Central Community College and the Board of Governors of Central Community College.  To actively participate in shared governance of the college as defined by the Faculty Council of Community Colleges and the American Association of University Professors. o Shared governance in higher education refers to the structures and processes through which governing boards, administration, faculty, students, and staff participate in the development of policies and in decision making that affect the institution. (FCCC) o Shared governance reflects mutual respect and trust in the college community for contributions by all members. Such trust and respect allows all other activities to proceed more smoothly. It capitalizes on collective intelligence and strengthens morale. (AAUP)  To promote and uphold academic freedom as defined by the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom by the American Association of University Professors (http://www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academicfreedom-and-tenure). o Teachers are entitled to full freedom of research and in the publication of results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution. o Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter, which has no relation to their subject. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.

Voted and Approved 10/16/2017
2
o College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.
To achieve these purposes, the ACFS shall:  Present the views and recommendations of full-time faculty members to the college administration as these relate to policies and procedures of academic and professional matters.  Be an essential part of the instructional programs, policy making strategic plans, and shared governance of the institution.  Promote and encourage activities that develop positive morale, responsibility, and leadership among the faculty members of the institution.  Develop cooperation and fellowship among the faculty members of the institution.

Educational Services
Currently, there have been three voting members in Educational Services representing the division of Student Services. These members have included the following: (1) the previous position of Dean of Student and Enrollment Services, (2) the College Registrar, and (3) one at-large staff (contract or hourly) representative.
Recommendations:
• The voting privilege previously held by the Dean of Student and Enrollment Services will now be held by the Dean of Student Success.
• The Dean of Enrollment Management will assume the voting responsibility previously assigned to the College Registrar.
• The at-large, voting staff representative shall serve an annual term from July 1 through June 30 – and shall be selected on an alternating basis from the Student Services areas and from the Enrollment Management areas.
• The above changes shall take effect in April of 2018.

Responsibilities of Educational Services
Educational Services – Deliberates and makes recommendations to the College Cabinet and/or College President concerning planning, developing, and evaluating instructional services, student services, and designated supportive services of the college. Voting members – Deans of Instruction for Academic Education, Health, and Skilled and Technical Sciences; Dean of Extended Learning Services; Dean of Student Success; Dean of Enrollment Management; Associate Vice President of the Virtual Campus and Business; Dean of Training/Kearney Center, and one other student services representative (a rotating positon that is determined by the VP of Student Services); and four faculty representatives – one from each division– academic education, business, health, and skilled and technical sciences. Under the supervision of the All-College Faculty Senate, each division will appoint/elect a representative serving a two-year term. If the division does not appoint/elect a representative the seat will remain empty until filled. The vice president of innovation and instruction will chair. Meeting the fourth Thursday of each month during common meeting time. The agenda, supporting documents, and minutes will be posted on SharePoint.

Student Club Presidents- meet quarterly
https://www.cccneb.edu/student-organizations

All College Staff Committee meets monthly and organizes speakers, events, and overall initiatives to be moved forward to college cabinet.

Board members are all local elected community members representing local taxpayers. The 25-county service area is divided into five election districts established on an equality of population basis. Two members are elected from each district and one member is elected at-large from the total electorate.
Term of office is four years. Election procedures are pursuant to state statutes. (9/91)


All meetings of the board are open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with provisions specified in Article 14, Sections 84-1408 to 84-1415, Nebraska State Statutes, and in accordance with LB 898, Open Meetings Act.

Public Participation
To promote public participation in the conducting of the affairs of CCC, to comply with the Nebraska Public Meetings Law (RRS 84-1408 to 84-1415), and to balance the interests and rights of the public in attending and speaking at meetings of the CCC Board of Governors with the interests and rights of the
public in having meetings of the CCC Board of Governors conducted in an orderly manner with agenda items arranged in the manner most advantageous to the rational dispatch of business and the necessity for the public business to be conducted upon the basis of a rational analysis of all sides of a particular issue as
distinguished from only one point of view.

Local resiliency committee hosted by Sustainability office and NGOs in Grand Island, Hastings, and Kearney. Committee members represent community members for resiliency projects. Representatives on the resiliency committee are city planners, Multicultural Coalition, Parks and Recreation, Nebraska State Fair, City Council Representatives, Central Community College Students, and representatives from non-governmental and non-profit organizations such as United Way. The meetings are also open to the public per Nebraska Statute of open meetings.

Resiliency Committee accomplishments and mission

Core components of Resiliency Committee

Understand strengths and assets on the campus and in the community.
Understand weaknesses and vulnerabilities on the campus, in the community, and across both.
This includes climate change hazards, impacts, and existing conditions that may be exacerbated by climate change or affect a school and community’s capacity to cope and adapt. Identify key overlaps and gaps between the campus and community assets and vulnerabilities
Develop action projects as a Committee:
Projects completed 1. Communication in Multiple Languages through Multicultural Coalition regarding natural disasters for the entire community. https://www.grand-island.com/departments/emergency-management/en-espanol
2. Campus/Community Resiliency Assessment for the City of Grand Island to determine top strengths of the community and climate change vulnerabilities, vulnerable populations, access to affordable health care, ecosystem services, access to multimodal transportation, and economic incentives.
3. Emergency Preparedness and Storm Spotter training workshop open to the entire community hosted at Central CC.
4. Complete Streets Policy
5. Community Gardens
6. Communication to diverse populations
7. Nebraska State Fair Sustainability Pavilion projects open to all attendees
8. Solar lighting on trails partnership between Parks and Rec and local renewable energy company based on community input from Resiliency Committee.
9. June 21 Flood Control Stroll walking tour-Railside (ALL) Hosted by Central Platte NRD JEO Consulting Group) punch card to learn more about flooding and mitigation efforts, followed a stream through railside if you visited all 6 downtown businesses you were entered into a raffle. HEAR GRAND ISLAND was the same night! (ART, BUSINESSES, TOURISM, HEAR GI)
10. Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) Jon Rosenlund- we received internal funding for 12 community and staff members to attend a 24 hour training in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization (Incident Command), and disaster medical operations (Triage and treatment, first aid). Everyone that completed the training also received CERT kits for a Full Scale exercise with 15 victims at fire station training facility
11. Collaboration with other committees’ groups
a. GIAMPO (Andres and Todd)
b. Livable Community focus groups (Tonja)
c. AARP grant
d. Students 4 Sustainability
i. Community Involvement eBadge- Central Community College students are awarded to students working on community projects
11. EV charging stations in the community based on input from CCC Sustainability office

12. Fun and educational activities drew 150 to 175 participants to Stolley Park in Grand Island in late June. Kimberly Milovac, early childhood education coordinator at Central Community College, said this first big community event hosted by Leapfrog Village, gave families a chance to enjoy time together while participating in sensory, craft and building projects that can easily be replicated at home. About 25 current and former CCC students and employees helped at the event, which was held in collaboration with Hall County Community Collaborative, Home Depot, Hy-Vee and Super Saver. Leapfrog Village is the result of a CCC mini-grant and is aimed at giving students opportunities to help plan and host community-wide family engagement programming.

In Ord, Nebraska CCC regional director Dr. Crystal Ramm worked with the City of Ord and community members to approve and prepare for a garden located near the hike and bike trail. Ramm maintains the garden and Students 4 Sustainability members have installed three separate Bloom Box gardens as they keep expanding and adding more native plants.

CCC-Grand Island’s new Entrepreneurship Center in downtown Grand Island opened for business in February. Would-be entrepreneurs who purchase a membership will have access to business coaching, workspace, a conference room and even a production studio for video or audio podcasts. While the entrepreneurship center in Grand Island is new, CCC has operated entrepreneurship centers at its Columbus and Hastings campuses for many years.

Sara Bennett was selected to serve as the center’s director and brought several years of experience to the position. She came to CCC after more than a decade of service as the associate director of the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Bennett’s expertise is in small business development and innovation. Both areas are valuable to CCC students as Bennett is also a business instructor.

Many Central Community College administration and staff members are involved with local community engagement committees, as that is part of what community colleges do as it is our middle name. If needed information can be provided on further community engagement committees. Community stakeholders are given a voice in all of these committees, that have resulted in advancing community projects across multiple communities.

https://www.cccneb.edu/about-ccc/2022-annual-report/

Community Colleges are engaged in community meetings and events every day. There are multiple examples and opportunities for external stakeholders to provide a regular voice on institutional decisions that affect them and are typically governed by community elected Board members that have regular communication with their constituents for institutional decisions that affect the community and the college.