Area Report for Board of Trustees

Auxiliary Services (Conference Services & Bookstore) – Identify opportunities to enhance revenue to serve students and HC community.

• Bookstore is working with Commencement Committee to order graduation caps and gowns in preparation for Grads Fair and Commencement.
• Conference Services and Purchasing are in the process of evaluating proposals for an on-campus food service provider. It is expected for a decision to be made by the end of May.
• Fireside Bistro continues to see sale increases with our new pizza menu.

Budget, Grant, & Procurement Services – Manage institutional budget effectively and efficiently:

• Budget Advisory Council (BAC) has been preparing for budget evaluation requests with Executive Cabinet. A set of questions and criteria have been developed to allow BAC to review and evaluate requests more objectively.
• A first draft of FY25 budget was prepared for Executive Cabinet to review as part of the budget planning development.
• The FY24 Budget Revision is being submitted for the Board to review in the May meeting, with the College proposing to return the unused Board reserve contribution back to the Board Reserve account.

Global Programs – Create opportunities for students and employees to experience an internationalized education and understanding:

• I had the opportunity to lead nine faculty/staff and five guest members on an Experiential Learning to (Hanoi) Vietnam program in the latter half March 2024. The program included visits to several educational institutions, including Hung Vuong University, Foreign Trade University, and Western Hanoi (inter-levels) Schools.  Some of our faculty also participated in student recruitment activities to introduce Highline College to potential students.  In fact, one Vietnamese student, whom we met on the trip, will be coming to attend Highline College beginning Summer Quarter 2024.  We ended our program with a cultural excursion to HaLong Bay (one of the designated UNESCO World Heritage sites).
• The faculty/staff participated using their professional development funds. The average cost for the entire program, excluding personal expenses, amounted to approximately $2,300 per person, including airfare and hotel accommodation.
• The five guest members paid for their own expenses to participate in the trip, but also donated over $2,600 to the Foundation for scholarship purposes.
• The Study Abroad – Summer 2024 program has already begun with a total of 15 student participants (from 6 colleges). Once again, I and Sam Kaplan, Director of Center of Excellence for Global Trade & Supply Chain Management, will be serving as co-leaders for the program.  Kaitlin Bermingham will be assisting with program logistics.
• Former Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Michalak and I co-facilitated the Second Pre-trip Workshop for the Study Abroad participants on April 17^th. The workshop covered topics on Vietnam business environment and history.

 Facilities – Create accessible, fiscally & environmentally sustainable, and productive work & learning environment:

• Facilities is preparing for a major repair and/or replacement of the campus storm and sewer lines to improve the campus infrastructure. This project is estimated to cost approximately $4.8M – to be funded by one-time state capital funding.

Finance – Manage and safeguard institutional resources and assets:

• The FY2023 financial statement audit has begun with the engagement letter from the State Auditor’s Office (SAO). Finance is providing various supporting documents to SAO as requested in this preliminary phase.  An entrance conference will be planned for early summer.
• The 3^rd Quarter Financial report is being submitted for the Board to review for the month of May. The College is definitely seeing significant improvement in our financial position as of the end of March 31, 2024.

Public Safety – Serve as an educational partner by enhancing community awareness for crime prevention:

• Public Safety continues to offer and provide safety workshops to on-campus departments on violent intruder responses and workspace emergency lockdown procedures.
• We conducted a review of Emergency Management 101 for the Emergency Response Team – to focus on Incident Command System (ICS). The review workshop also included an earthquake drill to establish an incident action plan, as well as activating the Emergency Operations Center and other sections of the ICS.  Vice President Josh Gerstman and I are both members of the Emergency Response Team.

Public Safety – Engage internal and external communities to support maintaining a safe and secure working and learning environment at Highline College:

• David Menke will be co-hosting a Kent Police Department community meeting on May 9^th with the City of Kent. The meeting agenda will include a discussion with local business and community members about safety concerns in the area of Pacific Highway South, adjacent to Highline College campus.

Report submitted by Vice President of Administrative Services, Dr. Michael Pham