Highline College

Explore Highline College

Connect with Highline College

Toggle Sliding Bar Area

Highline College Logo
Apply Now

October 9, 2025: Meeting Minutes

Home/Meeting 10-09-25, Meeting Minutes/October 9, 2025: Meeting Minutes
2025-11-19T15:45:47+00:00 Print Page

October 9, 2025: Meeting Minutes

Board of Trustees Meeting

Location

Hybrid Meeting Format: offering both in-person and virtual meeting access

Minutes

Attendees

Board of Trustees: Chair Swenson, Vice Chair Bowman, Trustee Exstrom, Trustee Johnson

Executive Cabinet: John R. Mosby, Jordan Mellott for Danielle Slota, Rolita Ezeonu, Ay Saechao Jamilyn Penn, Josh Gerstman, Justin Dampeer for Maribel Jimenez, Melanie Lawson, Michael Pham, Tim Wrye

Assistant Attorney General: Justin Kjolseth

Absent: None

Study Session call to order: 8:33  a.m.

Discussion Topics

  • Board Policy Review – 30 minutes

Chair Swenson proposed working edits that the board has been making to the Board Policy.

  • Rule changes to the Highline College Student Conduct Code – Title IX Supplemental Procedures – Tyannali Torres and Ay Saechao – 15 minutes

Ty presented the proposed changes to WAC 127 and WAC 126 and emergency changes to the Highline College Student Conduct Code and Title IX Supplemental Procedures.

  • Policy Development Council Revision – Dr. Michael Pham – 20 minutes

Dr. Michael Pham presented the proposed changes to the policy surrounding Policy Development and the Policy Development Council. He is proposing that the board changes the policy to allow the college President and designees to develop and adopt college policy changes.

Executive Sessions

  • Executive Session*
    • Performance of a Public Employee

The board entered executive session at 9:40 for 30 minutes. Executive session extended to 10:50.

*The Board, as and when deemed necessary, may call an Executive Session for appropriate purposes under the Open Meetings Act.

(g) To evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee. However, subject to RCW 42.30.140(4), discussion by a governing body of salaries, wages, and other conditions of employment to be generally applied within the agency shall occur in a meeting open to the public, and when a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee or class of employees, or discharging or disciplining an employee, that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public;

Meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

 

Board of Trustees Meeting

Location

Hybrid Meeting Format: offering both in-person and virtual meeting access

General Session Minutes

Board of Trustees: Chair Swenson, Vice Chair Bowman, Trustee Exstrom, Trustee Johnson

Executive Cabinet: John R. Mosby, Jordan Mellott for Danielle Slota, Rolita Ezeonu, Ay Saechao Jamilyn Penn, Josh Gerstman, Justin Dampeer for Maribel Jimenez, Melanie Lawson, Michael Pham, Tim Wrye

Assistant Attorney General: Justin Kjolseth

Absent: None

General Session called to order: 10:53 a.m.

Opportunity for public comment

None

Approve minutes

Approve minutes of the regularly scheduled meeting of September 11, 2025 and the special meeting of September 29th 2025.

Trustee Bowman moved to approve, Trustee Exstrom seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Standing Reports

  • Highline College Education Association – Dr. James Peyton- Thanked Trustee Bowman for participating in Opening Week. We are in week 3 of fall quarter and faculty are busy at work. HCEA is working on implementation of 2025-28 faculty contract. Thanked VP Ezeonu and VP Lawson for the work on this.
  • Washington Public Employees Association – Richard Cannefax- Expressed appreciation for both sides during recent WPEA negotiations. Communicated the benefits of local bargaining through direct conversations with Highline leadership. Spoke against joining the coalition for bargaining.
  • Faculty Senate – none
  • Highline College Foundation – Sherri Chun- Thunderbirds Soar is coming up on Nov 22. Tickets are still available. The Foundation audit is underway. The Foundation Board recently held their annual retreat.

Board Report

  • Thunderword and Public Speaking Center Teams (10 minutes) Lisa Voso, Kara Stuart, and Colleagues

The team presented a video from the Public Speaking Center. The video shared that they collaborated with GSA and ISP for a retreat over the summer, they had an open house over the summer, and the PSC offers tutoring, collaboration, and support for any public speaking engagement. Lisa thanked Dr. Pham for the opportunity to travel to Vietnam because it sparked her inspiration to have the PSC collaborate with International Student Programs to offer public speaking support to international students over the summer.

Kara Stuart thanked her Thunderword team for the wonderful work that they do and spoke to the wonderful work of the Thunderword staff which has grown from 10 to 25 people. Shared accomplishments and awards that have come from Thunderword writers.

Art Land shared that in his mass media class they will now be broadcasting via radio and students are starting to pitch podcasts to be broadcast.

  • Study Abroad to Vietnam (15 minutes) Sam Kaplan and HC students

Dr. Michael Pham shared that the 5th annual Follow the Supply Chain trip to Vietnam just occurred in September and shared photos from the trip.

Sam Kaplan from the Center of Excellence shared information about the Follow the Supply Chain Study Abroad Program. The program relies on sponsors to help make the program accessible and affordable for students to participate. Thanked Dr. Pham and VP Gerstman for their support. Students who attended the trip spoke to their experience on the trip in Vietnam and how valuable the experience was and how much they learned.

Area reports

  • Academic Affairs: Interim VP Dr. Rolita Ezeonu- We have 29 tenure track faculty this year.
  • Administrative Services: VP Dr. Michael Pham- Mentioned that next week the state audit exit conference will occur.
  • Equity, Diversity and Transformation: Justin Dampeer for VP Dra. Maribel Jimenez- Report stands as written.
  • Human Resources: VP Melanie Lawson- Gave a shoutout to HR for recruiting new faculty and staff hires for the year.
  • Institutional Advancement: VP Josh Gerstman-  Spoke to new collaboration with the Highline Heritage Museum.
  • Student Services: Ay Saechao for VP Dr. Jamilyn Penn – TRiO has not received their SSS grant but they are hopeful for funds to possibly come later. Thanked everyone involved in the grant writing process.

President’s Remarks

Dr. Mosby thanked VP Ezeonu and CIO Wrye for their help with the accreditation Ad Hoc visit prep that happened earlier this week.

Unscheduled Business

  • CIO Wrye told the board that Executive Cabinet shared Strategic Plans for the college with campus during Opening Week.

Adjournment

General Session was adjourned: 11:59am

Minutes Signed and Approved

The meeting minutes from September 11, 2025, were approved and signed into record by Chair Swenson and Acting President Dr. Jamilyn Penn on November 13, 2025.

Mission Statement: As a South King County college striving for social justice, Highline College partners with global students as they envision, plan and achieve their educational and professional goals.