Area Report for Board of Trustees

Vice President for Administration 

• It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Heather McBreen as Interim Administrative Assistant to the Vice President for Administrative Services. Heather is “on loan” to us from our Conference Services where she works as Events Coordinator. She holds a Master’s Degree in Arts & Cultural Management and Bachelor of Arts in Communication.

Facilities

• It is our pleasure to announce the appointment of Kevin Kalal as Facility Services Manager. Kevin will be responsible for the general office and customer support in the Facility Operations Office.  Previously, Kevin had worked in facility operations at Bellarmine Preparatory School and at one time serving as Assistant General Manager for the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and Sport Management.
• Building 1 and Building 6 heat pumps have been replaced.
• The installation of Building 6 Plaza Canopy is ongoing with footings and structural work in process.
• Building 26 construction is progressing with installation stages of rough-in plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and fire suppression systems.

Finance & Budget  

• We are happy to welcome Victoria Solano as our new Fiscal Technician Supervisor for the Cashier’s Office.  Victoria comes to us from Financial Aid and has previous cashiering experience in a supervisory role at Sound Credit Union. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology but currently working on an Associate Degree in Accounting at Highline College.

Public Safety & Emergency Management

• In conjunction with South King Fire and Rescue, the City of Des Moines and the Criminal Justice program, Public Safety will be bringing the Community Emergency Response Team course on campus this summer. The Community Emergency Response Team, also known as CERT, is a nationally recognized program that trains volunteers in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. The objective to bringing this course to campus is to have a group of trained and qualified employees who can help organize and respond to a campus emergency. The course is open to all employees.
• Public Safety is pleased to announce that they have hired two part-time officers, Ms. Ashley Minero and Ms. Cinthia Valdez. Both were students in the criminal justice cadet program prior to being hired as officers. As of to date, the Public Safety office has hired four students from the cadet program, making it a fairly successful cross-over training program.
• David Menke and Francesca Fender have been working with the Associated Student Government on a student transportation and safety fee. The proposed fee would be used to provide additional incentives for alternative transportation, and to fund parking lot expansion and maintenance, as well as selected safety upgrades. The Associated Student Government has expressed support for the proposal and suggested to moving forward with a survey of the larger student body opinion.

Student Housing

• We are sad to report that Cris Taylor Tonasket had resigned from her position as Student Housing Manager. Cris had worked with us from the initial construction stage of the Campus View project.  We thank and wish Cris the best in her future endeavors.
• As of the writing of this area report, we have hired four live-in resident assistants. In addition, with the support of personnel “on loan” from Student Services, we are now able to provide complete 24/7 coverage for the Campus View, including regular office hours between 9AM and 5PM, Monday through Friday, and reduced weekend office hours.
• On April 17, 2019, Public Safety is hosting an Active Threat seminar to provide attendees with best-practice guidelines for responding to an active threat. The training will be open to all students and employees during two sessions.