Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Robyn Kuykendall, left, the executive vice president for CCC, explains some facts regarding enrollment in various occupational technology programs to the CCC board Wednesday during a presentation by Melissa Reed, center, division chair for occupational technology. Listening is Norman Kia, right, vice president of Information Technology and Operations.
The Clovis Community College (CCC) Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted to hire ACCT Searches to assist them in their search for a new CCC president for a basic fee of $41,250,
"They'll be basically doing all the leg work," Secretary Terry Martin said. "The background check, the police check, they're looking at experience."
Martin said the firm will not be deciding on a president, but will help the board find the right candidates to select from.
ACCT is the same firm that assisted the college in finding candidates when the board hired Charles Nwankwo in October 2019.
The board accepted Nwankwo's resignation in February after he had been placed on administrative leave in August 2022.
Nwankwo was placed on leave after several employee groups on the CCC campus issued "no confidence" votes on his leadership.
On Wednesday, board members said they appreciated the process ACCT conducted in the previous candidate search.
Academic Search, another search firm, also submitted a bid that would have charged $55,000. In July, the board voted to appoint Trustee Jan Bradburn and Chair Lora Harlan to seek proposals from companies that could help them in the search.
On Aug. 30, the board narrowed its choice to ACCT Searches and Academic Search.
In other business at Wednesday's meeting, the board heard a presentation from Dekker Perich Sabatini, an architectural firm designing an expansion to the north side of the Joe and Charlyne Sisler Allied Health Building.
The expansion would include new classroom that could seat either 120 or 190 Allied Health students, depending on choices made when the project goes out for construction bids, according to a representative from the architecture firm.
The reasoning for a bigger classroom is to have the ability to seat all of the Allied Health students in the classroom at one time. The new classroom would also allow community offerings and could host events, the presenter said.
The cost estimate for the overall project would be $4.25 million, with an additional $480,000 for the bigger classroom option, depending on the bid. The expansion is scheduled for more discussion at the board's Nov. 8 meeting.
Shawna McGill, division chair of Allied Health programs, gave a presentation on the various programs offered at CCC and provided updated numbers on enrollment.
Enrollment in these programs is still climbing to pe-COVID levels, according to McGill.
"All of them have fluctuated a lot and continue to do so. Nursing has decreased, and so we're still in the process of trying to build up that enrollment," McGill said.
Nursing is the largest program, according to McGill. And while enrollment is still climbing in these programs, graduation rates in all programs are doing well, McGill added.
Melissa Reed, division chair of occupational technology programs, gave an overview of CCC's occupational technology programs.
Some of the more popular programs with large waitlists are for cosmetology and esthetician careers, she said.
Both programs are licensed through the New Mexico Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists.
For cosmetology, Reed said, CCC can admit 14 new students every fall and spring.
"We currently have 37 students on our wait list," Reed said.
For the esthetician and nail tech program, the college is able to admit 12 students every fall semester, and the waitlist currently stands at 22 students.
The next CCC Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for October 4.
