Yvonne Mallory

TAMA NEWS-HERALD- Conrad Dejardin, Marshalltown, and Yvonne Mallory, Toledo, were re-elected as Board President and Vice President when the Iowa Valley Community College District Board of Directors met this week.

New Board member Deborah Crosser of Eldora was administered the oath of office at the meeting, as were re-elected Board members Conrad Dejardin and Larry Johnson of Iowa Falls. Outgoing Board member Deb Johnson was presented with a plaque from the Iowa Association of School Boards in recognition of her service to the IVCCD Board, and she received the thanks of the Board and College administration for her years of service.

In other recognition, Larry Johnson was honored for receiving an IACCT Quarter Century Service Award celebrating his 25 years of service on the IVCCD Board.

In related matters, the new Board appointed Barb Jennings as Board Secretary and Kathy Pink as Treasurer, as well as naming legal counsel and recognizing faculty and student representatives to the Board.

Dr. Chris Russell, Marshalltown Community College Dean of Students, and Barb Klein, Ellsworth Community College Dean of Enrollment Services /Registrar, presented information on the District’s Starfish Early Alert System, a retention tool for faculty and staff. The Starfish program allows faculty and staff to identify students with attendance or classroom performance problems so that the issues can be quickly resolved and the students can be successful in their courses. The software package is widely used by both MCC and ECC faculty and staff, and data is being generated and tracked to determine the impact on student retention.

In other matters, several donations were accepted by the Board from Marshalltown Assistance League and Lennox Industries ($500 each for the Show Me the Way conference), Dr. Tom Colbert (tapes, books and DVDs donated to Marshalltown Community College), Fonda Hopp and Janet Ekvall (nursing books donated to MCC), and Marilyn Dysart (a framed Jean Seberg movie poster donated to Orpheum Theater Center).

In voting action, the Board approved payment of dues to the American Association of Community Colleges/AACC, and approved agreements for providing college-level instruction for students in the Montezuma, GMG and East Marshall school districts.

The next regular meeting of the IVCCD Board of Directors will be on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls.