IVCC Board 1-15
OGLESBY — The Illinois Valley Community College Board Jan. 15 approved replacement of the Cultural Centre stage floor this spring while the auditorium is closed for Peter Miller Community Technology Center (CTC) construction.
Cost of replacing the tongue-and-groove stage built in 1979 is estimated at $111,013 and is a Protection, Health and Safety (PHS) project. Years of rehearsal and performance foot traffic, set construction and set fastening has resulted in a cracked, splintered and uneven stage surface.
In other action, the board agreed to seek furniture and fixture procurement for the CTC through the state’s joint purchasing program.
IVCC President Jerry Corcoran said IVCC will interview at least four of the state program’s vendors before choosing one based on price, style, warranty, reputation and customer service. Joliet, Illinois Central, Rock Valley and Kankakee community colleges have used the state program for furniture procurement.
The board also accepted with regret the resignation of trustee Leslie-Anne Englehaupt of LaSalle.
In a letter to board chair Dennis Thompson, Englehaupt said, “My other commitments have become too great for me to be able to fulfill the requirements of my position on the board; therefore, I feel it is best for me to step down in order to make room for someone with the time and energy to devote to the job.”
Englehaupt was elected to a six-year term in April 2009; there is approximately two years and three months remaining on her term, and the board has begun the process of filling her vacancy.
“Leslie-Anne was a thoughtful and passionate advocate for IVCC, our students and our staff,” said Corcoran. “I sincerely appreciate everything she did for our college including playing a critical role in upgrading our security standards.”
Individuals interested in applying for the vacancy must submit a cover letter and resume to: IVCC President’s Office, 815 N. Orlando Smith Road, Oglesby, IL 61348, by 4:30 p.m. Jan. 31. For information, call Jeanne Hayden, secretary to the board, at 815-224-0402.
In other business, the board heard a report on the Jan. 9 facilities committee meeting and learned of the committee’s recommendation not to repair the failed dam at the college pond southwest of the gym at this time, although appropriate safety measures will be implemented immediately.
The committee also recommended enhancement to the CTC main and east entrances to include thousands of commemorative named bricks purchased by private donors. The brick paver initiative will be launched this spring and is part of the $2.1 million CTC capital campaign.
In other CTC-related news, Corcoran updated trustees on construction. East end zinc panel installation is in progress and the two elevators on opposite ends of the building will be delivered next week. First floor east end HVAC ductwork and sprinkler installation is over 90 percent complete and west end metal framing and ductwork rough-in is in progress. Construction of a new maintenance building, additions to the auto and welding facility and demolition of Building 10 “is going very well,” Corcoran said.
The board learned:
• The sixth annual IVCC-LPO Hall of Fame induction ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in LaSalle-Peru High’s School’s Matthiessen Auditorium. Inductees include retired English instructor Ed Krolak, former nursing division chair Carole Caresio Haas, Caterpillar executive and IVCC alumnus Jim Blass, Carus Corporation Chairman and one of the leaders of the movement to create IVCC in the mid-1960s, Blouke Carus, and the record setting 1987-88 and ’88-89 men’s basketball teams. The public event is free.
• Nicholas Lower has been hired as a third-shift custodian. Lower had previously worked in the facilities department part-time and at Menard’s.
• IVCC’s American Chemical Society (ACS) student chapter earned a “Commendable Award” for its activities in 2011-12 from the national ACS office in Washington, D.C. Instructors Matt Johll and Promise Young are faculty advisors for the chapter.
• This fall, 243 graduates earned 271 degrees and certificates.
• The overall GPA for IVCC athletes last fall was 3.0 including a combined 3.14 GPA for the women and 2.87 for the men. Corcoran credited athletic director and men’s basketball coach Tommy Canale, his assistants Chris Herman and Kevin Schultz and coaches Cory Tomasson, softball, Eric Pinter, baseball, Jim Lukosus, golf, Pat Cinotte, women’s basketball, Julie Milota, women’s tennis, and Julie Sherbeyn, volleyball, for “sending a strong message to the community that at IVCC, student athletes are students first.”
• Organizers of Ottawa’s entry in the 2013 national “America in Bloom” competition have selected an official logo designed by Katie Moriarity of Ottawa and a second logo for kids by Nancy Scott of Streator. Moriarity and Scott are students in IVCC’s graphic design technology program directed by Francie Skoflanc.
