The Galveston Community College District Board of Regents on Oct. 14 honored and remembered Regent Carl E. Kelly with a resolution recognizing his 22 years of service to the students, faculty, staff and community as a member of the board. Regent Kelly died unexpectedly on July 31.

In presenting a framed copy of the resolution to Sue Banerji and Annie Scott, Regent Kelly’s family representatives, Dr. Myles Shelton, Galveston College president, shared special memories of the former chair, vice chair and secretary of the board and his service on numerous board committees, including athletic, diversity committee (chair), policies and planning (chair), facilities and most recently finance and policies committees.

In addition to serving Galveston College, Regent Kelly served at the national level as an assistant teller for the Western Regional Caucus and Meeting of the Association of Community College Trustees. He also served on the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees (former chair), Texas State Bar Grievance Board, Galveston Historical Foundation Board of Directors, the City of Galveston Charter Review Committee, the BPA Housing Development Corporation Board and the 1894 Grand Opera House.

“Regent Kelly’s commitment to public service and volunteerism is evident in the seemingly endless list of altruistic activities to which he devoted his time and energy,” Dr. Shelton said.

In other business, the board heard a report from Amy Leuchtag, director of the Building Bridges to Success (BBS) program, which recently celebrated its 23rd year at Galveston College.

Leuchtag said BBS is part of the nationwide TRIO Student Support Services program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It is designed to provide academic and student support services for approximately 200 first-generation, low-income students.

The goals of BBS are to increase student retention in classes, completion of certificates and degrees, graduation from college and transfer to universities. Services include academic advising and degree planning, course selection and registration, academic tutoring, personal and career guidance, financial aid and scholarship information, economic and financial literacy education and resources and transfer assistance.

“Despite the challenges faced as a result of Covid-19, for the 2019-2020 academic year, BBS achieved 59 graduates,” Leuchtag said.

In the most recent annual performance report for the Department of Education, BBS attained an 88 percent persistence rate. This means that 88 percent of the program participants were retained from one fall semester to the next, graduated and/or transferred.

Ninety-eight percent of BBS program participants were in good academic standing with a GPA greater than or equal to 2.0. Sixty-eight percent of BBS students earned an associate degree or certificate within four years of program entry, and 31 percent of participants earned an associate degree or certificate within four years of program entry and transferred to a four-year university. In August, the college was notified that it had received funding for the TRIO program for another five years. The college will receive $283,895 for the 2020-2021 program year. 

In other business, board members

  • heard an update on college events and activities from Dr. Shelton. Dr. Shelton said the college is fast-approaching mid-term for fall 2020, which is Oct. 23. He also reported on a fall 2020 second-start session enrollment of 468 compared to fall 2019 second-start enrollment of 259. The fall 2020 lecture series will be conducted virtually.
  • heard updates from Janene Davison, president of the Galveston College Faculty Senate, and technical program faculty members James Love, Welding Technology, and Patrick Lantz, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology.
  • heard a Student Government Association update from Maia Adolphs, president, and Benjamin Shelton, vice president.
  • approved a proposal with Ferrilli to provide Ellucian Colleague consultant services at a total cost of $318,000 annually for two years.
  • approved a proposal to purchase equipment to convert two combined classrooms in the Fine Arts Building into a video streaming lecture studio at a cost of $31,739.80.
  • amended the interlocal agreement between the college district and Galveston County to provide campus law enforcement services.
  • accepted a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration Susan Harwood Training Grants Program award in the amount of $49,765 to provide a new Electrical Safety on the Job training program for small businesses.
  • heard an update on the college’s identity theft program by Dr. Mary Jan Lantz, director of human resources and risk management.
  • reviewed the unaudited year-end financial statements for fiscal year 2019-20 and monthly financial reports presented by Jeff Engbrock, chief financial officer/comptroller.

Pictured: The Galveston Community College District Board of Regents on Oct. 14 honored and remembered Regent Carl E. Kelly with a resolution recognizing his 22 years of service to the students, faculty, staff and community as a member of the board. Pictured are Galveston College President Dr. Myles Shelton, Board of Regents Chair Karen Flowers, Kelly family representatives Sue Banerji and Annie Scott, and Regent Ray Lewis, Jr.