SC@Work: November 10, 2009 Board Meeting Documents
Here are the updated list of documents for this meeting:
- Meeting Agenda
- Contracts (General / Capital Projects)
- Warrants
- PowerPoint Presentation on Tahoe-Truckee Campus
- PowerPoint Presentation on Educational Master Plan
I’ll post the final version of the Educational Master Plan under the December board meeting, as it’s coming to us then for final ratification. Kudos to Rachel Rosenthal and her team for their incredible work on this (headed up by Diane McKnight)!
Fiscal Gravity is Bringing Revolutionary Change to Education (Whether We Like It or Not)
Another thoughtful piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education, forwarded to me by a Sierra College faculty member, about the dramatic changes in higher education that are being brought about by the forces of “fiscal gravity” per se.
The financial meltdown that has caused seismic upheavals in many other corners of the economy hasn’t changed much about how colleges operate.
College leaders may be thinking about new strategies for doing more with less, and a few are actually putting those new approaches into practice. But as the country passes the first year of a supposed New Normal, few signs of revolutionary change are apparent.
The absence of radical change is probably a measure of the resiliency of the higher-education sector, the cushion provided by federal stimulus funds, and the political difficulty of instituting swift changes at such complex and decentralized organizations.
“It’s tough to be out there by yourself,” notes Suzanne Walsh, senior program director at the Lumina Foundation for Education, which has been using its grants to encourage experiments on ways to educate students at lower cost.
It may also be a sign that the full effect of the economic fallout has yet to hit home on many campuses, a perception reflected in numerous interviews with anxious higher-education leaders and in the sobering findings of a new Chronicle survey. In the survey sent to chief finance officers at four-year colleges in September, 62 percent of the respondents said they did not think the worst of the financial pressures on their institutions had passed. Nearly two-thirds of them worry that 2010, 2011, or 2012 or later, will be even tougher.
“In some respects, people are doing what they should be doing in an economic downturn,” says Paul E. Lingenfelter, president of the State Higher Education Executive Officers organization. They are aiming cuts at “soft spots” and protecting core academic programs and student aid. But as Mr. Lingenfelter and countless other observers of the sector note, even when the economy rebounds, the pressures on colleges will be greater and all the usual sources of support—states, donors, and students and their families—are likely to be less able to provide resources.
The challenge, says Mr. Lingenfelter, is for higher education’s leadership to recognize that aiming to get back to pre-crash levels of financing or educational effectiveness is not enough. “We come across to the public as totally insatiable and resistant to change,” he says. “We’ve got to improve productivity.”
At Sierra College, we’re very fortunate to have visionary and forward-thinking leadership. The college governance systems are pretty well consumed right now with stabilizing our budget situation, but we’ve already had this issue arise at the board and executive team levels, and I think we will need to soon start talking about how to foster this type of discussion among our faculty and staff.
Innovating the model of educational delivery — whether you’re talking a greater use of technology or just creating efficiencies in how we serve students — is something that this force of “fiscal gravity” will do to us, whether we like it or not.
Do you think revolutionary change is inevitable in education, or will the status quo win out? Use the comments below…I’m curious what you think!
How to Make a Difference for Orphans by Getting a Web Site for Your Church, Non-Profit or Business
My sister recently went to work for a startup company down in Southern California called Clover. They make affordable, functional and stunningly beautiful web sites, primarily focused on churches and non-profit organizations, but frankly, I don’t know why more small businesses aren’t taking a look at their offerings. It’s definitely a way to look big really fast on a tight budget.
They normally offer a prize to people who send them new customers, but until the end of the year, they’re doing a Christmas special and making the referral bonus an amazing $200.
My sister sent me this, and I decided it was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up, so here we go: if your church, non-profit, business or other organization needs an incredible web site on a fixed budget, click here to check out Clover.
If you end up becoming their customer before the end of the year, and give this blog the credit, we’ll donate 100% of all proceeds to the cause of orphan care and adoption — and I’ll match the first donation dollar for dollar.
So how about that? A chance to equip your organization with a great tool that it needs to make a great impression online, and make an incredible difference in the life of one of the 143 million orphans worldwide.
This is a total experiment, and it may result in nothing happening…but let’s give it a shot and see!
What other innovative ways can we think of to make a difference for orphans? Use the comments below to share your ideas!
Happy Thanksgiving
My extended family has much to be thankful for.
Despite hard times, we all have food, clothing and shelter. For the most part, we all have work that allows us to provide for our families. We’re all in fairly good health. Our faith is strong.
And despite the fact that many of us disagree with our country’s direction, we ought to celebrate the fact that this country affords us incredible freedoms — the same freedoms that the pilgrims above were celebrating 388 years ago.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and don’t forget to be thankful!
Sierra College Foundation Honors Mary Conkey as 2009 Partner of the Year
A well deserved kudos to Mary Conkey. She and her husband Jim have been longtime supporters of Sierra College and our broader community.
The Sierra College Foundation has awarded Mary Conkey its 2009 Outstanding Partnership Award for her support of Sierra College as chairperson of the Foundation’s annual fundraiser "A Taste of Excellence."
Individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional support and commitment to Sierra College are recognized annually at the Foundation’s Major Donor Reception, which was held recently at Sierra College’s Rocklin campus.
The Foundation presented Conkey, a Granite Bay resident, with the 2009 Outstanding Partnership Award to honor her five years as chairperson of “A Taste of Excellence,” which has become one of Placer County’s premier food- and wine-tasting events and the Foundation’s largest fundraiser. The event has raised more than $750,000 since it began in 2005.
“Mary’s leadership has been instrumental in the success of ‘A Taste of Excellence’ every year,’’ said Sonbol Aliabadi, executive director of the Sierra College Foundation. “We thank Mary for her commitment to this successful fundraiser that supports Sierra College and its students through scholarships and program funding.”
Past recipients of Outstanding Partnership Award have included Sutter Roseville Medical Center, United Auburn Indian Community, KT Communities and Fidelity Investments.
Did you know Sierra College has a foundation to foster connections between the college and the community, and to fund projects that will increase student success and college access? It’s true — and you can get an “insider’s view” of the foundation by following Executive Director Sonbol Aliabadi on Twitter.
Some Things Just Work Out
I don’t really think much of Senator Abel Maldonado, the state senator who was just appointed as Lieutenant Governor to replace John Garamendi (who took a demotion in exchange for lifetime employment in Congress). It’s not that I don’t like people with moderate political beliefs, because I get along with many of them quite well.
No, with Abel Maldonado (who I first met in 1998), it’s just the lack of any principles whatsoever. The constant willingness to sell out anyone and anything to get ahead. The flip-flopping on issues of real importance to California taxpayers in order to get sweetheart deals designed to help one and only one person: himself.
In other words, we’re dealing with a real Captain You-Planet here.
So now Governor Schwarzenegger appoints Senator Maldonado to the esteemed post of Lieutenant Governor (so esteemed, Arnold recently termed it worthless and cut its budget in half).
The Democrats don’t want Maldonado as the incumbent Lieutenant Governor because then he might have a chance to win and stay on in the job over one of their own. So all of a sudden, they’ve discovered fiscal prudence and say they want to save taxpayer money by keeping the office vacant until 2011. Talk about the grounds for a major grudge on Maldonado’s part.
So to conservatives all up in arms about this appointment, consider the fact that if things continue the way they are headed, Abel will get swindled out of the job he was appointed to, and the Democrats in the legislature will get swindled out of one of their guaranteed votes to raise taxes.
Some things just work out.
Photo Credit: Sac Bee
Chicago O’Hare
This photo popped up on the Bing.com home page, and it caught my eye because I was just walking through this colorful walkway.
If you’ve ever been to Chicago O’Hare airport, you experience a very interesting architectural feature when you are trying to get to United Airlines in Concourse C…you go down the escalators, and walk probably half a mile under the tarmac, and then head back up escalators on the other side.
The whole time…you’re hoping the engineers calculated the ceiling strength correctly as jetliners taxi over your head.
The Nobel Peace Prize Shouldn’t Cost President Obama $623,000
Pretty much everybody knows that the federal tax code is irreparably broken. That being said, I’m not sure President Obama was aware of this gem when he announced his plan to donate his $1.4 million prize to charity.
This from Bill Leonard, my elected representative on the California Board of Equalization, and a consistent friend of taxpayers…
It will cost President Obama over $623,000 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, even if he gives every penny to legitimate, tax-exempt charities!
President Obama announced that he will donate the prize money of $1.4 million to charity. Unfortunately, the President is about to learn that our federal tax system really punishes this type of generosity.
The $1.4 million prize is considered taxable income if the President or anyone else accepts it, even for purposes of re-gifting. It is still income if he just tells the Nobel Committee to send the prize money directly to charities that he supports. Believe it or not, it is still considered income to the President if he tells the Nobel Committee to send the entire prize to the federal government.
The first problem for the President is that there are strict limits to charitable contribution deductions. Generally, charitable deductions are limited to 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. If the President and the First Lady earned nothing besides the Peace Prize and his salary, then around a third of the Peace Prize would be deductible and the rest would be fully taxable, even if donated to charity.
The more costly problem for the President is that itemized deductions are phased out for taxpayers with “high” incomes, such as people who win large prizes worth $1.4 million. In fact, the alternative minimum tax can apply to couples earning as little as $69,950 which is a tax disgrace. Since the President’s salary alone is $400,000, it is safe to assume that no portion of the prize money will be deductible under this Alternative Minimum Tax even if it is all donated to charity.
Congratulations, Mr. President and thanks for being a great example of why this awful system of taxation should be repealed.
Is this a “fair” feature of our tax code? In your mind, what is the best way to fix the tax system? Would you stick with a streamlined income tax, explore a VAT or switch to consumption taxes?
Everything is Amazing, and Nobody’s Happy
An online conversation I was involved in this weekend reminded me how very right Louis CK was in his appearance on Conan back in February. It’s called “Everything is Amazing, and Nobody’s Happy.”
They’ve disabled embedding on this clip, so you’ll have to click through to YouTube to watch it. I’d complain about that…but oh, the irony.
“Like how quickly the world owes him something…that he knew existed only ten seconds ago.”
Priceless.
What amazing things do you take for granted and complain about? What drives us to do that?
