OGLESBY – Illinois Valley Community College will again have a full-time food service starting with the fall semester Aug. 15.

Board members approved a one-year contract with Arbor Management to provide full food service for $2,500 a month. Arbor presently works with Mendota, Rochelle and Streator highs schools, among others, said Vice President for Business Services Matt Seaton.

Until Arbor opens in the cafeteria and cyber cafe in fall, IVCC will again schedule food trucks for late spring and summer.

The meeting began with a presentation on student demographics by Vice President for Student Services Mark Grzybowski.

IVCC continues to do a good job recruiting recent high school graduates, Grzybowski said. Last fall, 18-year-olds accounted for 23.2 percent of total enrollment, up 2 percent from 2018.

“This indicates the positive impact we are making with our traditional high school age students,” Grzybowski said. 

IVCC President Jerry Corcoran agreed saying, “Our outreach to high school students is paying off. Thanks again to the board for supporting a tuition freeze for another year and allowing the administration to continue exploring incentive-retention programs with resources from HEERF (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund).

“I urge high school students and their parents to take advantage of these opportunities while they can,” Corcoran added.

In other action, the board placed the Process Operators certificate on inactive status. The program was created to address a perceived need for lab technicians in industry but student demand never materialized.

The board learned:

• Non-tenured faculty renewed for the coming academic year were Christina Boughton and Samantha Whiteaker, nursing; Cathy Lenkaitis, nursing lab; Jonathan Hubbell, criminal justice; Nancy McDonnell, cybersecurity; Theresa Molln, welding; Emily Morgan, math; Rick Pretzsch, economics; Charles Raimondi, electricity and electronics; and Kaity Ritter, Certified Medical Assistant.
• Early Childhood Education’s accreditation with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has been deactivated. As a “Gateways-Entitled Institution” the program now reports to Gateways.
• Tracy Schwemlein was hired as staff accountant in the Business Office and Angela Partridge as an administrative assistant in Student Services.
• IVCC’s financial aid default rate dropped from 7.9 percent in 2018 to 2.2 percent in 2019, said IVCC President Jerry Corcoran. The primary reason for the decrease was the pause in student loan repayments due to COVID-19. There is a three-year lag in default reporting.
• The annual employee recognition reception is Friday, April 22 at Grand Bear Resort in Utica. Social Hour begins at 4 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres at 4:30 and awards at 5:30.
• Automotive technology instructor Art Koudelka won the 2022 Stephen Charry Teaching Excellence award and Human Resources administrative assistant Paula Hallock the Connie Skerston Memorial Award for Support Staff Distinguished Service. Both will be recognized at the April 22 event
• A Feb. 23 Black History Month event featured David “DJ” Lee discussing the influence of Hip Hop and Rap on American Culture. The Edible Car Contest, that same day, drew a crowd of competing schools and guests.
• A staff development day included an active shooter presentation by Oglesby police.
• Corcoran and Seaton met recently with Oglesby officials to discuss, among other things, contracting for a full-time Oglesby police officer on campus.