Master Plan Steering Committee Meeting Summary – 02/26/09

Attendees:

Steering Committee Members:
Regent James Bishop
Mr. Ray Calvert
Mr. Rodney Clements
Mr. Gary Colberg
Dr. Valerie Hepburn
Ms. Pat Hodnett-Cooper
Ms. Diana Murphy
Mr. Floyd Phoenix
Ms. Jessica Ramirez
Mr. Tom Saunders
Mr. Ray Snow
Mayor Bryan Thompson
Dr. Andrea Wallace
Mr. Tony Wege
Mr. David Zimmerman


Absent: Duane Harris, Ms. LaVerne Cooper

Ex-Officio:
Director Connie Patrick

CCG Staff:
Ms. Cynthia Atwood, AVP, Planning and Risk Management
Mr. Gary Strickland, Director of Facilities and Plant Operations

Eva Klein Associates:
Ms. Sarah Freidel
Ms. Eva Klein
Mr. Aaron Schwarz

Meeting Summary:

Greetings and Updates:

A. Mr. Mike Hodges, acting on behalf of Chair Duane Harris, welcomed everyone to the meeting. He directed attendees to review their packets and noted the articles in the Mariners’ Log, one written by Cynthia Atwood which addressed the Master Plan, as well as an article written by President Hepburn. He also complimented a new advertising/recruitment piece composed by Dr. Hepburn and Elizabeth Weatherly called “The Viewbook”.

B. Dr. Hepburn introduced and welcomed Mr. Ray Snow, a member of the Glynn County Board of Education, who will be representing the school system on the Master Plan Steering Committee.

C. Notable Updates included the following:

1. The recruitment process is in full swing. New hires are well credentialed and the new degree programs have numerous applicants.
2. A signed Memorandum of Understanding will soon be in place between the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. This needs to be accomplished for the transfer of technical programs to Altamaha Tech.
3. CCGA now has food service on campus. The Coastal Café is run by the Southeast Georgia Health System and is located in the Student Center. Dr. Hepburn invited all committee members to participate in the Ribbon-cutting ceremony today at 10:00.
4. Mr. Reg Murphy will chair an Athletic Futures Committee to help the College explore what direction athletics should take over the next couple of years. CCGA will stay at the Junior College level for the next two years.

Confirmation of “strategic” and “programmatic” elements of Strategic Master Plan:
(please refer to handout in packet)

A. Time Horizons

1. Ms. Klein defined and listed “Tactical” and “Strategic” timeframes as defined in her handout.

B. Vision / Identity / Brand

1. Ms. Klein’s slide presentation included a recap of information collected in committee meetings and focus groups defining what elements are involved in creating a distinct identity that would draw students to the College.
2. The committee is comfortable with the brand: Providing outstanding education for tomorrow’s leaders and citizens through service learning, global awareness, and engaged entrepreneurship.
3. Please refer to handout to read the mission of the College.

C. Students

1. The Endgame ideal target for male-female demographic mix would be similar to national norms.
2. At Endgame the target is about 45% of 10,000 (4,500 students) who would be from beyond the region. 55% would be from within the 12 county primary service region.
3. The beginning number of beds for on-campus residential students is 300. A discussion led to the agreement that it should be mandatory for freshmen students to live on campus (with defined exceptions).
4. It may be possible to grow the campus housing with approved off campus housing simultaneously. Mayor Thompson will work with people on the front end for “approved” housing.
5. CCGA’s student mix by age cohorts today is split fairly evenly between “traditional” age and “adults”. This figure is appropriate for the future as well.

D. Programs

1. Ms. Klein listed a strategic framework to be used as a guide for degree program development.
2. Six strategic factors will drive future degree program development (included in PowerPoint).
3. Three proposed “strategic” realms for community and economic development programs are small business development services, regional workforce analysis and economic forecasting, and service learning partnerships.
4. In the area of Student Life, Ms. Klein’s presentation listed basic premises, strategic goals, objectives and action items for consideration (included in PowerPoint).
5. Policy issues need to be in place in order to achieve the College’s enrollment goals.
6. A broad-scale marketing initiative and a tactical recruitment plan will be required to expand the applicant pool.
7. Student support services include academic advising, tutoring, information technology, library, career development services, distance learning, service learning and cultural and community educational programming.
8. It is advisable to put the most-used services in one place and cross-train front counter personnel. Having private spaces for consultations is also a requirement.
9. Future needs are an efficient web-based delivery system, modern equipment and expanded bandwidth.
   
   

E. Resources

1. Student:Faculty Ratio should average about 30:1 in 2010, with some programs like nursing and education requiring a smaller ratio.
2. Faculty growth should occur at the same rate as the growth in student headcount.
3. Staff (professional, administrative, clerical) can be projected to grow by 2% per year.
4. The College is deficient in laboratory space (included in PowerPoint). Classrooms allow 22 sq. ft. per person and are used 35 hours/week. Low intensity labs allow 50 sq. ft. per person and are used 25 hours/week. High intensity labs allow 85 sq. ft. per station and the assumed use per week is 35 hours.
5. Ms. Klein defined a need for a 60,000 square foot Student Center.

Overview Presentation of Master Plan Concepts:

A. Recap of Existing Issues

1. 1. The existing campus consists of 193 acres, 11 buildings and 253,000 gross square feet.
2. The buildings on campus are not in bad condition but some should be “repurposed”.
3. There is an important central core with buildings clustered together; peripheral buildings do not contribute to that core. Mr. Schwarz would like to strengthen the central core.

B. The 2020 Vision

1. Mr. Schwarz would like to bring the natural landscape into the campus core. To do so, the lake will be extended, intersecting with walkways. It will be a bio-habitat.
2. In the plan, there are defined central quadrangles. Strong pedestrian circulation will be established and greenspace will replace the faculty/staff parking lot.
3. A recreational core with recreation fields for student and community use are envisioned for the north end of the campus.
4. Parking will move out of the center of campus to the periphery.
5. The north entrance of Altama Avenue will be established as a “front door” with the 4th Street entrance (including one new entrance on 4th) utilized for everyday traffic. Roadways will be shifted to simplify vehicular traffic. The southern Altama entrance will have a barrier of some kind to stop traffic from entering and exiting.
6. The open space around the lake will be defined.
7. Venues for student life will hinge together academic and residential activity.
8. Presently, campus property is made up of 2% buildings, 8% paved roads and 90% open space. In 2020, those figures will be 6% buildings, 24% paved roads and 70% open space.
9. Residential buildings will be built around the lake. They will be 2 – 3 stories tall.
   10. A 750 seat or larger Performing Arts Center will be built on the corner of 4th Street and Altama Avenue.
10. The 2020 vision includes a new academic building, an expansion of the library, a refacing of the Administration building, a larger central plant space, and a bigger gym. A student center built on the other side of the expanded lake would be the “bridge” between academic and residential sectors.

C. Phasing – The Roadmap from 2010 to 2020

1. Immediate initiatives for 2009-2010 that can be undertaken with little resources are: the renovation of the Applied Tech building into a temporary student life center, the relocation of all student services from the Administration Building to the existing student center, the closing of the faculty/staff parking lot to create an open quadrangle, and the enhancement of pedestrian pathways in that area.
2. Adding a student health center to the campus will happen in this first phase.
3. In a discussion of initiatives for 2010-2015, the committee approved the location of the new 50,000 sq. ft. Health and Sciences Building that will be built just south of the Administration Building. Because the building will be 2-3 stories high, it will be visible from Altama Avenue. It will contain multipurpose wet labs. Mr. Schwarz addressed the question of expansion of the building and said that was a possibility. Also, down the road, the Administration Building may be repurposed to support academic programs if space in the Health and Sciences Building becomes an issue.
4. Other initiatives for 2010 – 2015 are:
   • Renovation of core buildings (Academic, Science and Allied Health)
   • Relocation of faculty offices (possibly repurpose the Science Building for faculty offices and meeting space)
   • Closing of the south Altama entrance to thru traffic and formation of a new parking lot for faculty/staff of the Administration and Health & Sciences Building (close to Altama Ave.)
   • Expansion of the Coffin Building parking lot
   • Addition of a new Academic Building
   • Building of a new Student Center
   • Building the Fine Arts/Performing Arts Center
   • Building of residential housing in 300 bed increments
   • Expansion of the lake to accommodate impervious surface added to campus
5. 2020 Initiatives are:
   • The addition of an Academic/Administrative/Study building
   • The addition of a student athletic facility
   • The addition of a Student Center/Kiosk Building
   • The re-routing of circulation
   • Moving student parking
   • Extending water (lake) into the campus core
   • Building additional residences on campus
   • Building an additional plant facility

D. Architectural Vocabulary

1. Mr. Schwarz discussed facades, light, color, shade, and shadow.
2. The best asset at the College is the landscape. To accent that, Mr. Schwarz suggested adding more water features, more glass, tile or metal roofs and overhangs to buildings made of timber or natural low maintenance materials. He would use vertical accents to compliment an otherwise horizontal campus.
3. It would be preferable to have a campus of consistency in terms of the look and feel.
4. To refurbish existing buildings, some brick should be removed and glass should replace them. Masonry or stucco could bring out color. It is important to stay away from replicating the style which currently exists.
5. Mr. Schwarz will be bringing examples of more glass, open balconies and water to the next meeting. Prior to that meeting on April 16, he will provide “sections” of the plan.
6. The College mission should be reflected in the buildings.
   

Informal Discussion:

A. Athletics

1. More space should be reserved in the Master Plan for athletic fields for intra-mural and inter-mural sports. Mr. Schwarz is not sure there is enough in the projected plan.
2. The school system athletic director will be asked about shared use of athletic fields and the stadium with the high school(s).
3. Building a small intramural field house should be added to the plan.

B. Land Acquisition

1. The campus can hold a population of 10,000 students with no acquisitions. However, it is always advisable, if funds allow, to purchase additional land to accommodate higher student numbers.
2. There is a 50 acre parcel near the Health Department that had been a landfill that could possibly be reclaimed for athletic fields.

C. Performing Arts Center

1. The committee voted to approve the building of a Performing Arts Center on campus regardless of the funding source.
2. The center would be a performance venue for the symphony and would provide the community with conferencing capabilities.
3. The committee agreed it would be worthwhile to explore this venture with the Board of Education, attorneys, the city, the Chamber and other principals to see if local funds could be used to build all or part of the Center. Mr. Snow thought this could work with time and number adjustments because it would be a community effort and operate for the public good.

D. Next Meeting

1. The next meeting will take place on April 16, 2009.