Southeast Arkansas College President Stephen Hilterbra wants to offer basic education training to adults on the local campus.
“We need adult education in Jefferson County,” Hilterbran said at a SEARK Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday. “When people come here, we want to give them hope and provide something for everybody. If they are not quite at the level to benefit from our courses, we would like to give them skills to bring them up to that level.”
Such training would assist people transitioning from one career into another.
In other business, SEARK is looking to offer an online course for licensed practical nurses who wish to advance their education to become registered nurses. Diann Williams, the SEARK vice president of nursing and allied health, said she expects to implement this course in June 2015. The proposed offering would allow licensed practical nurses to take courses on the weekends, she said.
“There are a lot of LPNs who cannot afford to quit their jobs to pursue an RN,” Williams said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Board member Rebecca Pittillo, who also works at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, welcomed the idea, saying the town needs more registered nurses.
Another topic of discussion centered on renaming buildings to reflect their purposes. Hilterbran said the idea is to aid students and visitors in finding the right building, whether for classes or other services. When he was new to campus, Hilterbran said he did not find the names of buildings helpful in terms of knowing which departments they housed.
Board member Albert Lowery Jr. suggested tabling a vote on renaming buildings until the next scheduled meeting in September because many stakeholders are away on vacation.
In other business, board chairman Paul Bennett nominated Lowery as vice chairman.
The other trustees passed the motion.
In other business, the board accepted four new employees: King Smith, an institutional services assistant; Markia Herron, a distance education coordinator; Gail Nelson, an assistant director of financial aid; and Debrah Mitchell, a coordinator of student recruitment.
The board accepted seven resignations: Scott Endres, coordinator of an emergency medical training program; William McNew, faculty computer networking; Marsha Peters, faculty business technology; Charles Ogles, network analyst; King Smith, institutional services assistant; Ray Selman, administrative specialist; and Sue Jiner, institutional services assistant.
The board accepted the promotion of Kaleybra Morehead from interim to permanent vice president of academic affairs.