Parkland Trustees Recognize Community College Month

Parkland College's Board of Trustees recognized April as Community College Month, and posthumously awarded an honorary degree to a former student.

Prior to the regular business meeting, Trustees held a brief organizational meeting that included an award presentation to outgoing student trustee Lauren Mobo, the oath of office taken by new student trustee Jaden Campbell, and an election of board officers. Trustees unanimously approved the continuation of the current board officers in their roles for an additional year. This includes Mr. James Voyles as chair, Bianca Green as vice-chair, and Maureen Banks as secretary. 

In coordination with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), trustees approved a resolution recognizing April 2024 as Community College Month at Parkland College. The primary goal, according to ACCT, is to "improve awareness of the economic, academic, and equity advantages of attending community colleges, and to dispel longtime stigmas wrongly associated with public two-year colleges". The campaign can be seen on social media with the hashtag #CCMonth.

In addition to this resolution, the trustees approved the awarding of an honorary posthumous degree to Avery May, a Parkland student who passed away following an accident in December 2023. May, a 2022 graduate of New Palestine High School in Indiana, was working on completing his final sixteen-credit hours before his pending graduation in May 2024. May's family will be presented with a degree and his name will be placed on a memorial wall plaque in the college.

In other business, trustees approved the following purchases:

• twenty-six security cameras and accessories from Pentegra Systems of Naperville, Ill., $147,722.60
• 2025 Ford E450 StarCraf Allstar Paratransit 14 passenger handicap accessible bus from Midwest Transit Equipment of Kankakee, Ill., $122,122
• 2023 Toyota 8FGU32 Forklift from Bahrns Equipment of St Joseph, Ill., $45,000
• 38-month contracts for AuditBoard software from AuditBoard, Inc., of Cerritos, Calif. and SecurityScorecard software from SecurityScorecard, Inc., of New York, N.Y., $240,075
• the filing of the following grant applications:
  • Illinois Community College Board: Noncredit Workforce Training Initiative, $100,000
  • Secretary of State Illinois State Library: Adult Volunteer Literacy Grant, $93,511
  • Senator Durbin Congressionally Directed Spending: Dental Clinic Expansion, $5,000,000
• the acceptance of funds for:
  • Illinois Community College Board: Access and Equity in Dual Credit Project Grant, $148,234
• the following personnel appointments and modifications:
  • Ian Kunz, Senior Flight Instructor
  • Jared Priest, Telecommunicator
  • Melinda Hoepker, Career and Technical Education Department Assistant
  • Eli Ballowe, Advising and Career Services Office Assistant