Parkland Board Appoints Uken to Vacant Seat

Board of Trustees General Meeting, June 15

The Parkland College Board of Trustees has appointed Mahomet resident Bradley Uken to fill the seat vacated by trustee Timothy Johnson's passing in May.

At their regular meeting Wednesday, Trustees unanimously approved Uken's appointment. Chairman James Voyles expressed his support for Uken, who was a candidate for the board in 2021. 

"A proud Parkland alum, Mr. Uken chose to step forward and enter the arena, get on the ballot, and run an excellent campaign," said Voyles. "He received broad support throughout the district in a competitive race. As director of the Champaign County Farm Bureau, he's a proven leader. We are looking forward to working with him."

Uken is a local of the community, raised on a farm in Champaign County, graduate of Rantoul Township High School, and a current resident of Mahomet. He has served for many years as the manager of the Champaign County Farm Bureau (CCFB). As manager of the CCFB​, he oversees several arms of the organization, including the Foundation, public relations, programming, membership, HR and personnel, legislative, and financial units.

An alum of Parkland College, he transferred to Illinois State University to obtain his bachelor’s degree in agri-business. He is an experienced committee member for several local boards, including the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois; the Regional Water Supply Planning Committee, where he serves as chair; and the Judicial Screening Committee, where he has served twice. He is a 12-year member of the Champaign Rotary Club, among other volunteer organizations. He will serve until the next board election in April 2023.

After administering the oath of office to Trustee Uken, Dr. Ramage presented his report to the board. Next, Erin Shannon, director of Marketing and Public Relations, provided an overview of marketing initiatives and outlined the strategic direction for the future.

In other business, trustees approved:

• bid from K.K. Stevens Publishing Co., $46,936
• the purchase of:
  • services from ThriveDX SaaS Inc. (Cybint), $48,000
  • services from ProTrain, $70,000
  • services from Black Rocket Productions, $25,000
  • services from Strategic Development Institute, $25,000
  • services from Grey & Associates, $30,000
  • services from Rock Gate Capital, DBA 160 Driving Academy, $1,100,000
  • repair services from Poplar Grove Airmotive, Inc., $106,500
  • maintenance services from FlightStar, $230,720
  • line services from FlightStar, $75,200
  • aviation fuel from AvFuel Corporation, $265,000
  • annual software license/maintenance renewal, $1,621,350
  • instructional/office computer hardware and software, $2,195,000
  • EBSCO Parkland Learning Commons Package renewal from EBSCO Information Services, $34,770
  • SPARK Institutional Repository renewal from Elsevier Inc., $79,923
  • CARLI databases renewal, $41,419
• the filing of the following grant applications:
  • Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE): Illinois Cooperative Work Study (ICWS) Grant
  • Illinois Community College Board (ICCB): Career & Technical Education Perkins Postsecondary Grant
  • Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE): Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE)—Curricular Resource Management
  • Illinois Community College Board: FY23 Early School Leaver Transition Program (ESLTP)
• the acceptance of funds from external sources:
  • Illinois Community College Board (ICCB): Lumina Employment Connection Project (ECP) (WEI network)
  • Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO): Line-Item Appropriation Grant
  • Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT): FY21 Highway Construction Careers Training Program (HCCTP)
  • Illinois Community College Board (ICCB): Early Childhood Access for Equity Consortium
• personnel appointments: 
  • Adam Harris, Program Manager, SWFT, Communications/External Affairs
  • Dustin Shattuck, Academic Success Advisor, Counseling and Advising
  • Kristin Kelleher, Assistant Technical Director, Fine and Applied Arts
  • Alexis Grady-Coburn, TRiO Office Assistant, TRiO