One of 12 community college presidents from across the country who will serve on the advisory council

Dr. Lisa Rhine

Yavapai College President, Dr. Lisa B. Rhine, has been selected to serve on the inaugural Aspen Presidential Fellowship Alumni Advisory Council. Dr. Rhine will be one of 12 community college presidents from across the country who will serve on the advisory council. Dr. Rhine was a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Presidential Fellows College Excellence Program in 2018.

The Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices and leadership that significantly improve student learning, completion, and employment after college—especially for the growing population of students of color and low-income students on American campuses.

“The Aspen Presidential Fellowship helped me learn and grow into a professional candidate, and I am honored to serve on the inaugural alumni advisory council,” said Dr. Rhine. “Connecting other leaders from around the country through the Aspen Alumni Fellowship will only further improve student lives by leveraging the capacity of our colleges to improve learning, access, equity, and labor market outcomes.”

The Aspen Presidential Fellowship Alumni Advisory Council will:

Assist in the recruitment and selection of future classes of rising presidents and new president fellows.

Serve as a bench of experts and advisors for Aspen to receive feedback on ongoing activities with the alumni network, new curriculum development, and needs of the network.

Coordinate touchpoints with cohorts, including virtual and in-person networking events.

For more information on the Aspen College Excellence Program, click here.

Source: Aspen Institute Facebook posting.

District Governing Board votes 4-1 to table accounting report to next meeting asking College to explain the difference

Paul Chevalier

While reviewing financial reports submitted to the Governing Board for its November meeting, Third District Yavapai Community College Governing Board Representative Paul Chevalier was the only Board member to discover a discrepancy in two financial reports  that apparently should have contained identical totals.    The difference between the totals in the two reports was $172,671. 

After Chevalier raised the issue of the discrepancy in the reports during the meeting, Dr. Clint Ewell, Vice President of  Finance & Administrative Services,  agreed that  the reports should have contained  identical totals. The matter was then tabled for further discussion to the next Governing Board meeting in January  with a request that the College  explain the difference at that  meeting.

The discrepancy showed up after the College had submitted its typical regular monthly financial report to the Board that showed expenditures of $10,527,828 for the first three months of the year.  In a second report that contained a list of  the top ten expenditures from the General Fund during the same period (which included an “other” category), the total came to only $10,355,157.  Sharp-eyed Chevalier realized the totals should have been the same, calculated  the $172,671 difference, and asked for an explanation.   With no immediate explanation coming from the College accounting department, the matter was then tabled to the next meeting for further explanation.

You may view the Governing Board conversation about discrepancy in the three-minute video clip below.

More than 50 “hybrid” classes, each of which combine remote study with carefully supervised in-person learning, added

Yavapai Community College has announced that it will add more than 50 hybrid classes in the Winter semester, which begins in January, that combine remote study with “carefully supervised in-person learning.”  Classes that will be added range from “Ceramics to Zumba, from Big Band Music and Ballroom Dance to Competitive Swimming to Pickleball.” There will also be a selection of “Art, Dance, Music and Physical Education” courses.

You may view Community College President Lisa Rhine’s recent comment made during her November 11 update about  the hybrid offerings in the short video clip below.

Sources:  Yavapai Community College story by Michael Grady dated November 9, 1920; Video update by Dr. Lisa Rhine dated November 11, 2020.

Recommending bringing back activity classes, in performing and visual arts, music, and physical education areas

Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine and her Executive Leadership team have decided to recommend to the Governing Board that more face-to-face classes be added to the spring semester, 2021. They are recommending the Community College  bring back activity class in performing and visual arts, music and physical education areas.

The recommendation will go to the Governing Board for formal approval at its next general meeting, which is scheduled for October 20, 2020. 

You may view the short announcement of this decision made by President Rhine in the video clip below.

When completed, administration will  take recommendations to Governing Board for approval

Yavapai Community College president Lisa Rhine and her executive leadership team are working on plans for how classes will be offered in the spring 2021 semester.  Once those plans are complete, they will be presented to the District Governing Board for approval.

For Dr. Rhine, the most important consideration for spring semester is the safety of students, staff and faculty.  She and her staff are looking at the experiences of other colleges with Covid-19 for ideas in how to approach spring semester. Many or them have seen a spike in Covid-19 among students once classes began.

 They are also using state, national and CDC guidelines in arriving at  any decisions.

Please see the video clip below for additional information on spring plans.

Drive-thru testing on Prescott Campus Sept 15, 22, and 29 from 9.a.m. to noon; testing on Verde Campus on September 15, 29 from 9 a.m. to noon

Yavapai Community College president Lisa Rhine has announced a Covid-19 testing program that will be available to its students, employees and their families.  The drive-thru testing on the Prescott Campus will be from 9 a.m. to noon on September 15, 22 and 29. The testing site is on Parking lot “A” in front of the Performing Arts Center.

 The drive-thru testing on the Verde Campus will be on September 15, 29 from 9 a.m. to noon. The testing site is on Parking lot #8, which is located on the backside of the campus near building “L.”

The tests will be conducted by Spectrum health.  Students, faculty or their families are encouraged to pre-register online before driving to the testing site.  This may reduce wait time for up to 10-15 minutes.

Spectrum Health says it will take most insurance and will work with those who do not have health insurance.

You may view Dr. Rhine’s announcement to the students, faculty and their families in the video below.

A must read for Yavapai citizens interested in the College and its future

The recent edition of “Prescott Living Magazine” provides an in-depth interview of Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine.  It should be a must read for anyone in Yavapai County interested in the leader of its Community College and the College’s future. 

The entire article can be found online by clicking here. 

The interview, conducted and then written by Mr. Ray Newton, explores Dr. Rhine’s early childhood, her educational achievements, and her vision of the future for Yavapai Community College. As Mr. Newton points out, Dr. Rhine  represents  a major philosophical shift about the role of higher education in a dynamically changing social and economic marketplace.

Dr. Rhine explained in the article that  “We’ve a new view of how post-secondary education should be structured to meet personal and societal needs. We’re putting that vision into place at Yavapai College. Classes and curricula now fit the needs of students instead of making students fit what for years have been academic policies based on centuries-old tradition.”

Aside from philosophy and expansive information about the College, the article provides some back-grounding that most readers should find fun and interesting.  For example, did you know that Dr. Rhine was nominated to dance for the Dancing with the Stars fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northern Arizona? A charity event. This caused her and her husband to sign up  for dance lessons. Dr. Rhine says they now “do Latin dances — the bachata and salsa — several times a week, and we love it.”