There will be a special meeting of the COD Board of Trustees tonight. We will not have a blogger at this meeting. You can find the agenda, board packet, and streaming links on the Trustees’ webpage: http://cod.edu/about/board_of_trustees/
We will be posting public comments by Glenn Hansen, CODFA President, and Richard Jarman, CODFA Vice President, later this evening.
http://cod.edu/multimedia_services/botmedia.aspx
Thanks to Multimedia Services for very timely work, and to Chairman Hamilton and the Trustees for ensuring access to meeting recordings.
8. Adoption of FY2016 Budget
Chair Hamilton reviews history of development of budget, has been posted for several months, public comment heard.
Bernstein makes an amendment to reduce a line item by $6m. Passes 4-1, Wozniak against.
Wozniak reads a comment from McGuire, who is not present. She is against it, too little revenue and enormous expenses. High legal fees. Wozniak agrees with her.
Bernstein: I respectfully disagree. Notes previous budgeting practices. Legal expenses: we are cleaning up a bad situation.
Wozniak: spoke with Waterleaf GM just before it closed. If it continued as it were, next year it would turn a profit. Takes time for a restaurant to establish itself.
Napolitano: Legal costs stem from federal investigations into matters that pre-date many members of the board. We don’t know what those investigations will or will not reveal.
Hamilton: always a lot of discussion about what we’re spending on lawyers and accountants, and it is because we have to comply with federal investigations. Hamilton reads a closing statement: We are telling the truth – the last few budgets were not management tools, but political operations. Fund balance grew and grew with taxpayer and tuition dollars we should not have collected – but the budget figures did not reflect what we really needed, and anyone who asked questions was silenced. Reads an annual amount adding up to $126million total we were played for cash cows. No one challenged spending. Budget was used to hide money. Start now with new foundation, fiscal certainty. No budget in COD’s history has had more public involvement. This budget puts students first, respects taxpayers, recognizes staff – appropriate raises, cuts the deficit from $16m to $11m. Marks the end of outrageous waste at the Waterleaf. Funds the clean-up costs for investigations left by prior boards and the prior boards’ utter failure to manage employees. Fund balance more than $200m in the bank. Some of that will be used as insurance against problems with state funding. Next year’s budget will be our product from beginning to end, voters deserve change at COD, restore credibility, telling the truth about important things. Major improvement, points the way.
Roll call vote: all vote yes except Wozniak.
17. Tuition and Fee Proposal – corollary to budget. This is the agenda item that was amended when the agenda was approved. Ends $3 student service fee against issues with state payments, collected for many years despite the fact that vast majority of state payments were made.
9. Closed Session
This ends tonight’s blog coverage. Please view the live stream which will pick up as soon as the trustees return from closed session. http://www.cod.edu/multimedia_services/botmedia.aspx
7. Presentation: Buffalo Theater Ensemble. Dr. Daniel Lloyd, Dean Liberal Arts; Diana Martinez, Director MAC; Connie Canady Howard, Professor Theater.
Lloyd introduced theater faculty members, Connie Canady Howard and Amelia Barrett. Howard briefly reviewed the history of the ensemble and some of the data about performance runs and revenues, including sudden demands and reversals of recent years. They began a pledge drive, but someone shut it down and stopped the acceptance of pledges. Howard listed benefits and impact of BTE. Would be possible to return in Fall 2016. Support and belief in the value are needed. Packets provided to the BOT.
Lloyd reviewed theater program profile. Listed courses, compared FTE enrollments among different fine arts programs: student FTEs in theater is the smallest. Commented on the decision to end support of BTE. Showed slide of declining ticket revenue and attendance. Subs had declined but bumped up in the last year 2013. Gave figures on pledge drives, compared with New Philharmonic. Mentioned very limited number of students directly involved as actors or tech on shows.
Chair Hamilton asked about the slide. Says that revenue seems to be driven by the number of shows. What is the story behind that? Lloyd says that year was anomalous because the Mac was closed. Ham says, you need to have more performances in order to make up. Would like to see analysis, not clear what decision was based on. Lloyd says that the decision was made to approach BTE and New Phil with a different accounting system. In-kind contributions were a considerable factor. Ham says that the accounting and in-kind contributions have to be understood. More performances needed to recoup fixed costs.
Bernstein commented in terms of revenue per performance. Revenue increased per show. Lloyd says the number of tickets is constant across seasons. Bernstein asks how to account for revenue performance being higher. It looks like having more performances would yield more revenue.
Mazzochi asks if the students’ tickets are included in numbers of tickets. [some comments are inaudible] Howard explains that they are, but their tickets are often discounted.
Bernstein comments on the faculty presentation being at odds with Lloyd’s presentation. What it tells me is that the faculty is justifying BTE and why it should have continued, and you are telling us why it should have been discontinued. Lloyd says, we were asked to look at it from a different perspective. Next part of the presentation is about moving forward, will shed more light.
Mazzochi asks if there are any numbers on the chart that the faculty disagree with. [response inaudible] Lloyd states that the presentation was developed collaboratively.
Martinez argues that no one can make back their investment in a 3-week run. If we bring this back, let’s do it right. There are new factors in the market, musical theater at the Paramount. Their subscribers are ours, also Drury Lane. We have to understand the market we’re competing in. Very difficult to be a non-profit and earn revenue like a commercial theater. Very hard to break even based on ticket sales. DIfficult to take an educational model and make money, especially in a small theater, the numbers aren’t there. Community theater typically has a community-based infrastructure that generates financial support – BTE does not have this. Adding new shows to the MAC will require staff. Technical staff can be done by show instead of by permanent staff with salary and benefits. Wrong to limit shows by size of cast. Advertise throughout run of show. With planning, move from 60/40 to 70/30% revenue/support. Fundraising potential is poor right now – corporations do not want to put their name on our brand right now. IL Arts Council grants are frozen. Project $146k loss in year 1, tapering off down to about $100k after 4 years. Need a year to catch up on applying for grants.
Bernstein asks whether it’s possible to do more than 4 performances/week. Martinez: adding two weeks to each run adds a lot of shows. Very aggressive. If the sales are there, add another show. Have to look at equity contracts. Can’t afford to jump a category.
Bernstein asks who would fill role of Executive Director. Martinez: part time job at $30k. Bernstein: would the 1000 signers of the petition convert to subscribers? Martinez: lots of them are students, have to be real. No deep pool of big donors. Need to focus on grants. Bernstein: type of productions, is there a healthy tension between edifying the community and selling tickets? Martinez: faculty is not worried about commercial sales. It would make my life easier if it was more commercially appealing. This is more of an education program that should be funded. Hard for me to assume responsibility for revenues without having any say in the programming.
Mazzochi asks what if BTE is just using the MAC as a space, and they developed all their own management infrastructure? What is the cost? Martinez: that would not cost much, but the reality is, they are us, we are them, evolved organically, not so simple to split apart the roles. Mazz: would BTE be displacing any other shows? Martinez: not a problem.
Bernstein: compliments Martinez and says must strike balance for financial responsibility.
Ham: everyone is very appreciative of the time and energy spent on this presentation.
Wozniak: this is something we should be putting money into. We wouldn’t be putting money into a high-priced firm that is costing us tons of money. I took theater classes here as a student too.
Ham: No vote scheduled for tonight. Asks Bernstein to confer with Pres Collins and develop next steps.
5. Student Trustee Report – Service Learning
Students gain benefits from service learning including higher retention rates, learning course concepts in a hands-on setting, satisfaction of making contribution through service hours to community organizations. Video presentation.
Announced homecoming, two bands.
October Hispanic Heritage Month, visiting artist, panel discussion. Refer questions to Earl Dowling.
6. President’s Report
Joe Collins. Events demonstrate how faculty and staff go above and beyond. Described Open House for over 700 guests. More than 50 faculty on hand. At the MAC, dedication of Belushi Performance Hall drew 500 people. Laps with Chaps, 700 people. Astronomy professor last night drew over 400. These events happen year in year out, every year, important effort.
Recognition of Saraliz Jimenez, director of our Latino Outreach Center, who was honored at the state level for her work supporting Latino/a students in higher education.
Ida Hagman. Spoke in favor of the BTE based on the quality and the challenging content. Was a visionary act to establish it. Great education opportunity, very meaningful to audiences. Bring it back, get a subscription and go!
Maggie Opal. Spoke in support of the excellent opportunities in theater classes and BTE.
Ed Franckowiak. Referenced co-mingling of funds between COD and the Foundation. Public funds, have the issues of FOIA requests to foundation been settled? Concerned about Hamilton’s email address.
Kirk Allen. Disappointed that McGuire is not here. But not really. Subpeona on house accounts used by admins and trustees, also documents that support the approval of those expenditures. Those documents don’t exist – or you lied to me on my FOIA. What isn’t found is telling. Only location of American flag is in front of HEC, should be addressed.
Paul Lefort. Commented on Birt’s absences. Will she be a full-time for part-time board member? What is her budget position? How many meetings to miss before considered to abandon position? Supports the new budget, more realistic, provides relief for students and taxpayers. Also commented on the consultant who spoke last week and said she recommended against hiring Breuder. Asks Wozniak if he knew of her recommendation and if so did he ignore it, and why?
Jennifer Schwartz. Speaking on behalf of BTE, a current student and theater major. It’s “miraculous” the experience of working with theater faculty and the level of professionalism they offer. Talkbacks offer incredible insight.
Laura Voss. BTE has blessed me as a resident, and I have grown as a person.
Grace Beifuss. Student. Did not have sense of direction, started acting and taking classes at COD. BTE moved me along as a student and as a person. Changed my life.
Miguel Marino. Has been speaking at BOT meetings and was befriended by Monica Miller, Breuder’s secretary, who said that if she was his mother, she would be proud of him. Learned of her upcoming termination. Reaching out to help her find a new place at COD. Hope her opportunities will not be limited because she has not done anything wrong here.
Robert Bailey. Member of Buffalo Theater Ensemble. Asked audiences to be changed by their experience. Non-profit, driven by ensemble. Always embraced by community and college. Mentoring and offering class visits. Thrived for 27 years. Dismantled by just one man – can be undone. Community wants us back, students want us back. Please, bring us back.
Richard Jarman CODFA Vice President
It’s winter 1996. I am part of a theatre group in Naperville. One of the members floats the proposal that we take some acting classes at COD to hone our craft. So I screwed my courage to the sticking point and introduced myself to the academic rigors of College of DuPage. One of the requirements of taking the Acting classes was going to see shows and write critiques on them. Buffalo Theatre Ensemble allowed us to fulfill at least part of this requirement.
But it was much more than that. An example: our instructor, Madonna Freeburn, was cast in the hysterically funny, and not-at-all weird, Michael Frayn farce Noises Off. So we got a sneak preview of a show in a late stage of rehearsal. Nothing like watching your instructor doing her stuff in a professional setting to reinforce credibility. Sure we had some adventures going to see storefront shows in Chicago, but none had quite the impact that going to BTE did.
Last month we listened to the testimonials of many former students and other community members. You received a petition with more than a thousand signatures. You received letters. In response to this upwelling of support, there will be a presentation tonight about BTE.
I don’t know what you will hear but I would surmise that important criteria are, the impact on education and students, the impact on the community and the costs involved to make all that happen. How many students could be affected by BTE and how to count them? My argument would be anyone enrolled in a theatre class. We have almost 3,000 students in chemistry per year, yet I am confident that I could count on the fingers of one hand the number who become professional chemists. That’s not the point: they are chemistry students.
While we strive for data-driven decision making, there is a role for the intangibles: those factors less easily quantified, and metrics should not necessarily be applied uniformly across the panoply of institutional activities.
Consider the radio station. It’s impact on education? There is no credit program in radio here. It has proved a steady drain on college resources. Yet it has perceived value in the community. That’s okay.
Friday concerts at our own Ravinia by Lake DeShane are immensely popular. While fake Beatles and Abba impersonators are not for me, the community likes them and they generate good PR. Yet they generate no direct revenue. That’s okay.
Some programs make money, while others lose. Some programs are big and others small. Provided the collective whole is sustainable that is what matters. It often comes down to an innate sense of what is right. I strongly believe that bringing BTE back is the right thing to do and the community is overwhelmingly in support of this happening.
Chair Hamilton made a brief comment on First Amendment Rights and the right of the public to address the board.
Joseph Enders. Denied First Amendment Rights. Wants to start a student organization. Thanks BOT members for supporting him. Wants to end Breuder-era policies.
Gino Impellizzeri. Emeritus Professor and Scholar, COD. Congratulated BOT on voiding Breuder’s contract. However, motivation must be addressed. Read quote from Tribune about the lame-duck board actions. Asked board to call those board members as witnesses.
Glenn Hansen CODFA President [in separate post].
Richard Jarman, CODFA Vice President [in separate post]
Steve Schroeder. Good evening and thank you for this opportunity.
Tonight I speak to you as a member of the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee, also known as the Jeff Awards. For forty-seven years, the Jeff Awards has served Chicago like the Tony Awards serve Broadway. Last year, the Jeff Awards widened their judging boundary to include an ever-growing and vibrant professional suburban theatre scene. Unfortunately and ironically, shortly before that decision was implemented, Dr. Breuder recommended to the Board of Trustees the elimination of support for Buffalo Theatre Ensemble. That unfortunate decision has created significant missed opportunities for the College of DuPage in terms of recognition, diversity, and education.
Concerning recognition, over my past two years of service on the Jeff Committee, I have judged 355 professional theatre productions. I can honestly say that the work done by Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE) stacks up to the best that Chicago has to offer. Had the Board continued support for BTE, I am positive that they would have received recommendations, nominations, and perhaps even major awards. This would have brought significant and positive attention and acclaim to our college, not to mention increased campus attendance.
Much of the deserved recognition comes from a commitment to diversity. Of the 355 productions I have judged for the Jeff Awards, I’ve seen the same show done by different companies only six times. Both Chicago and BTE are committed to producing a variety of voices, sometimes controversial, sometimes provocative, but always meaningful. BTE’s commitment to balancing popular work with more obscure offerings is one of its primary strengths both artistically and, I argue, commercially, especially here in the Chicago market. It seems that a commitment to diversity leads to a more committed audience. Whether BTE produce Neil Simon or Neil LaBute, Shakespeare or Sondheim, they always do so with the same commitment to excellence, entertainment, and education.
In fact, that commitment to both diversity and education is what truly sets BTE apart from any other Chicago theatre company I’ve experienced. I have yet to see another company in our area provide the level of educational resources and outreach as BTE, and this includes even such renowned companies as Court Theatre at the University of Chicago. From workshops and dialogues conducted directly in our classrooms to publishing study guides for the use of schools and community organizations throughout our district, BTE is committed to education, which is our top priority.
Hopefully you now recognize that investing in BTE will reap dividends like increased positive attention, increased diversity, and increased educational opportunities. Indeed, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is an act we all need to catch.
Tonight you will hear a presentation about the Buffalo Theater Ensemble. You have the wonderful opportunity to consider the future of one of the true gems that has put College of DuPage on the higher education map and the Chicagoland map. It is our belief that a student attending College of DuPage should have every educational opportunity that a student attending a 4-year public or private institution has. They need to be intellectually challenged like any first or second year college student. The community attends to be engaged not just entertained. We are a unique community college, we should not think like the cliché, but instead we should do everything we can to break that misconception.
What is very important to note is that BTE is on tonight’s agenda because of requests from students, alumni, and members of our community. Since the decision to end the presence of BTE on campus, there have been campaigns for its return. Not driven by the faculty members, who advocated for the project within the administrative structure until they were told “NO”, but by the public. In contrast I’ve not heard anyone advocating for the return of the Waterleaf.
As to whether or not BTE returns to campus must be driven by consideration of the tangible and intangible academic outcomes it provides to College of DuPage students and the COD community; not easily expressed by the charting of profit and losses or attendance. Is BTE important to the Theater program and the College for what it provides as a learning experience? The productions that were presented were not meant to be easy and accessible, they were to challenge the audience in many ways. This is higher education; not high school, not dinner theater. There is an academic obligation to move the audience out of their comfort zone, just as there is in much of our curriculum.
In many ways BTE is representative of the other great things that happen at COD, excellent projects that are faculty planned and led. We see support for some activities, but in recent years we’ve also have seen a number of activities that were faculty-driven disappear, be diminished, or at best misunderstood. Various Music Ensembles and the multi-disciplinary Community Farm, to name just a few. There has been a misguided philosophy that the best and only place for full-time faculty is in the classroom; we’ve endured that for too long. What Faculty do is not linear, we all do many things other than stand at the lectern and present. But, to understand this, that means you must look outside the classroom for a complete view of what faculty bring to COD and expand the vision of what being a college professor is all about.
College of DuPage is a college, a leading institution of higher education. Our success can’t be measured through spread sheets nor confined within business management philosophy; to enhance and guarantee COD’s success as something other than just a cheap alternative to other schools, there needs to be an understanding that faculty do bring incredible expertise to the planning of and accomplishment of the academic mission. You have hired the best faculty, not the most affordable; we should be empowered to lead and innovate. You will be impressed.
Tonight’s blog is brought to you by a faculty member who has a long teaching day tomorrow. If the blog ends early, please watch the video for more coverage! [Click here for Multimedia Services link]
Tonight’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 7pm. On the agenda at Item 7 is a presentation about the Buffalo Theater Ensemble. We are proud of our excellent theater faculty members and hope that their efforts and their many supporters will be persuasive. Please read CODFA VP Richard Jarman’s post about BTE here: The Show Must Go On
There is a closed session at Item 9.
[Click here to open the PDF of the agenda]