LIBERAL, Kan. — Seward County Community College’s Board of Trustees has drawn a healthy roster of candidates for the Nov. 7 election, with six candidates seeking election to four open seats. Final filing deadline at the Seward County Clerk’s office in the county administration building was June 1. The Board of Trustees seats will not be part of the Aug. 1 primary due to state guidelines for the number of candidates compared to open seats: in the case of the Board of Trustees, the threshold was 9 contenders.
Though voting will not occur until November, SCCC President Brad Bennett said community involvement is a valued element of the Saints identity, “and it’s exciting to see increased interest in serving on the board.”
“I often remind people that ‘community’ is our middle name,” he said. “The College is here for the community, and we are committed to being responsive to our stakeholders. The election is an important part of that process.” Bennett said that SCCC has been fortunate in its board operations.
“When I interact with our peer institutions across the state and the nation, I always walk away feeling thankful for the commitment and professionalism of our board of trustees from our founding onward,” he said. “The board’s tradition has been to prioritize stewardship of taxpayer resources. Finding a balance between planning for the future with optimism, responding to the community’s requests, and of course serving our students with quality is not easy, and board members do so on a volunteer basis.”
Seward County Community College is organized as a college district comprised of Seward County, Kansas, with its own governing board. The members of the Board of Trustees are elected (at large) for four-year terms. This governing board, consisting of seven (7) members, formulates general policy for the college, provides for its financial support, arranges for adequate facilities, and engages a college president, whose function is to oversee all of the educational divisions and departments of the college, and to supervise, direct and promote all phases of college activities as delegated by the Board of Trustees.
The current board is comprised of chair Ron Oliver, vice-chair Marvin Chance, Jr., Kay Burtzloff, John Engel, Casey Mein, Keeley Moree, and Dustin Ormiston. Current trustees Burtzloff, Chance, Engel, and Moree, have all filed for re-election. Local residents Kelly Hill and Jennifer Malin also filed to run for election.
The regular meeting of the SCCC Board is held on the first Monday of each month, unless otherwise published on BoardDocs, easily accessible via sccc.edu under the “About” tab. Meetings are held in the Board Room, in the Hobble Academic Building, starting at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise published on BoardDocs and are open to the public.
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Categories: Board of Trustees, Our Community
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