Mesalands OKs four-day week

Mesalands Community College will move to a four-day week for employees and students after spring graduation.

The Mesalands board of trustees during its March 15 meeting voted to approve the four-way week for its 2022-2023 academic calendar on the urging of President Gregg Busch.

Employees and students would have Fridays off, generally with working hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The four-day week takes effect May 16, after spring commencement.

Busch advocated the four-day week because it would give the college an edge to recruit employees, allow workers to more easily set out-of-town appointments and would lead to “happier, more productive” workers with lower costs.

Josh McVey, vice president of public relations, said 77% of employees surveyed supported the four-day plan.

“I see only positive things from doing this,” he added.

Executive assistant Margaret Ragland said the four-day week would match schedules for all of Quay County’s public schools that have used four-day schedules for years and make it easier for parents regarding child care.

Board Chairman Jim Streetman, questioning how a four-day week would affect Mesalands students, insisted on voting for the proposal only if it were on a one-year trial basis and it be re-evaluated near the end of that period.

Busch said he was confident the four-day week would work for students, but he agreed to evaluate it the following spring.

In other business:

• The board approved the appointment of Phillip Box, an insurance agent and farmer, as its District 5 representative on the board of trustees.

Robin Alden apparently had won the post as a write-in candidate during the November election, but she withdrew from consideration after finding she was ineligible to serve due to the college’s anti-nepotism rules. Her sister manages the college’s dinosaur museum.

Box was officially sworn into office at the Quay County Courthouse on Thursday.

• The board approved the hiring of Warren Frost of Logan as the college’s attorney. He replaces Greg Biehler, who retired in December as Mesalands’ legal counsel.

The appointment of Box and hiring of Frost occurred after a nearly one-hour closed executive session.

• The board approved a resolution opposing New Mexico Bank & Trust’s planned closing of its Logan branch in June.

• The board approved several purchase requisitions. One was $33,980.42 for architect fees and others were $12,170.85, $8,655 and $4,499.57 in professional services in 2021 regarding the Mesalands master plan, all to Cooperative Education Services in Albuquerque. The board also approved a $71,601 to CenturyLink in Phoenix to quadruple the college’s internet capacity.

Reports

• Busch said he is inviting local motels to provide housing for Mesalands students. He said he also would invite local restaurants to participate in meal programs for students. “Let’s keep the money in town and support the local people,” he said.

• Busch said the college was compiling a list of rental properties or houses for sale in Tucumcari for new employees. “This is a desperate need we’re facing at the college,” he said.

• Busch said Hazel Rountree, vice president of student success and access, left Mesalands to return to her native Ohio. He praised her multicultural outreach efforts, particularly with Native American and Hispanic students. Board member Tom Sidwell made a motion, which was seconded and approved, to send Rountree a card expressing their appreciation and gratitude.

• Busch said an application for a Mesalands nursing program recently was submitted to the state’s Higher Education Department. He anticipated it would be approved soon.

• Busch said spring commencement would resume as an in-person ceremony on May 13. The previous two spring graduations were virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said graduates from 2020 and 2021 have been invited to participate.

• Busch said he was interested in developing a child-care center at the college for students and residents. He said the lack of child care often keeps students from furthering their education.

• Busch said his wife, Mary Beth, would serve as a voluntary alumni representative to set up events for Mesalands graduates.

• Jim Morgan, vice president of campus affairs, said planned renovations to Building A would cost about $100,000 less than the $1.2 million allocated to the project.

• Streetman said the board’s next meeting in April may be in-person, though participants may meet in one of the more spacious rooms instead of the board of trustees chambers. The board has met virtually for two years because of the pandemic.