Board of Trustees
Bishop Wayne Dunning, Chair
Vicki Carr, Vice Chair
Dale Colee, Secretary
Benjamin Andreas
Bruce Campbell
Dr. Davis Cooprider
Tom Ritter
Rhiannon Hartman, Student Trustee
board@richland.edu
Board of Trustees Governance
The College is governed by an eight-member Board of Trustees. Seven of the members are elected on staggered, six-year terms by the registered voters living within the District. The eighth, a student member, is elected for a one-year term by the College student body. The Student Trustee may cast an advising vote to show position and can make and second motions.
The Trustees meet on the third Tuesday of every month in the College Board Room. Special meetings are also called as required. All meetings of the Board and its committees are open to the public except for discussion of certain exempt matters including those relating to employment, land acquisition, and pending litigation. The general public is invited to attend all Board meetings, and time is set aside during these meetings for citizens to address the Board and to make their opinions known.
In September 1989, the staff of Richland Community College developed tenets to guide its leaders and managers. The Tenets of Community College Trusteeship, prepared at the request of the Board of Trustees, provide a framework for good trusteeship. The tenets were adopted by the Board of Trustees in March 1990 and reaffirmed in 2007. In 2008, the Board of Trustees amended the Tenets by adding Creating a Culture of Sustainability.
The Tenets of Community College Trusteeship
The community college is an egalitarian institution committed to the principle that higher education should be available to every person who can benefit. The purpose of a comprehensive community college is to serve all who then can serve to build a better society.
The primary task of the Board of Trustees is to serve as a regenerative force, always expanding and improving the College’s service to people. Given this basic condition, the activities and deliberations of the Board of Trustees will be governed by the following tenets:
About Allegiance
Trustees have but one allegiance; that is to the institution and its mission. Representing special constituencies dilutes trust and undermines institutional mission.
About Commitment
To achieve distinction requires commitment, and commitment requires the devotion of time, thought, energy, effort, and ability whenever needed.
About Creating a Culture of Sustainability
When the Board of Trustees weaves the core values into sustainable concepts with a perspective measured by the Triple Bottom Line (Environment, People, Economics), the College becomes values-driven, exceeding its mission.
About Distinction
The Board of Trustees has the authority and the autonomy to be original, creative, and regenerative; that is its responsibility. If the College is to become an institution of distinction, it will be because the Board demonstrates and requires distinctive service.
About Evaluation
Purpose achieved with distinction does not occur in a vacuum. It occurs because of a Board desire for distinction and willingness to measure how well it is achieved.
About Power
Power rests mostly with the Board of Trustees but also extends far beyond it. Trustee power and influence well used will result in staff power and influence well used; students will be served.
About Purpose
The purpose of an educational institution is more than a Board decision. It is a Board responsibility. Defining the institution is a critical task that requires continuing review.
About Service
All activities in which the College engages – teaching, serving, and guiding – must be evaluated by their effect upon students and community. How the College serves its community and how it serves and prepares its students are fundamental criteria by which the College must be measured.
About Teamwork
The Board consists of individuals with differing values and beliefs, and debate is expected and natural. Although there are individual expressions, there are no individual decisions. Board decisions must be team decisions.