1999 The year in review

Spink's future, second campus top AVC stories

By JENNIFER WOFFORD
Valley Press Staff Writer

Spink's future may, or may not, be decided Monday in an highly unusual morning meeting of the college district's board of trustees.

During her three-year tenure, Spink has experienced all the trials and tribulations that come with leading a growing educational institution into a new millennium.

Spink concedes the fast-paced changes she was asked to achieve have made her controversial. But, she contends, her record is one of achievement and progress for the college.

However, college faculty have on several occasions accused Spink of bypassing state laws requiring staff participation in college decisions, commonly known as "'shared governance." Many faculty members consider her style to be autocratic.

Probably one of the most controversial subjects is Spink's contract, which will be up for review again at an 8 a.m. meeting Monday, less than two months after the previous board granted her a one-year extension that would let her serve another 2 1/2 years.

The closed-door session, and any resultant public revelations, may cloud the future of the president, whose tenure has been riddled with controversy since her hiring 3 1/2 years ago.

In its final meeting, six days after the Nov. 2 election in which Spink supporter Don Ross was replaced by Wayne Woodhall, the outgoing board voted 3-2 to grant Spink the contract extension in order to allow her to flesh out her California retirement benefits.

Now, the new board majority, including Woodhall, will revisit the contract at Monday's special meeting, to be held in closed session with college district counsel.

Spink and her contract weren't the only events that dominated campus news during 1999.

Palmdale campus

College officials unveiled longterm site plans for a proposed Palmdale campus in January after the board of trustees unanimously approved those plans.

The Palmdale campus, which has been in the planning and negotiation stages since 1994, has seen four site plans. In addition, a number of obstacles, such as disagreements over the planned density of housing in a nearby development and a need for area residents to approve annexation of the land, have delayed the project.

County officials approved Palmdale's annexation of the land in October, paving the way for representatives of the college to request funding from the state for the $30 million project.

Work on the noncollege portion of the development has yet to begin. Plans called for the construction of 847 homes and a golf course south of Barrel Springs Road between 37th and 47th streets east.

The project's developer, David Bushnell, agreed to donate a portion of his land in return for $3.2 million worth of state-funded infrastructure for the project. The estimated cost of that infrastructure is $11 million.

The first college buildings are expected to support 3,000 students by the fall of 2004. The campus eventually is to accommodate 10,000 students.

In February, the board approved $20,000 for initial site development. The board approved a contract with architects McLarand Vasquez and Partners Inc., even though the campus plan had not yet been examined by the Palmdale Planning Commission.

Spink said the college had no choice but to move forward with plans if it is going to secure funding from the state. In the meantime, campus officials are moving ahead with the planning and are seeking to determine which programs will be offered in the campus' first phase.

Bakersfield satellite

California State University, Bakersfield, soon will have its own building on the AVC campus.

The university satellite is being constructed at the the northeast corner of the AVC campus, at Avenue J-8 and 30th Street West.

In July, Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, presented a check for $60,000 to the college to help with the cost of installing utilities for the Cal State, Bakersfield facility.

Bakersfield officials last year announced plans to operate a satellite campus in the Antelope Valley as early as spring semester 1999 and no later than the fall semester.

A satellite campus has been in the planning at AVC for nearly a decade. When Cal State Bakersfield officials expressed interest, AVC officials offered to provide land and support services.

Preparing the land for the new facility and running utilities to the site on the north side of campus costs about $90,000. Runner's check would pay for about twothirds; the other $30,000 would come out of the college's general operating funds, AVC President Linda Spink said.

In March, James E. Daniels was named director of Bakersfield's Antelope Valley campus. The announcement was made as the university, which is on the quarter system, revealed it will offer new and expanded degree programs locally beginning at the end of the month. The Bakersfield satellite also geared up for its first day of classes March 30.

A new beginning

September celebrated a new beginning for AVC, which marked its 70th anniversary and broke ground on a $7.6 million Business/High Technology Multimedia Center.

The Multimedia Center is being built on the southeast side of the campus, north of Avenue K.

The three-story, 42,750-squarefoot-building is set to open in fall 2001.

The new Multimedia Center will house 10 laboratories, seven classrooms and 41 offices including Business, the Instructional Multimedia Center and Information Technology Services.

In January, the college installed three double-wide portable classrooms on the Avenue K side of the campus near Fine Arts to house classes for the Aerospace Training Center and CalWORKS programs.

CalWORKS trains people to leave welfare and enter the working world.

The Aerospace Training Center originally was supposed to be at the Boeing Fitness Center building in Palmdale, but college representatives were unable to secure that location.

The training center cuts the overhead of local companies that can use it to train first-time aerospace workers. It also provides a way to maintain a deep base of skilled aerospace workers in the Antelope Valley.

The mobile-home-type classrooms are being used to house an overflow of students this year.

The portables will not solve all the college's space problems, even as a temporary solution. Corporate and community education aside, the college's mainstream enrollment hit 12,264 students this fall.

In addition, AVC received 10 F109 jet engines from Edwards Air Force Base for a new aerospace careers program.

The jet engines will be used to train students in collaboration with the Antelope Valley Union High School District.

The college and the high school district have signed an agreement for a cooperative program at Lancaster High School.

The gift marks the single largest donation to the college in its history.

An expanding future

Antelope Valley College has sealed a pact with what may become one of the largest employers in the Antelope Valley.

SR Technics, an aircraft maintenance company that has obtained Site 9 at Palmdale's Plant 42, has joined forces with the college to provide training for future aircraft workers.

During a press conference in December, college officials gathered at Los Angeles International Airport as the announcement was made that the aircraft maintenance firm will set up shop in Palmdale.

The announcement was made by Gov. Gray Davis and Dr. Hans Ulrich Beyeler, SR Technics chief executive officer. SR Technics is part of SAirGroup, which owns SwissAir, the Swiss national airline.

The company plans to hire between 3,000 and 6,000 workers by 2004 - 1,000 by June - to maintain the SwissAir fleet and jets from 13 other airlines.

And many of the workers SR Technics expects to hire will receive training at the college's Aerospace Training Center.

A growing campus

The college 1999-2000 budget is nearly $35 million, an increase of nearly $1 million over last year's spending plan.

The $35 million does not include $1.7 million to $2.1 million the college could receive in the spring because of enrollment growth.

According to a budget narrative prepared by Tom Brundage, vice president of business services, the funds "will not be added to the college budget until enrollment figures ensure we will receive growth funding" from the state.

The money will be forthcoming only if the college's enrollment is as high next spring as it was this fall.

Enrolling in classes at Antelope Valley College became a game of chance for some students as fall registration surged to record levels. Less than a week into the fall semester, enrollment at the college was up more than 23%, college officials said.

The fall enrollment reached a record 12,264 students, according to Don Mourton, vice president of student services.

New faces

Several new faces came aboard in 1999 in joining the college staff.

The most notable one was new board member Wayne Woodhall, who was sworn in at December's board meeting.

Immediately after Woodhall was sworn in, the new board majority displayed its power, angering two veteran trustees who were now in the minority.

Changing an unwritten rule that goes back decades, Michael R. Adams broke the traditional rotation of board officers by nominating Betty Wienke to be board president.

Adams said the move was a signal of a new board; it could forecast a clouded future for college President Linda Spink.

In May, the board voted to hire Mourton as vice president of student services.

Mourton, who took office July 1, replaced Mike Keenan, who retired after 28 years with AVC.

The new vice president came to the college from Cerro Coso Community College. His 24-year career at Cerro Coso includes stints as director of guidance services, director of the Extended Opportunity Program and Services, counselor and teacher.

Mourton has been involved in setting up the college's new computer system for tracking student records. The Banner system software is designed by SCT Banner Corp., the same company that Cerro Coso used.

Gordon Fast, an executive at a Mojave aircraft company, was named director of the college's Aerospace Training Center.

Started in June 1997, the training center began as AVC's response to workforce needs expressed by the Antelope Valley Aerospace Alliance, a group of leaders from local aerospace companies.

The center is geared toward giving new aerospace workers the basics, or retraining and updating the skills of existing workers.

Students receive grants for the class from Los Angeles County through the Job Training Partnership Act or the state-run Employment Training Panel.

Books, tuition and educational expenses are paid for through these grants.

The center receives $700,000 in grants from the two organizations. The companies in the alliance donate parts and other materials for the classes.

Uploaded January 2, 2000