Harris and Bustamante Fontanel speaking on their experience in the University of Illinois’ fourth annual “Reimagine Our Future” sustainability competition. Besides being full time Waubonsee students, the pair are also full time parents, and were accompanied at the podium by their son Eliseo Bustamante. Photo by Kevin Sigrist.

By: Kevin Sigrist, Editor-in-Chief

On Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, the Waubonsee Board of Trustees held their first board meeting of the year in the Dickson Center. The board covered multiple topics and heard from one individual during the public comment section. 

The meeting began with a presentation from Steve Zusman and David Vorhees on Waubonsee students Briana Harris and Kevin Bustamante Fontanel’s recent second-place finish in the University of Illinois’ fourth annual “Reimagine Our Future” sustainability competition. Zusman thanked multiple staff members for their help in making competing in the competition possible for Waubonsee students and proceeded to praise the pair for the success, which Vorhees later echoed.

The competition, which had its virtual finals held on Dec. 7, 2024, featured 250 undergraduate students from Illinois, countrywide and internationally. Harris and Bustamante Fontanel were in attendance at the meeting, and took some time following the professors to speak to the board about some of their experiences amidst the competition.

“Seeing what impact plastic has on the world and how many hundreds of years it can take to degrade into our environment… we thought that tackling the water bottle problem would make a significant change in the world,” Harris said. “So our plan is to partner with major water bottling industries now and replace their plastic water bottles with… a water bottle that is made from plant-based material.”

Using plant based material to make the water bottles, Harris and Bustamante Fontanel hoped to cut the biodegrading time from hundreds of years to two. With their second place finish, the pair will receive assistance and funding to bring this idea to reality from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Following the presentation of the sustainability competition finalists, Waubonsee Community College President Dr. Brian Knetl introduced new administrator Dr. Kimberly Chavis.

Chavis will serve as the Interim Provost through Jun. 30, 2025. In his introduction of Chavis, Knetl listed a wide variety of Chavis’s experiences. These included over 25 years in higher education, being an adjunct faculty member at Harper College, and various degrees from schools such as Benedictine University, Western Governors University, University of Maryland and Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.

Senior DEI Coordinator Dr. Marleigha Evans then introduced RISE 2030, a 5 five year strategic plan that also serves as an acronym for “redefine relationship with the community, invest in academic innovation, strengthen the student experience and enrich the employee experience.”

Evans proceeded to elaborate on each segment of the RISE 2030 plan, establishing goals for each segment. Redefining relationships with the community includes becoming the central hub for community activity and engagement and establishing Waubonsee as the go-to upskilling partner for area employers. Investing in academic innovation means to develop new programs that align with workforce and transfer demands as well as innovate and enhance instructional methods. Strengthening the student experience involves improving coordination of support and support for the whole student. Enriching the employee experience means facilitating mission-driven work and establishing a supportive employee culture. 

Following Evans’ presentation, the RISE 2030 plan was approved unanimously by all present board members.

Knetl went on to present some statistical reports about the first semester. The student body increased by thirteen percent in credits earned at the end of the semester, twelve percent in headcount and only five percent of students were dropped for the spring semester due to non-payment as opposed to 15% in the past.

Knetl also reported on the Technical Education Center topping off ceremony. 

“It was really exciting to see that beam, that kind of high point, that final structural piece be set in place… until recently, I was still able to see it through the construction, but that is a real sign of the progress we’re making on this building,” Knetl said.

The public comment section held one speaker commenting on the inaccessibility of the public comment forum and its violation of the federal and Illinois state constitutions. The comment claimed that the limit of three minutes or less is not enough time to comment, the limit of signing up two hours prior to the meeting virtually or 30 minutes in person is not enough time, and the boards ability to terminate public comments that it deems “irrelevant, repetitious, or disruptive” is unfair.

Following the public comments section, the meeting turned to an executive session for just under an hour, and following its return, the board reviewed its budget and the meeting was adjourned.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 at 8:30am.