College board certifies trustee election

The Flathead Valley Community College board of trustees certified the election by acclamation of John Engebretson and Mark Holston at its regular board meeting Monday. They were unopposed in their bids to retain their seats.

At the same meeting, the board elected Engebretson as chairman, Robert Nystuen as vice chairman and Ralene Sliter as secretary. Monica Settles was reappointed as clerk of the district.

Trustees had no substantial action items on their agenda but were informed of a range of college news, including:

n Student Garrett Peebles worked with his physics instructor Jim Boger on a project that qualified him to attend the National Community College Aerospace Scholars pilot program at Johnson Space Center in Houston. He was one of 76 students in the nation selected and the only one from Montana.

n Suzy Williams, ambassadors and alumni chairwoman, presented the first Distinguished Alumni Award to Lori Nicholas.

n Janaya Okerlund, coordinator of Service Learning, reported that students volunteered 10,144 hours of service in the 2009-10 academic year.

n Financial Aid Director Cindy Kiefer told trustees that her office processed $5.2 million in student loans. This compares to $1.9 million in the 2007-08 academic year.

n President Jane Karas announced that radio personality Garrison Keillor has chosen one of English instructor Lowell Jaeger’s poems from his new book, “We” to read on National Public Radio’s “The Writer’s Almanac.”

n The college held a pinning ceremony for its third class of practical nursing students.

The next board meeting takes place at 3:45 p.m. on June 28 in the board room of Blake Hall on the Kalispell.