INA, Ill. (April 14, 2020)
Wayne Arnold, one of Rend Lake College’s most steadfast supporters, will have his name etched into the college’s history once more with the renaming of The REC.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Rend Lake College Board of Trustees approved retitling The REC as the Wayne Arnold Recreation Center in honor of his long service and dedication to Rend Lake College and its athletic programs.
Arnold has worked on a full-time or part-time basis at RLC for more than 50 years. He started at the institution when it was known as Mt. Vernon Community College and helped launch the physical education program. In the 1980s, he played a leading role in establishing a fitness center at RLC. Even after retiring more than 30 years ago, Arnold has continued to work at RLC on a part-time basis and can still be found helping at the fitness center a few times a week.
In addition to the name change in his honor, the Rend Lake College Foundation announced the establishment of a scholarship in Arnold’s name along with a donation for new equipment and a new floor at the Wayne Arnold Recreation Center.
A new way of meeting
For the first time in RLC’s history, the Board of Trustees conducted a meeting entirely online. Due to ongoing health concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was conducted via video conferencing.
New Student Trustee
Dakota Tate of Bluford was seated as the new Student Trustee on the board. Tate, a student in the Ag program, won the RLC Student Trustee Election in March and takes over for Remington Henson. Henson was recognized by the board for his service at Tuesday’s meeting.
Bids process moved to May
The RLC Board of Trustees planned on awarding bids this month for a project expanding the Learning Resource Center. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the college was unable to complete the bid process for the April meeting. However, the board will look to ratify bids at the May meeting to keep the project on schedule.
The Hub campaign, which will remodel and add an addition to the LRC, is estimated to cost $852,000 with groundbreaking planned for summer. Funding for the project was raised through the RLC Foundation.
New furniture purchased
Students can expect to see new furniture around campus when they return to in-person classes. The board approved a $109,000 purchase through Egyptian Workspace Partners in Belleville for new furniture in the Learning Resource Center, an active learning classroom for First-Year Experience and Work Ethics, and the Student Center main dining area. The purchase replaces furniture that was worn, outdated and difficult to clean and sanitize.
Personnel moves
The board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Tommy Holder as Men’s Head Basketball Coach, effective April 2. Holder cited personal reasons for his decision to step down and will stay in his role as a Testing Specialist at RLC.
Other business
- The board held a second reading of changes to the campus’s unauthorized animal policy to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act and Illinois statutes.
- The board approved updates to job descriptions to better meet the needs of the institution.
- The board approved the payment of college expenses including travel reimbursements.
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