The September meeting of the Board of Trustees of Hutchinson Community College began with a pair of hearings, one pertaining to the College’s Revenue Neutral Rate and the other regarding the 2025-26 budget.

Following the hearings, the board approved the budget after a presentation by Julie Blanton, Vice President of Finance and Operations. The budget includes a mill levy set at 21.538, a decrease from the year prior and its lowest level in at least ten years. Tuition is slated to increase by $3.00 per credit hour with fees remaining at the prior year’s level. The $10.00 per credit hour reduction for Reno County residents remains in place.

The Board welcomed and met the 2025-26 Crops and Weed ID Team. The team is comprised of six members who have the opportunity to test their agronomic knowledge in a competitive setting while gaining valuable skills applicable to a career in agriculture. The team is also involved in assisting in the management of the agriculture department in the Pride of Kansas Building and related activities during the annual State Fair.

In other business, the Board approved several items of routine business and received an update on its strategic planning initiatives.

The next meeting of the board will be on Thursday, October 9.  The meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. in the Shears Technology Center Justice Theater.  The public is invited to attend. Board meeting agendas and meeting information can be found at www.hutchcc.edu/boardmeetings.

For more information on Hutchinson Community College, visit the college website at www.hutchcc.edu.

James Olson, former Chief of Counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) will present the third Dillon Lecture of the 2025 Series on Tuesday, September 16 at 10:30 am at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Olson served for over thirty years in the Directorate of Operations of the CIA, mostly overseas in clandestine operations. In addition to several foreign assignments, he was Chief of Counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

He has been awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Donovan Award, and several Distinguished Service Citations. He is also the recipient of awards from the Bush School and the Association of Former Students for excellence in teaching at Texas A & M University.

Olson is the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying and To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence. Prior to his career in the CIA, he served in the US Navy, where he attained the rank of lieutenant commander.

Tickets to the lecture are available now at www.hutchcc.edu/dls and will also be available beginning at 9:45 am on the day of the lecture at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Olson will appear at a press conference for members of the media prior to the lecture.  The press conference is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. in the Media Interview Room of the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

2025 is the 44th season for the Dillon Lecture Series on the HutchCC Campus.  For more information on the Dillon Lecture Series or to become a patron, visit www.hutchcc.edu/dls or call Becky Rogers at 620-665-3505.

The Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees approved several items at its August meeting.

With the 2025-26 academic year beginning next week, the Board was introduced to this year’s Resident Assistants (RA) Council.  The RA Council consists of 27 students and its focus is managing their dormitory floor as well as planning and implementing social and educational programming.

The Board approved the Master Agreement with the Hutchinson National Faculty Association for the 2025-26 year. The agreement includes a 2.5% increase on base salary and $20 per month increase for Board Benefits. A salary increase based on performance, market value and scope of responsibility, with the average increase not to exceed 2.5% and a $20 per month increase in the Board Benefit, was also approved for classified and administrative staff. In addition, the Board voted to increase the minimum wage for any full-time position to be no less than $15/hour.

Julie Blanton, Vice President of Finance and Operations, presented the College’s budget proposal at the hearing. The next step in the process will be a public hearing on September 11 with likely final action to follow.

The budget includes a mill levy set at 21.538, which is decreased from the year prior. Tuition is slated to increase by $3.00 per credit hour with no increase in fees. The $10.00 per credit hour reduction for Reno County residents remains in place.

The next meeting of the board will be on Thursday, September 11.  The meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. in the Shears Technology Center Justice Theater.  The public is invited to attend. Board meeting agendas and meeting information can be found at www.hutchcc.edu/boardmeetings.

Hutchinson Community College (HutchCC) and Barton Community College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing a new partnership aimed at expanding access to respiratory care education and addressing a growing workforce need in central Kansas.

Through this agreement, students from Barton will complete their general education requirements at Barton and then have the opportunity to transition into HutchCC’s Respiratory Care Program. The partnership was developed in response to an increased demand for respiratory care professionals in Barton’s service area, which includes nine regional hospitals.

"This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to meeting the healthcare workforce needs of our communities," said Dr. Tricia Paramore, President of Hutchinson Community College. "By working together, we are creating clearer pathways for students and helping ensure that Kansas hospitals have access to the skilled respiratory therapists they urgently need."

Dr. Marcus Garstecki, President of Barton Community College, echoed the value of the partnership: “We’ve seen a significant increase in the demand for respiratory care professionals across our service area. Partnering with HutchCC allows us to provide our students with a high-quality, accessible path into this critical field, while also supporting the healthcare systems in our region.”

The collaboration aligns with both institutions’ missions to provide affordable, accessible, and relevant education while serving the needs of Kansas communities.

For more information about the Respiratory Care Program, visit www.hutchcc.edu/rt.