Board of Trustees Special Meeting
January 6, 2026

A special meeting of the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII, 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, state of Washington, will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. The business session will begin at 4:00 PM. This meeting will be conducted both in-person in B201 and remotely via Zoom. A telephone line will also be available. Pradnya Desh, Chair, will preside.

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Meeting Agenda

Business Session

Call to Order

  • Welcome
  • Approval of Agenda for January 6, 2026
  • Approval of Minutes for December 10, 2025

Public Comment

  • Students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to address the Board of Trustees during the “Public Comment” portion of each meeting. Each speaker is allotted up to two minutes. The Board does not respond to questions or comments during this time, as operational matters are delegated to the college president. Public comments may be provided in one of three ways:
    • In-person: Sign up on the public comment sheet located at the entrance to the meeting room.
    • Remote: Use the “Raise Hand” feature in Zoom to indicate your intent to speak. If joining by phone, press *9 to raise your hand.
    • Written: Submit your comment by emailing boardoftrustees@bellevuecollege.edu.

Strategic Plan

  • Bellevue College 2026-2031 Strategic Plan

Adjournment

Minutes

A special meeting of the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII, 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, state of Washington, was held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Pradnya Desh, chair, presided. This meeting was held in B201 and on Zoom. A telephone line was also available.

Chair Desh called the business session to order at 4:00 PM.

Roll Call

A quorum of the Board was present.

Present: Chair Pradnya Desh, Vice Chair Rich Fukutaki, Trustee Richard Leigh, Trustee Greg Dietzel, President David May, Assistant Attorney General Tricia Boerger (remotely), and Board Secretary Alicia Keating Polson.

Absent: none.

There were 56 guests in attendance.

Approval of Agenda and Minutes

Trustee Dietzel made a motion to approve the agenda (January 6, 2026) and minutes (December 10, 2025.) Trustee Leigh seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Strategic Plan

Bellevue College 2026-2031 Strategic Plan

Frances Dujon Reynolds, Dr. Judith Hernández Chapar, Dr. Fatma Serçe, Dr. Amy Kinsel, Dr. Jorge de la Torre, and Dr. Jess Clark presented the Bellevue College 2026-2031 Strategic Plan.

The Bellevue College 2026–2031 Strategic Plan, Be Bold: Built for Students, Connected to Community, reflects a year of inclusive, college-wide planning guided by the Board-adopted mission, vision, and values. The process was led by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, with broad engagement from students, faculty, staff, and community partners through listening sessions, surveys, and open forums.

Planning centered on aligning Bellevue College’s future with the principles of Achieving the Dream Leader Colleges and top Aspen institutions. Through this collaboration, the college identified four foundational priorities to guide decisions, resource alignment, and continuous improvement from 2026 through 2031:

  • Students: Empowering learning and removing barriers so every student can achieve success and purpose.
  • People: Fostering a caring, collaborative culture where employees are supported to lead and innovate.
  • Community: Deepening partnerships that strengthen regional vitality, workforce alignment, and shared prosperity.
  • Operations: Advancing excellence through clarity, sustainability, and innovation in systems and resource use.

Steering Committee Members: Gahlan Alfredo-Sorto, Shayna Begun, Meg Blyler, Jess Clark, Judith Hernández Chapar, Eric Davis, Frances Dujon-Reynolds, Jorge de la Torre, Steve Downing, Rodger Harrison, Ariane Hayes, Consuelo Grier, Hector Guzman, Sara Holzknecht, Amy Kinsel, Daniel Ngoy, and Fatma Serce.

Motion 01.26

Trustee Leigh moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the Bellevue College 2026-2031 Strategic Plan. Trustee Dietzel seconded.

The Board engaged in discussion on the motion under consideration.

The motion passed unanimously.

Unscheduled Business

There was no unscheduled business.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Chair Desh adjourned the Board of Trustees meeting at 4:55 PM

Attest: Alicia Keating Polson

Secretary, Board of Trustees

Community College District VIII

Pradnya Desh

Chair, Board of Trustees

Community College District VIII