Board of Trustees Receives Update on Projects, CARES Funding

June 11, 2020 - Richmond Community College provided updates about campus renovations and the use of funds from the CARES Act during the Oct. 2 Board of Trustees meeting via teleconference.

Brent Barbee, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for RichmondCC, said the new addition to the Lee Building on the Hamlet campus is on track to be open by late summer, and the new café, also on the Hamlet campus, will be open to students by the end of October.

“That was in the plan all along. We wanted to focus on the front of the Lee Building so we would be able to be inside that facility and working from the new offices when we had registration for the fall semester later this summer,” Barbee said. “On main campus, everything is moving along as planned.”

The Kenneth and Claudia Robinette Building, which will house the Leon Levine School of Business and Information Technology in downtown Rockingham, has a projected open date for July 10, but the College has contingency plans in place if the facility is not ready to be open for classes starting in August.

Dr. Dale McInnis, President of RichmondCC, informed the Board of Trustees that 829 qualifying students had received $1,000 checks from the federal CARES Act allocation.

The College received $1,993,968 from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Security (CARES) Act, with at least 50 percent of the emergency funds being spent on direct student aid for students enrolled in the 2020 Spring Semester. Students eligible for the one-time funding were those enrolled in a face-to-face class that transitioned to online or students who were in a face-to-face class that was paused due to the campus closure.

“We have reached out to potential students eligible for this federal aid, encouraging them to complete the FAFSA. If they submit that form, they will be included in the second round of checks that will be mailed out,” McInnis said. “This is only for those students who were here in the spring and meet the qualifications under the CARES Act.”

The rest of the money will go toward institutional expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These expenses included personal protective equipment for students and employees, technical equipment and Wifi connectivity, as well as the cost of transitioning from face-to-face to online courses,” McInnis said. “We are also trying to make our facilities safer by eliminating touch spots in bathrooms and on doors.”