Cloud County Community College Names Dr. Brandon Galm New Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Brandon Galm has been appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs for Cloud County Community College, effective May 1st.

Dr. Galm has been serving as the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs at the college since June 2023, following last year's resignation of Dr. Kim Zant.  Prior to then, Dr. Galm was an Instructor in English/Speech at Cloud County from January 2020 to June 2023.  He also served as a Department Chair and an Academic Advisor.  

Dr. Galm received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Muskingum College in May 2002, his Master of Arts in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in May 2011, and his PhD in Literature and Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in December 2018.

In his role as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Galm will serve as the chief academic officer of the college, responsible for leading the academic mission and administration of the institution.

Dr. Galm's appointment was met with unanimous approval by the College Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Monday, April 22nd.

The board also approved the appointment of Dr. William McGuire of Concordia as an Animal Science Instructor, effective August 9th.  Dr. McGuire currently serves as a Science Instructor at the college, teaching classes in biology and microbiology.  From 1999 to 2013, Dr. McGuire served as a Department Head and instructor at the college, where he was the Director of the Equine Program, teaching Animal Science/Pre-Vet/Equine, Human Anatomy and Physiology classes, as well as coaching the livestock, horse judging, rodeo and equestrian teams.

Dr. McGuire has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Kansas State University, a Master of Science degree in Reproductive Physiology from Kansas State University, and a Doctorate degree in Physiology from Colorado State University.

Dr. Jamal Talla of Melbourne, Florida was appointed as a new Physics Instructor, effective August 9th.  Currently, Dr. Talla teaches different physics courses for graduate and undergraduate students at Al al-Bayt University.  Dr. Talla received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan in 1997, his Master of Science in Physics from Yarmouk University in 2001, a Master of Science in Physics from New Mexico State University in 2005, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from New Mexico State University in 2007.

The board also approved the renewal of faculty contracts for 2024-2025, and renewed the contracts for Cloud County Community College Head Men's Basketball Coach Devin Kastrup and Assistant Women's Basketball Coach Tiffany Dorris.

Kastrup just concluded his third season at the head of the T-Bird Men's Basketball program.  The team finished 21-11 overall and 15-9 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play.

Last week, the college announced it was seeking to hire a new Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach.

Dorris joined the Cloud County Women's Basketball staff as an Assistant Coach in July of 2022.  She also was a member of Cloud County's 2006-2007 Women's Basketball team as a player.

Under their action agenda, the board approved a bid from Dissinger Reed in the amount of $68,000 for basic and $5,866 for catastrophic student athletic insurance coverage for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.  This represents a 0.7% decrease in the basic coverage from last year, and no increase in the catastrophic insurance premium.

The board also approved the purchase of laptop cart and charging stations for the offices and classrooms in the college's new Technical Education and Innovation Center from CD-W in the amount of $13,530.24, and the purchase of computers, monitors, keyboards, and accessories from Dell in the amount of $138,486.84.  Caesar Wood, Vice President for Administrative Services, says there are 19 faculty and staff offices, including the ten classroom areas, that will need to be furnished with this equipment.  The instructor stations, offices, and classrooms will be using laptops and mobile technology in the new facility.

The board scheduled to hold its evaluation of President Amber Knoettgen at its next regular meeting on Monday, May 20th.

The board's annual retreat and study session has been scheduled for Thursday, June 13th at 9 am at the college's Geary County campus.

Before adjourning, the board held two Executive Sessions for Negotiations, totaling 50-minutes in length, with President Knoettgen, Vice President Wood, Vice President Galm, Vice President for Student Services Brandt Hutchinson, Human Resources Director Chris Wilson and College Attorney Justin Ferrell.  No action was taken at the end of the sessions.

The board also held a 15-minute Executive Session for Non-Elected Personnel with the same participants.  No action was taken.