Erin Neumann, Interim Executive Campus Dean, Boone Campus, DMACC, July 20, 2026

Our guest on her program today is Erin Newman. She is the interim executive campus. Will they take that off? I don't know. We'll see where our new president is on board now and it'll be interesting to see what she does across the district. Yeah and in the most recent board meeting a little earlier this month they did do their audit getting ready for the new audit and everything and yeah it wasn't an overly long meeting but I'm guessing starts to put her into a control and in what's happening with a lot of things that the board's been doing so. Yeah absolutely and I guess. So they were at the Huntsucker Center. Yeah yesterday they met at the Huntsucker Center yeah. Yeah so we get that part. Mm-hmm. Now anyway interim executive campus the Boone campus Des Moines area community college. Erin Newman's on our program today soon to be our third day Wadley big housing spot for Reg Brie. Yes. DMACC is gonna be having a lot. You're busy. You're gonna have a lot of stuff going on there. We are. It's very exciting and I'm sure throughout Boone there's a lot of excitement. The Boone campus is a main camping site so our campus itself is gonna be closed for business on Tuesday July 21st but there'll be lots of us there to greet the bikers and the people who support them. Our cafe will be open. We'll have showers available and you know a cool space for people to cool down as well but yeah we will have campers spread across most of our most of our facility area. Some of them will be camping out in the soccer field area. Yeah people that know that. Parking lots I'm sure gonna be full with RVs and stuff. And support vehicles yes. It's gonna be exciting. It'll be busy. Well and then it is close proximity to all the activity that's going on so. Yeah absolutely. It's not far at all from the vendors and the stage and the different events happening. So when they started doing all this planning and everything and of course summertime is not not your busiest time. I say you know you're still active out there. You have camps and you've got a lot of those things going on. We've touched on that but this is still it takes some logistics from the from DMACC to yeah you can use our ground. Yeah I know there is a lot that goes with that. B.J. McGinn our athletic director has been part of the rag-brain planning for the city as well and has done a remarkable job with all sorts of complexities. But yeah there are things that we have to think about at the Boone campus in terms of safety and security and access to the building and the grounds themselves all sorts of those things. So lots of moving parts. Okay otherwise just making sure everything's all together there right. Yeah just making sure the cafe staff has been working for I think days and days to get everything ready for to meet the demands of things like protein balls and oh yeah hot dogs and drinks all those things. Pies. Well the and the other thing will you have like the quarter center open they'll be able to come in they'll be able to I mean obviously it's going to be a warm day so they'll be able to come in cool down. Yeah they'll be able to we'll have the quarter center open so they can cool down charge phones eat drink whatever they'd like to do our bookstore will be open in case anybody's looking for some DMACC gear and then our marketing department has given us a fun selfie station so we'll have a DMACC selfie station available as well. So that's good. Yeah photo booth yeah and we'll see how many of them want to venture around and take a look at the field house and stuff too. Yeah I bet you there'll be a few. There might be a few I think we'll largely have that closed but I'm sure some people will want to take a peek. See what see what it's like because for a lot of them they may not have ever been through Boone and to see that. That'll be good. It's a beautiful facility yeah. Well you get a chance to show it off and who knows maybe we'll get more students. Maybe so yeah that'd be great. We mentioned the camps I know summer camps I know they were just getting really getting organized I think have you already had we've already had some some and you got more coming up more coming up we have women's basketball doing team camps this week volleyball is coming up soon so yeah there's kind of ongoing camps throughout the summer but they've been very successful and very well attended so far and I mean on the camps I know that like women's basketball have some of the players are back yeah come and help they do it's excellent the men's team was back I think about a week ago the women's team has been back so it's been great to see them on campus of course and then seeing them in their element coaching and teaching younger people has been exciting. So who knows recruit some more maybe do some more recruiting yes more are there others that are coming up later or is this does that pretty well wrap it up. I think there are certainly some coming up we have some camps that even go into the falls and beyond so our our website the athletics website is a great place to go for camp information and by the way it's you know even though we know volleyball players are like when we get ready for the season their first one's back really on campus moving back in but the others follow quickly and you have both softball and baseball will have summer see our fall seasons yes absolutely and cross country will be here soon yes it's a it starts well they have run all the time they do they just run they do it's admirable yes they do it doesn't matter the how warm it is that everything else otherwise just a lot of facility work going on I mean as far as the our campus here the things that have been going on yet had some trees planted I got to keep watered I'm pretty sure a few other things yeah and I can't remember if I talked about it before we have a new garden club on campus that just they had mentioned a little bit they were getting organized they're getting organized so they've really taken off this summer so they have moved and expanded our Monarch Way station near our drainage pond area they're taking care of a lot of our trees and that's exciting to see students and employees doing that together doing something that they love to help the campus yeah so I got all kinds of things that's going on and again I know just as far as the interior part facility like quarter center a lot of the walls a lot of the painting all of that had pretty much been done over the like last year or so so yeah you were fairly well caught up on a lot of things we really were yeah internally yeah some things we've done in the athletic side of things we've updated the men's and women's home locker room so that was a bigger internal project that was really important to us to to get done for students and the athletics teams yeah and then some minor projects with our banner newsroom the journalism room so they already have an area for podcasting and so now they're expanding into an area with a green screen and allowing them to do some visual sorts of things to do a little more yeah it's exciting good what about over by the departments because I know that what they were looking at doing some what volleyball court or they were doing some things outdoors there for those giving them activities places over there yeah we've and that's so timely we were just talking about this on campus today so I think a lot of our focus on that has switched maybe a little bit more to some space that might be similar to our West patio if people are familiar with our West patio that's near the soccer field just a place to go out yeah comfortable at around act chairs and some covered picnic tables and things I think that's something that we would see there in the short term we're always trying to do anything we can to make students comfortable and invite them out you know into public areas and shared spaces together how they they go they'll be out there well it's you know and who knows then the next thing you know somebody's gonna have a grill out there and pretty soon we're gonna have a block party and that sounds good yeah yeah well that's get there other things okay we're going pretty much through this we talked about some of the summer classes some of the things that have been going on more online summertime or is it just kind of hit and miss yeah in terms of summer classes we have a handful that are in person or have an in-person component a lot of times in the summer students might be taking some online classes or might be taking a break so we have a few classes there get definitely gearing up for fall where we have many more face-to-face classes and options for people okay so still have all of that we still have all of that yeah yes and we have if I can mention yeah in July here coming up July 29th we have a welcome back or a welcome day so that's a great day for people certainly if they're coming to DMACC or I've already made that plan a great day to meet employees and find their classrooms and get registered if they need to but the welcome day I like to mention is also a day for people who are considering DMACC or want to just know more it's a great day to come and meet a lot of employees so you made a lot of faculty and people who can help you with basically any part of the process from applying to financial aid to registration so 29th and so staff will be back because what that's literally weeks away from the start it really is just a couple of weeks away from now and a couple of weeks away from the start of the semester but it is a good time July 29th is still a good time it gives you right about exactly four weeks I guess before the fall semester would begin so yeah so people are interested in that it goes quickly but yeah if people are interested in that they can always call the main DMACC number we're happy to to get you on our list and provide you lunch and and get you on campus there and then take a look at what's what's going on what opportunities there are because there's so many there are so many yeah but whether it's what we've talked a lot about workforce preparation short-term trainings we have lots of DMACC has lots of partnerships with colleges and universities so we can help with transfer planning or whether people want to go into the workforce or transfer on we can really help them kind of with whatever their plans are and I know that well Nancy's still doing what the honors honors program so if you have an outstanding student and they would like and they're busy doing a lot of things and the one thing that always just I find the most interesting is your student athletes they get recruited for sports and stuff some of them are I mean you're talking some of the better students yes when we when we look at their GPAs and things like that I mean those are just consistently huge so things to celebrate they are just as active and passionate in the classroom oftentimes as you know as they are in the field or the court they do excellent work and then people tend to forget that we have actually colleges come and recruit our students yeah just like athletes get recruited yes absolutely yeah and so you mentioned Nancy Woods yeah with doing a lot with honors and PTK which is Phi Pheta Kappa and Honor Society and she is an excellent connector to like you talked about internships with NASA things that students might not have ever thought of before research at at high level like universities and things so she's a connector to all of those things and certainly I agree there's there can be that recruitment piece to have when you're done at DMACC we want you here next let's go to job training parts of things because I know that you're very familiar with that and that's one of the things that has been available on the boon campus job retraining you know somebody just wants to pick up a few extra skills and maybe advance themselves things like that there's are still have these opportunities they're here they are here yes and so yep DMACC has the Workforce Training Academy or WTA we call it for short and that is a program across DMACC that for people who qualify helps pay for their trainings and any supplies they might need so nurse aid is always an example that I give if someone's qualified for WTA training they can have get tuition covered help with scrubs and gate belts and testing and textbooks and all the things that come with trying to get on the direct care worker registry and being a CNA and there are others I mean if somebody had any questions really the best way would be make contact yes and visit with somebody because if they don't know the answer they'll find someone that does they will again if you Christina McIntyre the front office would be a great place to check she's our WTA expert but yes reaching out we'd be happy to talk about the variety of opportunities across DMACC for people for short-term training what about even even businesses that might be looking to get some staff or some of their personnel retrained and maybe fit some other needs yes that's a good point so WTA is always looking for that business side of employer side of things as well so their department can certainly put together trainings or things that that business needs specifically for their current employees or to recruit you know potentially new employees it's their opportunities again a lot of time it's just coming up with ask the question and somebody puts together a plan they really do yes that they're very nimble that way in that department and continuing education to meet the needs of what they and the current location of what the current needs are because I remember back when that civil engineering tech it was just here's an idea and DOT needed some some help and here we go here we go great and a yeah a program that really helped a lot with the work for us and it mutually helped DOT's training yeah and still going pretty strong except for in the summertime when it's construction season everybody's a little busy yeah and that program has had some changes but it certainly yeah certainly is still there that partnership with the DOT is strong I figured it had to evolve some over the years just because it does that's what goes on a couple other things I wanted to quick ask you once again how's your food pantry doing oh yeah thanks for asking it's great it's been quiet this summer not because we want it to be but just people I think are out and about doing other sorts of things but throughout the summer we're always happy if people want to call the main office of DMACC we're happy to meet people by appointment to shop and as we always like to mention it's not just for DMACC students it's for the community or anybody who could use it so we're that partner with the Food Bank of Iowa and we're open to anybody who could use that and we'll we'll have more regular shopping hours again as late August and early September get here as we start the fall semester so somebody if you have your kids at home and you're going I don't have enough to feed them find out please reach out we have right now we have a lot of shelf-stable items and then as August comes you'll see more again of the fresh fresh and frozen items to people just think it's for the students in the and and it does help them a lot but it's not just for them it is for the whole community it is it's for the whole community I always appreciate you mentioning that it's a message we definitely want to get out there all right let's see some well let's talk about getting ready for here one more time we're gonna visit and it'll be you know ready for classes to start I know right yeah oh I was gonna ask too because we hadn't how did the I said graduation go oh I'm glad you asked because I wanted to tell you it was a great graduation so that was June 18th and we had nine graduates participate in the ceremony okay so it's an excellent ceremony lots of family and friends they're cheering them on so it was a great a great evening all right and again folks if you're wondering yes they used to call it GED but the state of Iowa made this adjustment so now it's high set and you've got people that can help them again if someone did not get their high school degree or wants to you know no matter how long ago you still can get an opportunity yeah absolutely and what I well we have wonderful staff there who can help with any of the skills people could use help with to be successful in that program but what I love about high set too is that there's always a new start date coming up right so there's you know we'll have something starting in August and then in October there's always a chance to get started with that so keep going yeah the opportunity is there again right yeah who knows who knows where you go after that right lots of options there are all right so yeah now as we're looking at getting ready for us fall semester mentioned the 29th that's a great day for folks if they have 29th of July again the opportunity to come out there see what's the campus is like what's going on get a chance to visit with people have lunch have lunch if you haven't registered maybe register if you just are curious yeah you might say I haven't made up my mind yet yes and that's that's okay too that happens every time we have a welcome day and that's that's part of it as well so the nice thing is we have so many people there that day who can really address specific questions so we'll have somebody there who can talk about the FAFSA process sure I love somebody there who can talk about if I want to go into nursing what does that look like we'll have people there who can help with those questions so already I'm guessing for enrollment numbers and again strictly a guess on my side but a lot of on the nursing program still quite a few in there yes nursing is moving up into the registered nurse yeah moving into that RN yes nursing continues to be one of our busiest or strongest we have strong programs but tends to be one of the programs that we have where there's a little bit of a wait list which an advisor can help people plan out you know what you do on the wait list but yeah nursing is a very get a lot of basic classes out of the way yeah early early and sometimes people already know they want to do a BSN or something in the future so an advisor can help in that regard saying hey let's let's look at some things you might need for your BSN once you're done at DMACC too and that's one of those things that you do have a working arrangement where they can do a couple of years here at DMACC and then get their their bachelor of science nursing degree yeah that's another example where DMACC has good partnerships with places like you know Iowa State and a variety of places for that so otherwise that's most outside of Bragg-Bry taking over the place here for a day or so yes it's going to be a good adventure and then we'll rest and then we'll we'll get ready to get back into doing the mowing and everything else is going on yes I figure they'll use that west side patio area that was looking pretty good there when I went by a couple of the soccer matches earlier yeah it's looking good and I think if I rode that many miles I'd want to hang out on an Adirondack chair too probably in the shade in the shade exactly all right Aaron Newman our guest on our program today thanks so much for joining us getting us up today what's going on any other final things we need to remind them about campus outside of holidays which we don't have too many going on right now yeah I just for Bragg-Bry we're closed on Tuesday the 21st we open late on Wednesday the 22nd we open at noon so if someone's looking for some support with questions I just want them to know that and then the fall semester it start itself starts August 26th so as we always like to say if you're thinking about exploring options for the fall you still have time to do that but reach out and we can help you with your planning and the sooner you do obviously the easier it is to put everything together yes absolutely been kind of hesitant or if you've been away for a while and want to come back yes and and know if that's the case you are not alone we do have many students who maybe never got the chance to go to college and wanted to or they have had a kind of a gap since they've been there so if that is something you've experienced who's listening you're certainly not alone we have many students who who have experienced that too just a quick ask because we know we do pathways DMACC does pathways but do you get a chance to see do we have a lot of different activities and things that they're already focusing on coming up and is your staff all there for the for you guys for our boon campus yes so we're fully staffed right yeah and I like to just point out with staffing I talk a lot about advising and financial aid support all those things that are helpful but the boon campus also has a mental health counselor a full-time nurse there's lots of supports there and so yeah we are fully staffed which is pretty exciting yeah me too really we do Aaron Newman once again the interim executive campus Dean Boone campus to Moyniere Community College thanks for joining us thank you