COD Trustees discuss possible art museum, clarify Palm Springs project agreement

Could College of the Desert transform its golf center and driving range into an art museum?

A presentation, labeled as a study session on the board's agenda on Friday, for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at College of the Desert was deemed an unprecedented legacy gift by Laura Hope, COD interim superintendent and president.

Schnitzer's mother, Arlene, was a philanthropist and art collector who served on the college foundation's board of directors from 2014 to 2020. She died in 2020 at the age of 91.

"Jordan Schnitzer's love of art came from his mother," said Catherine Abbott, executive director of the college's foundation. "Today, his collection spans over 20,000 works of art."

The trustees were presented with Schnitzer's initial requests for the proposed art museum, which would require 25,000 square feet of space, or roughly 12-13 acres — ideally where the college's golf range is located on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Fred Waring Drive.

The museum, which would be free of charge to the community, includes the possibilities for a gallery, artist residences, K-12 educational and event spaces, a warehouse for storage, parking, as well as security and custodial staff. Schnitzer would absorb all costs, including the lease of the land plus annual investment.

Schnitzer, also a real estate developer, remarked passionately about having a diverse art museum located centrally in the Coachella Valley, supporting local artists and local education, as well as ensuring its accessibility to all.

While the trustees seemed broadly receptive to Schnitzer's generosity, Trustee Rubén Peréz inquired about the profit the college earns from the driving range. While the amount was not readily available, Hope said they don't make a profit, they actually lose money by operating the driving range.

"It really does call into question what our mission is," she said. "Our mission is educational, right? It is incumbent upon if we can evaluate other opportunities if it can advance education."

Rod Garcia, who serves as vice president, added that outside of the significant investment this would be from Schnitzer, the fact that he is also willing to staff it and pay for the ongoing cost is an enormous plus.

"Our job is to get the art outside of the warehouse on the walls, so these amazing, artistic geniuses can speak to our audiences, young and old," he said. "The important things that these artists, especially artists of color... the way they tackle the issues we have to face in society, they do it in a nonconfrontational way that then sparks conversation."

The proposal will continue to be discussed in further meetings.

An update on Vision for Success

Among several other items discussed was an updated report on the college's Vision for Success — an initiative from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office in 2017 that helps eliminate achievement gaps and ensures students from all backgrounds reach their educational goals.

Each community college across California must reach its goals within five years, and the goals are all related to student completion rates, transfer rates, or other student outcomes related to the workforce. An updated framework to be released next year, known as Vision 2030 and most recently approved by the chancellor's office, may restructure how these social and economic mobility goals are monitored.

Oxana Aghaei, director of the college's office of institutional research, reported that College of the Desert mostly surpassed its goals in increasing the number of students who earn an associate's degree or credit certificate, increasing the number of students who earn an associate's degree for transfer or to a UC/CSU institution, and increasing the percentage of students' median earnings and ability to attain a living wage.

She added that the college should now focus on decreasing the average number of semester units for an associate's degree, as well as increasing the percentage of career technical education students employed in their chosen field of study.

Further clarity on the Palm Springs development project consultant agreement

Trustee Bea Gonzalez called for a discussion to clarify the expenditure contract/ agreement language for Farnsworth Group, Inc. — an engineering and architecture firm tasked with providing the college's Palm Springs development project commissioning and sustainability consulting services required for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification using bond funds not to exceed $933,161.

"I see the services close to a million dollars," Gonzalez said. "It seems like we're hiring a consultant to consult with consultants to consult."

President Hope referred to Mac McGinnis, a consultant in charge with construction of the college's bond projects, to provide that clarification.

"We're going after LEED Gold," he said. "In order to do that, you have to bring a commissioning agent on. That's a requirement. We're bringing them on now because we're setting the standards for the contractors and the levels they have to meet."

In other words, Hope, admitted: Yes, this is a way for a consultant to provide other standards for other people they're going to hire.

"The LEED standard that we're striving for is a sustainability standard for that building that we committed to at the beginning of the project," Hope said.

McGinnis added that they will be there to run the commissioning process once it starts, "meaning they'll check the air conditioning systems, the pumps, HVAC systems, electrical, all of those."

Trustee Peréz then confirmed that these funds were previously earmarked for the campus. Ultimately, the motion carried despite Gonzalez's dissent.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 in Building C's Board Room.

Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: COD: Trustees discuss Palm Springs project contract confusion