The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees administered an oath of office to its newest member, made an appointment to the Cass County Transportation Authority, authorized the President to contract for additional fire protection services, heard a report on the criminal sentencing of a former SMC employee and conducted other business at its March 16 meeting on the Dowagiac campus.

SMC trustee Dr. Heidi Grabemeyer-Layman took the oath of office following her appointment last month to the College Board of Trustees. She is a Board Certified OB/GYN with South Shore Women’s Health Care in St. Joseph. She and her husband, Joel Layman, live in Pokagon Township with their two children, and own J.D. Layman Farms Inc.

SMC Treasurer Becky Moore was unanimously appointed by fellow trustees to serve as the College representative to the Cass County Transportation Authority. The authority operates small buses throughout the county. The oversight board for the transportation authority provides for one member to be chosen from SMC.

Board members also voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Dowagiac for fire protection services in addition to those provided by law by LaGrange Township.

“Safety and security of our students is the highest priority of Southwestern Michigan College,” said Board Chairman Thomas F. Jerdon. “Although the City of Dowagiac has historically provided fire protection services to the College under contract from LaGrange Township, the Township’s termination of this contract means that without tonight’s action, the closest fulltime fire department would not be immediately dispatched to the College in the event of a fire. For this reason, trustees found it prudent to add to the protection that the township will provide an extra layer of protection through the City.”

Final details of the arrangement are being concluded. The College will pay the City $13,500 per year for this service.

In his President’s report, Dr. David Mathews updated trustees on the final chapter of the employee theft discovered by the College approximately two years ago.

“Although the wheels of justice turn slowly,” said Mathews, “late Thursday afternoon SMC’s head of marketing from 2011-2013, Greg DeRue, was finally sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for stealing $208,133 from the College over a period of two years.”

The President recalled how SMC had experienced significant and sustained growth in enrollment in the four years preceding DeRue’s arrival at the College in January 2011. “Much of that growth was due to an extensive marketing expenditure by the College,” Mathews said.

Then, quite unexpectedly and without explanation, SMC began to experience enrollment declines for each of the two years DeRue was in charge of the College’s marketing effort.

“As a result of these declines, I determined that Mr. DeRue had been ineffective in his efforts of developing and executing an effective marketing strategy. As a result, I eliminated his position on May 23, 2013,” Mathews said.

Immediately following DeRue’s termination, what the College uncovered was not a story of inadequate marketing strategies, but one of theft of college resources, falsified invoices and criminal fraud involving a fictitious person created by DeRue to deceive the College.

DeRue produced false invoices regarding the amount of television airtime purchased for the College. This resulted in reducing the College’s mass media presence by 50 percent for those two years.

Immediately upon identifying this fraud, SMC conducted a thorough investigation, receiving great help initially from the Dowagiac Police Department, and then the FBI and U.S Attorney’s Office for Western Michigan.

“Our own business office staff was wonderful in untangling Mr. DeRue’s falsified invoices and fraud,” Mathews said.

“SMC identified the fraud, investigated it, insured it was prosecuted and now justice has been done. With a felony conviction, Mr. DeRue will find it very difficult to do this to another victim. Finally, the judge ordered full restitution to the College, and law enforcement has already seized more than $130,000 that will be used to immediately begin repayment to the College,” Mathews said.