The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees convened Tuesday on the Estherville campus and learned about the long-time success of the Environmental Studies program.

Professor Gary Phillips was introduced to the trustees by Executive Dean Mary Larscheid of the Estherville campus.

Phillips has been at the helm of the Environmental Studies program for some 26 years. It continues to remain a very strong and viable program which has prepared over 1,000 students for careers in the environmental and resources management fields. More than half of those students have remained in Iowa and are today important employees of various federal, state, county and municipal agencies.

The Sustainable Energy Resources Management program is entering its third year next week. It's beginning to grow as prospective students become aware of the job opportunities which are developing in the renewable energy field. As this career area continues to develop, so will the enrollment in this new program.

While on the Estherville campus, the trustees got a mini tour of building projects on campus. Work on the new wrestling building is progressing toward a scheduled opening of Oct. 1; and the Athletics Training Room will be completed in time for the start of classes next week.

In other business, the list of summer graduates was officially accepted.

The next meeting of the Iowa Lakes Board of Trustees will be Tuesday, Sept. 16 at the administrative offices of the college in downtown Estherville.