Hill College’s Board of Regents holds first meeting of 2023
Jessyca Brown
Thursday, February 9, 2023 9:04 AM
General Events, Enrollment Management
Hillsboro, TX
On January 17, 2023, the Hill College Board of Regents met for the monthly regular session meeting.
The minutes from the November meeting were approved. Hill College President Dr. Thomas Mills’ report included several staff events, the Staff Holiday Party held at the new Burleson Higher Education Center, which opened for classes on January 17; and All-Staff Day, held on January 6.
The president continues to host lunches with staff, teaching forums, and staff integration meetings. The third Teach the President Forum was held on December 2. The series will be held through the end of the semester, with the final forum for this academic year in March 2023.
Halfway into his first year as president, Dr. Mills reinforced his four pillars of success, a standard by which to measure Hill College’s areas of achievement and areas for improvement. The pillars focus on student success, enrollment and programmatic growth, community and workforce partnerships, and workplace satisfaction.
Dr. Mills also emphasized a possible new funding model for the college that focuses on providing financial avenues to aid in students’ abilities to attend college and provide students the experience they need to join and support the needs of the Texas workforce. This is part of a larger focus of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance, established during the 87th Texas Legislature. This proposed funding model is geared toward supporting and encouraging community colleges to provide affordable funding/financing for students to achieve associate degrees, certifications, job training, and dual credit programs for high school students. This initiative ties directly into Dr. Mills’ goal of reinventing the college through the lens of student success.
Dr. Mills also presented a Consideration of Approval of Bids for continued maintenance to further campus beautification and facility upgrades. Approved projects include new bleachers and additional net replacements for the baseball fields. It also includes an upgrade to the alarm system at the Texas Heritage Museum, which will separate the burglar and fire alarm systems to align with the American Alliance of Museums standards.
Other topics addressed at the meeting included the Capital Improvement Campaign for the Cleburne Campus and the grand opening of the Burleson Higher Education Center on February 23. Preliminary numbers on enrollment were also shared with the board.
Athletic Director Paul Brown presented the athletic report, including the kick-off of basketball, rodeo, and upcoming spring sports—baseball, softball, and track.
The board also approved an agreement of affiliation with Outcomes Detox and Recovery and Hill College for students in the drug, alcohol, and abuse program in the Health and Public Services pathway to do their field work, a requirement of the degree plan.
Members present: Karen Brackin, Allan Lane, Jolene Lehmann, Dwight Lloyd, Tony Marley, Jennifer Nowlin, Rick Sullins, and David Teel
Members absent: William Auvenshine, Kent Eubank, Bill Galiga, and Kevin Ray
The Hill College Board of Regents meets the third Tuesday of every month.