Hill College Board of Regents holds September 2023 monthly meeting

  Jessyca Brown
  Friday, September 29, 2023 2:48 PM
  Enrollment Management

Hillsboro, TX

On September 19, 2023, the Hill College Board of Regents met for the monthly regular session meeting.

The minutes from the August meeting were approved. The financial report was presented and approved. The overall budget has exceeded expectations with foundation donations and increased revenue.

Hill College President Dr. Thomas Mills presented his report, beginning with the centennial events, which included the volleyball game against Dallas College-Richland, a win for the Lady Rebels; the opening of Hill College Artifacts at the Texas Heritage Museum and the first Phillip H. Lowe Performing Arts Series event for the year featuring Elevation (An Emerald City Band); followed by the Centennial Dinner and Alumni & Friends Day. As part of the Alumni & Friends Day, 10 alumni played in the softball game against current Hill College athletes.

Dr. Mills’ report also included the announcement of the college’s Centennial Endowment Fund initiative. All monies raised will go to two different endowment funds—one for nursing students and one for those working toward their degree in education. The interest raised off these funds will allow the college to offer annual scholarships to one student in each of those programs every year. So far, approximately $11,000 has been raised thanks to staff contributions.

Dr. Mills’ report also included other recent events on campus, including the ice cream social and All Staff Day, as well as students moving back on campus for the start of the 2023–2024 academic year.

He also presented the new division rebranding and structure changes for staff, a move that is geared toward refocusing the college with a more student-centric focus.

Kevin Rocha, executive director of information technology & learning innovation and chief information officer, presented the restructuring of the Information Technology and Learning Innovation (IT&LI) department. This restructuring will centralize the support and management of the IT&LI division and will allow for a more focused attention on technical and learning support for students, staff, and faculty. In addition, this new direction will prioritize cyber security for the college website and online activity for students and staff.

Enrollment numbers continue to trend upward. Personnel considerations were also presented and approved.

An update on campus maintenance was presented, including the installment of the baseball field bleachers, the upcoming Performing Arts Center sound and lighting improvements, and the updates to the electric system at Bailey Residence Hall scheduled for 2024.

Interim Athletic Director and Dean of Students Randy Graves gave the athletic report. The volleyball team began their conference games and started the season with a record of 2–0. Both men and women’s soccer are in full swing. Women’s soccer forward Davia Richards, a sophomore from Jamaica, earned both the national and regional Player of the Week honors for her performances so far this season.

In two years, the cross country team has grown from three athletes to 23 runners, an accomplishment for the college and a statement to Coach Lautenslager’s commitment to the sport and building Hill College’s reputation in cross country and track.

Baseball, softball, basketball, and rodeo are all beginning their seasons as well. It should be an exciting year of athletics for the Rebels.

Vice President of Administrative Services Billy Don Curbo presented a consideration of approval for an additional module for Jenzabar, a cloud platform geared toward educational institutions, to assist in data migration with a one-time cost of $91,720. The motion passed.

Curbo also presented a consideration of the voter tax rate approval. The motion passed.

Vice President of Student Learning & Success Irene Accomando presented a consideration of approval of a memorandum of understanding with ProTrain, a partner organization that will provide additional training options for Hill College students. The motion passed.

Accomando also presented considerations of approval for affiliation agreements with Cengage, an online course content aid for faculty; Ed2go, an online education partner that will provide flexible, online courses for students; Golden State Foods, and Johnson County EMT/EMR. The motions were approved.

A consideration of approval for the 2024–2025 academic calendar was also presented and approved.

Finally, Accomando presented a consideration of approval for an agreement with Grand Canyon University in which Hill College and Grand Canyon University will allow concurrent enrollment for students. The motion was approved.

Members present: Bill Galiga, Dr. Allan Lane, Jolene Lehmann, Dwight Lloyd, Tony Marley, Jennifer Nowlin, Bill Siddons III, and David Teel.

Members absent: Karen Brackin, Kent Eubank, Kevin Ray, and Rick Sullins.

The Hill College Board of Regents meets the third Tuesday of every month.