By Salvador Gutierrez:
The Amarillo College Board of Regents held its monthly regular meeting on Tuesday, April 24th. The meeting took place in the Palo Duro Room, located on the second floor of the College Union Building of the Washington Street Campus.
One of the first the subjects of discussion was the SGA report. Current SGA President Justin Johnson reported on elections for upcoming officers, referring to Cecilia Almanza as the new SGA President for the upcoming semester.
Additionally, Johnson shared the results of a survey conducted by Student Government association focused on the things that students would like to see a change at AC; the results showed that students are mainly concerned about food options on campus and the high prices of the few alternatives offered at AC. President Russell Lowery-Hart announced that an RFP will take place during the summer with the idea of having a rotation of food trucks in the Washington and West campuses.
Among other important matters, the Board of Regents approved faculty promotions in the following categories:
Instructor to assistant professor: Rebbeca Byrd (Respiratory care), Nancy Forrest (Reading), Amanda Lester-Chisum (Dental Hygiene), Pamela Ortega (English, MCC), Jennifer Rabson (Physical Sciences), Tamra Rockso (Nuclear Medicine), Kerrie Young (Associate Degree Nursing), Carol Summers (Reading/Developmental English).
Assistant Professor to Associate Professor: Stefanie Decker (Social Behavioral Sciences)
Associate Professor to Professor: Kim Boyd (Medical Laboratory Technology) and Tiffany Lamb (Biology).
Three of the faculty promotions in rank requests were recommended for denial. despite being mentioned they were not revealed.
A distinct matter of discussion was the approval of the new associate degree in environmental science, A.S. The new degree was previously approved by the curriculum committee on March 2, of the current year. This degree will earn 60 credit hours and will lead to transferability. The request was approved by the Board of Regents and students may begin enrolling in the Fall of 2018.
$150,000 from the Texas Workforce Adult Education & Literacy Grant were approved for the renovation of the Community Link Facility located at 2412 N. Grand St. Furnishing and equipment will be purchased from an Amarillo College-approved vendor. AC’s Community Link assists adults in obtaining their GED diplomas and it also offers ESL classes.
After discussion, The Board of Regents approved the architectural firm proposal for the Ware basement computer lab. Parkhill, Smith & Cooper will be the firm in charge of the computer lab project. The budget rounds to 1.2 million and it includes the purchase of equipment. The works in the basement of the Ware building already started with the removal of asbestos. The new lab is envisioned as a safe space for students that will be open 24/7, that will include classrooms, individual stations and it might even include a gaming area.
Another item placed on the agenda was the sale of 134.34 acres of east property land, the motion was approved under the condition that the land must be used for affordable residential development and other amendments
Other events were announced during the meeting. The Young Artist Piano Series will take place in the Concert Hall Theater on April 26, 2018. June Jazz will expand to six weeks due to the increase in attendance in the last year, it will start in June.
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