Board decides against search firms, saves on new building

By Shelly Williams/editor-in-chief

After almost two hours in closed session, the TCC Board of Trustees moved closer toward finding a new chancellor.

During the Jan. 21 board meeting, board vice president Bobby McGee moved that the board not use a search firm to find applicants for the position and save TCC money on the search. The board approved unanimously to directly solicit applicants and avoid going through a search firm.

“I move that we post the position, solicit applicants, receive those applications using the college’s normal and usual processes,” McGee said. “And then come together as a board in a closed session to review the applicants we’ve received, and then determine a process that seems appropriate for screening through those and narrowing down and evaluating those candidates we’ve received before we engage in outside searching. And keep that option open, but let’s go through this process first.”

TCC lawyer Angela Robinson said the board is not required to use a search firm to locate applicants for the chancellor position. The college has the option of opening its advertisement of the position to higher education Web sites and professional college publications or magazines.

The board will meet later to discuss and review candidates for the position.

Before the decision was made, Interim Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley started the meeting by addressing the final cost of Trinity River East Campus — to be completed by spring 2011.

Board members learned from project consultant and chief financial officer of Huffines Group in Dallas, Al Linley, that the original guaranteed price for construction went down to $197 million, saving TCC around $6 million.

Linley said the college could also save an additional estimate of $3 million by agreeing to a lump sum contract without any changes to the new campus’ design.

“This is a total of everything paid so far,” he said.

Linley said that the campus would consist of an estimated 113,000 usable square feet for classrooms, labs and a simulated hospital. The campus will offer nursing, respiratory care, radiologic technology, surgical technology, sonography and physical therapist assistant courses.

The board of trustees was also informed that the college wanted to start creating a strategic plan for the college’s direction as it heads toward 2015.

Jim Cross, contracted to lead the strategic plan, which Hadley said would include opportunities throughout the semester to give the community a chance to comment on TCC’s future.

As the discussion ended, board members said they were leaning toward the lump-sum contract, but that a vote on the Trinity River East Campus contract would be scheduled for its next Feb. 18 meeting.