Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Representatives of the Texas A&M University System, Texas State University System, Texas Tech University System and The University of Texas System have made informal contact with our board of regents expressing a desire to be part of any formal discussions should our board choose to evaluate potential system affiliation.
Our board will be engaging with these interested systems to assess how an affiliation might benefit SFA. These discussions will be conducted between representatives of our board and representatives of the system boards that have expressed an interest.
Board of Regents Subcommittee
The board has established a subcommittee tasked with engaging the authorized representatives of each interested system to discuss governance, financial and other related matters surrounding potential affiliation.
- Karen Gantt, Chair
- Tom Mason, Vice Chair
- Jennifer Winston, Secretary
- David Alders, Member and Former Chair
- Dr. Steve Westbrook, Interim President (ex officio)
Input
Although the decision in this matter rests ultimately with the board, input from interested stakeholders regarding this topic is being requested.
Campus Group Input
Over the course of five weeks (Aug. 22 – Sept. 23), representative campus groups, including the Deans Council, Chairs Forum, Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Student Government Association and Alumni Association developed questions from each of their perspectives relative to affiliation with a university system. These question sets were provided to each of the four systems Sept. 26 with an invitation to respond by Oct. 6. Each system has responded and the question sets and responses are provided below:
- Texas A&M University System
- Texas State University System
- Texas Tech University System
- University of Texas System
Campus Group Reports
Each group was invited to develop a report outlining their perception of the strengths and weaknesses of each system based on the group's review of the responses each system provided to their questions. In addition, each group was asked to outline what it would ask the board to consider when making a decision regarding affiliation.
These reports have all been received and are posted below:
- Academic Affairs Groups (Deans Council, Chairs Forum and Faculty Senate)
- Staff Council
- Student Government
- Alumni Association
University System Input Process Timeline
| Sept. 23 | Question sets developed by campus groups and submitted to interim president. |
| Sept. 27 | Question sets provided to the authorized system representative by the interim president. |
| Oct. 6 | System responses to question sets received by the interim president and submitted to the appropriate groups. |
| Oct. 21 | Reports representing the assessment of strengths and weaknesses of each responding system, and the recommendation for consideration provided to the interim president. |
| Oct. 30 | Reports presented to the board by the designated representatives. |
For more information, watch the fall 2022 Faculty/Staff Welcome Meeting and review Dr. Westbrook's presentation slides.
Board Subcommittee Update
The board of regents subcommittee was tasked with engaging the authorized representatives of each interested system to discuss governance, financial and other related matters surrounding such an affiliation.
Again, the membership of this subcommittee is:
- Karen Gantt, Chair
- Tom Mason, Vice Chair
- Jennifer Winston, Secretary
- David Alders, Member and Former Chair
- Dr. Steve Westbrook, Interim President (ex officio)
First Round Meetings: Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 27 and 28
The subcommittee met with representatives of each of the interested university systems on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 27 and 28. Regent Tom Mason hosted our meetings at Hillwood Development in Dallas where he serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer. SFA General Counsel Damon Derrick joined the subcommittee at these meetings.
While these meeting covered a wide range of topics, the focus was on institutional culture and fit.
The system participants in each of our meetings are listed below and material submitted to the subcommittee by each system is provided via the links below.
(Note: For these meetings the SFA subcommittee provided a set of questions to each system to frame the discussion. There was no request that a written response be provided for these framing questions; however, the Texas A&M system and the University of Texas system did provide written responses, and those are provided.)
Tuesday, Sept. 27 – Texas State University System
- Dr. Brian McCall, Chancellor
- Daniel Harper, Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
- Dr. Alisa White, President, Sam Houston State University
- Dr. Kelly Damphousse, President, Texas State University
- Dr. Jaime Taylor, President, Lamar University
- Stephen Lee, Regent
SFA:
Texas State System:
Tuesday, Sept. 27 – Texas Tech University System
- Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Chancellor
- Daily Fuller, Chief of Staff
- Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., President, Angelo State University
- Dr. JuliAnn Mazachek, President, Midwestern State University
- Regent Mark Griffin, Vice Chairman, Board of Regents
- Regent Ginger Kerrick Davis, Chairwoman, Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs Committee, Board of Regents
- Kirby Hocutt, Athletics Director, Texas Tech University
- Eric Bentley, Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, Texas Tech University System
- Penny Harkey, Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer, Texas Tech University System (and Vice President and CFO, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center)
- Kendra Burris, Deputy Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer, Texas Tech University System
SFA:
Texas Tech System:
Wednesday, Sept. 28 – Texas A&M University System
- John Sharp, Chancellor
- Billy Hamilton, Deputy Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
- Dr. James Hallmark, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Jenny Jones, Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations
SFA:
Texas A&M System:
Wednesday, Sept. 28 – University of Texas System
- Kevin Eltife, Chair, Board of Regents
- Dr. J.B. Milliken, Chancellor
- Jonathan Pruitt, Vice Chancellor Finance
SFA:
University of Texas System:
Second Round Meetings: Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 18 and 19
The board subcommittee met again on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 18 and 19, in Dallas at the Hillwood offices with representatives of each of the participating university systems. General Counsel Damon Derrick and SFA Vice President for Finance and Administration Gina Oglesbee joined the subcommittee at these meetings.
Again, while this meeting covered a wide range of topics, the focus was on finance and transition.
The system participants in each of our meetings are listed below, and material submitted to the subcommittee by each system is provided via the links below.
Tuesday, Oct. 18 - Texas State University System
- Dr. Brian McCall, Chancellor
- Daniel Harper, Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
SFA:
Texas State System:
Tuesday, Oct. 18 - Texas Tech University System
- J. Michael Lewis, Chairman, Board of Regents
- Mark Griffin, Vice Chairman, Board of Regents
- Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Chancellor, Texas Tech University System
- Eric Bentley, Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, Texas Tech University System
- Penny Harkey, Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer, Texas Tech University System (and Vice President and CFO, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center)
- Kim Turner, Chief Audit Executive, Texas Tech University System
- Dailey Fuller, Chief of Staff
SFA:
Texas Tech System:
Wednesday, Oct. 19 - Texas A&M University System
- John Sharp, Chancellor
- Billy Hamilton, Deputy Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
- Jenny Jones, Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations
- James Hallmark, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
SFA:
Texas A&M System:
Wednesday, Oct. October 19 - University of Texas System
- Kevin Eltife, Chair, Board of Regents
- Dr. J.B. Milliken, Chancellor
- Johnathan Pruitt, Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
SFA:
University of Texas System:
Board of Regents Update
Quarterly Meeting – Sunday and Monday, Oct. 30 and 31
The board of regents received reports from the campus constituent groups that had presented questions to the participating university systems. No further action related to system affiliation was taken at this meeting. A special meeting will be called in November to consider affiliation.
Analysis of Additional Financial Benefit
Following the face-to-face meetings of the board subcommittee with representatives from each system, Gina Oglesbee, vice president for finance and administration, assisted by Jane Ann Bridges, chief audit executive, and Judi Kruwell, associate vice president of finance and administration, worked closely with the chief financial officers of each system to clarify and expand upon their responses to financial questions posed and receive the best and final response from each.
This work focused on developing a concise comparison of financial benefits provided by each system to SFA over and above what is available to the university should we remain unaffiliated.
Schedules, accessible via the link below, outline the quantifiable additional financial value to SFA through affiliation segmented by system.
These schedules should be read as financial value provided above and beyond the value of enhanced bond ratings, investment management, purchasing power, construction management, system efficiencies and economies of scale that would be gained through affiliation with any of the systems.
Note: On the schedules, "HEF" stands for the Higher Education Fund, and "PUF" stand for the Permanent University Fund.
Thank you to these system CFOs and their teams for their work developing this analysis:
- Texas A&M University System, Billy Hamilton, Deputy Chancellor and CFO
- Texas State University System, Daniel Harper, Vice Chancellor and CFO
- Texas Tech University System, Penny Harkey, Interim Vice Chancellor and CFO
- University of Texas System, Jonathan Pruitt, Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
This analysis has been reviewed by the board subcommittee and provided to all board members.
Special Meeting – Tuesday, Nov. 29
The board will meet on Nov. 29 to consider affiliation.
Board Decision
The SFA Board of Regents voted during its special meeting on November 29 to accept the invitation from the University of Texas System to become a member institution.
In addition, the board suspended its rules for the selection of the president and authorized the University of Texas System Board of Regents to conduct the search for and select the university president under their relevant Rules and Regulations. Two members of the SFA Board of Regents will serve as members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee.
In the event the legislation concerning affiliation is not effective by the conclusion of the search, the University of Texas System Board of Regents’ selection will serve as a recommendation to the SFA Board of Regents, who will announce the name, background and qualifications of the finalist for president at least 21 days prior to board action on the employment of the individual.
Next Steps
The enabling legislation for the governance change will be considered by the 88th Texas Legislative session, which begins Jan. 10, 2023.