The Faculty Senate Best Practices sessions are always an important and popular feature of TCCTA conferences. At the annual convention in Houston, the group will explore the challenges and opportunities for community and technical college educators to maximize their influence with the Texas Legislature.
Below is a message from Fred Newbury, Richland College, and David Lydic, Austin Community College, who will serve as moderators of the meeting.
Colleagues:
We hope that you are making plans to attend the annual TCCTA convention in Houston, March 4-6. A session for faculty leaders has been scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
As you all know, there is a lot going on this year at the State level and, from all reports, the upcoming legislative session promises to be a lively one with budget shortfalls being one of the main topics of conversation. It will be a critical session for higher education in general but particularly for community and technical colleges. Member and campus involvement (and support) has always been important in this process but this year it is vital that our collective voice is an effective and positive chorus that communicates the importance of our role and the level of our contribution to higher education in Texas.
We plan to keep this session informal and continue the information-sharing that has always characterized our meetings, but we have invited Mr. Beaman Floyd, TCCTA lobbyist, to spend some time with us to talk about these issues and also ways to maximize our influence in the legislative process. We should still have time to talk about local campus issues but the decisions that will be made in the next few months have significant implications for all of us—particularly our students.
We look forward to seeing you in Houston and continuing our work together.
Fred Newbury, Richland College (DCCCD)
David Lydic, Austin Community College
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