The Weatherford College Board of Trustees began the process of financing a new residence hall during their meeting Thursday afternoon.
Julie MacMillan with RBC Capital Markets, LLC presented a financing plan to the board and will return at the April meeting for the board to take action on the issuance of revenue bonds to fund the project.
The new residence hall will sit to the east of the existing Coyote Village complex on the southeast corner of College Park Drive and East Park Avenue on the Weatherford campus.
Following MacMillan’s report, the board approved a resolution authorizing the payment of fees and services related to the project with a reimbursement occurring once the revenue bonds are issued.
The board also approved construction manager-at-risk as the method of procurement for the project and granted authority to WC President Tod Allen Farmer to select a committee for the project.
Following an executive session, the board voted unanimously to extended Farmer’s contract an additional year, to 2025.
“Great leaders are difficult to find and even more difficult to retain,” said board member Dan Carney. “We have a great leader.”
Board member Judy McAnally echoed that sentiment, praising Farmer’s enthusiasm representing WC in the community.
“When you do great things, somebody has to take the brunt of the heat and the stress and the worry to make sure all those things are done, and we have that in Dr. Farmer,” she said. “He goes out into this community presenting a bright, energetic, educated, all-welcoming persona to this community.”
The board also adopted the 2022-23 tuition and fee schedule.
Tuition for in-district (Parker County) students will increase by $7 per semester credit hour in the new academic year. Wise County student tuition will increase by $10 per hour and out-of-district tuition (Texas counties other than Parker and Wise) will increase by $15 per hour.
A full list of tuition and fees is available on the WC website at https://wc.edu/paying-for-weatherford/tuition-and-fees.php.
In other business the board:
- Approved the minutes of the Feb. 10 board meeting.
- Approved the financial reports ending Feb. 28.
- Approved the quarterly investment report.
- Approved an amendment to the CBRE facilities management services agreement to include the new Emerging Technologies and Workforce Building.
- Received an academic and student services update highlighting the efforts of WC testing administrators Gwen Crabtree and Mary Thomas to help a student successfully retest for their TCOLE (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement) certification during the freezing temperatures on Feb. 23. As the roads became covered in ice and schools were closing, the Testing Center staff stayed with the student who had flown in from Las Vegas to take the test to be eligible to hire with the Weatherford Police Department.
- Received an update on the Hanover research demand study from Dr. John Jones, executive director of institutional research, recommending the college consider expanding program offerings in computer and electronic fields and add building and construction programs to meet job demands in the area. Jones will return in future meetings with more in-depth results of the demand study.
- Recognized the 40 area teachers recently awarded at the 26th annual Jack Harvey Academy of Exemplary Teachers.
- Highlighted the recent graduate level articulation agreements signed with Texas A&M-Commerce and Tarleton State University.
- Announced the grand opening of the Emerging Technologies and Workforce Building at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30.
- Announced the resignation of Karen Holmes, an accounts payable assistant.
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