From: News and Information, UTB
Sent: Thu, March 3, 2011 6:45:29 PM
Subject: A Message from the President
Dear Colleagues, As we began this semester I asked for your help in communicating to our legislators the importance of sustained funding for our university. Many of you have responded and for that I am greatly appreciative.
Dear Colleagues, As we began this semester I asked for your help in communicating to our legislators the importance of sustained funding for our university. Many of you have responded and for that I am greatly appreciative.
As we approach the season for local elections and with the recent developments surrounding Partnership discussions, I encourage you to continue to exercise your constitutional rights and freedoms.
While you engage in this important civic discourse please ensure that you do so always in compliance with the two rules that govern this issue: UTS 165 and Regents Rule 30103 (see Section 13).
KNOWLEDGE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
KNOWLEDGE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
In her unrelenting campaign to pressure the four members of the Texas Southmost College board of trustees who voted not to eliminate the college district and preserve it for future generations of South Texans, TSC-UTB president Juliet Garcia is pulling out all the stops.
The above-reproduced email is but one of many she has had the UTB propaganda machine flood the emails of students, faculty and staff at the Harvard on the Rio Grande.
She is pious, however, as was Armand Mathew in threatening trustee Trey Mendez, in invoking the guidelines governing these types of communications. But what does the quoted rule 30103, Section 13 actually read?
To the average person, it prohibits exactly the type of activity the presidents in so disingenuously engaging in, namely using university funds to push against the trustees votes on the issue.
The rules she mentioned follow (italics ours):
The University of Texas System
Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents Rule: 30103
Sec. 13 Political Activities. The Board of Regents recognizes the right of employees to participate in political activities provided such activities are not conducted during work hours unless the
employee uses accrued compensatory or vacation leave; are in compliance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas; do not interfere with the discharge and performance of an
employee's duties and responsibilities; do not involve the use of equipment, supplies, or services of the U. T. System or any of the institutions; do not involve the impermissible use of
University facilities; do not involve the attempt to coerce students, faculty, or staff to participate in or support the political activity;
employee uses accrued compensatory or vacation leave; are in compliance with the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas; do not interfere with the discharge and performance of an
employee's duties and responsibilities; do not involve the use of equipment, supplies, or services of the U. T. System or any of the institutions; do not involve the impermissible use of
University facilities; do not involve the attempt to coerce students, faculty, or staff to participate in or support the political activity;
...
An employee who wishes to engage in political activity that will interfere with the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities should voluntarily terminate employment.
An employee who wishes to engage in political activity that will interfere with the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities should voluntarily terminate employment.
There are other, specific, rules that strictly prohibit Garcia from engaging in the type of conduct that she has publicly engaged in. In the rules governing the activity of the president from making recommendations on "agreements or contracts" with the junior college district, the rules state:
“L. INTERAGENCY CONTRACTS WITH UT SYSTEM AND BOARD OF REGENTS
b. In order to avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest, the UTB/TSC President will not make recommendations to the SUJCD Board on interagency agreements or contracts between SUJCD and the UT System and/or UT Board of Regents.
Are we missing something here? And if it isn't Garcia herself making the recommendations and urging (coercing) faculty, staff, and students but is ordering her underlings to do it, is that not breaking the spirit of the law?
7 comments:
For years Juliet has violated state law by using her position and resources to promote politicians and political issues. She used her position to remove voting from the UTB campus when a student, Roy de los Santos ran for the TSC board. He would likely have gotten the student votes....so Queen Scorpiana removed the voting from the campus. She brought voting back to campus when she thought she could control the student, faculty and staff vote...using the student government as her "go-fers"; even shuttleing voters to the polls in her fleet of golf carts. Juliet has abused her position and has violated state laws in her use of her position to promote "her" political will. It continues.
UTB also has a policies and procedures called HOOP. In it describes what the equipment should be used for and the priest's use of the university's equipment, title, and probably the time the email was sent indicate a clear violation. (Trey needs to check out the time of the email). HOOP is on their website. Another indication that UTB leadership is not looking out for the interests of students, but their own. What could be so important to them that they are willing to violate their employer's policies to attain? The UT-Regents did not do their due diligence with these people. UT-Regents start looking at UTB's leadership because they aren't taking care of the good name and reputation of the UT-System.
Once again, outstanding work! Thank you.
The current UTB administration (Juliet's Committee) sure has given UT System a black eye. The impression I get from reading current events is that the voters mostly like UT but can't stand Juliet's reign of terror, oppression and corruption. They want' her and her Committee GONE.
Juliet and Committee are pulling every trick in the book to get what they want. Their next ploy? Demand a recount! Darn, the vote is still 4 to 3.
HOOP stands for Handbook Of Operating Procedures, and the problem is that the present campus "leadership" is choosing to largely ignore it. The Academic Senate is but a shadow of what it once was and seems powerless to stop administrators who are ignoring HOOP policies and procedures or "cherry picking" the ones they like. Essentially the much-vaunted "shared governance" which is a supposed keystone of true Higher Education is only Kabuki Theatre in Brownsville! This is, incidentally, by design.
Either the UT System Regents are in cahoots, or they are morons. Either way, it looks bad.
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