Professor of Leadership and Research
University of Texas Pan American
At some point, there has to be a line of demarcation drawn to distinguish both responsibility and culpability for what transpired during the twenty year partnership that was and is still in effect, between the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.It is rather telling that the UT System in Austin has never made any definitive statement about these issues that happened during it oversight or lack thereof during its responsibility for the UT side of the enterprise.
Did the UT System ever bother to ask the community about its needs or what the new UT branch at Brownsville should be about?
No. It simply moved forward as the Titanic with all pomp and ceremony. Their actions make a strong case for the regionalization of higher education governance instead of having individuals who do not know us provide us... with bad policy and practices of tolerance for bad organizational practices.
This community needs to demand a full audit that covers the past twenty years so that it can be determined who was on first base when this lack of oversight occurred.
It is rather telling that no one ever gets axed if they were the responsibility party of record. It all goes back to the hiring of individuals that were not trained to manage their delegated roles. When there are individuals with degrees in history, English and social sciences in charge because they are good in their disciplines; shortfalls occur.
This type of situation occurs because colleges and universities in south Texas have a tendency to hire the closes warm body in the room or someone who has a close relationship to someone on the board or at the top levels of administration.
We need to ask the Chancellor of the UT System to quit holding individuals harmless and get rid of them if their past behavior will lead to more such inappropriate actions under the planned organization for the the "new UT at Brownsville."
Changing or rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic did not prevent its demise and neither will it prevent future incompetent acts in higher education in this region.
We deserve better and should demand better as taxpayers and as Texans.
UT Brownsville should have relocated its new operations to the areas of this region where the demographic flow is going: north. As it is, there is a planned construction of a new administration facility on the corner of University Drive and highway 77 which is about one mile north of the Veterans Memorial Bridge to Matamoros.
One might ask the UT System to consider the model that Texas A&M International actualized in its construction of a campus about five north of its former location on the grounds of the Laredo Community College. That is one bit of planning that the Texas A&;M University System got right.
At what point will the board of regents at the UT System wake up and take an active policy role?
These regents come down to south Texas once a year and are wined and dined and then given a dog and pony show about selected highlights but no hard questions are asked such as: How are we really doing? The former membership of Texas Southmost College should step forth and claim some responsibility for this shortfalls: most of which happened on their watch.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "you get the leaders that you deserve." Well that is exactly what we have hear because la gente is silent, misinformed or simply, does not care.
11 comments:
I too would like answers why the UT system has allowed this farce of an administration to continue, why the past boards of TSC Trustees allowed the outrageous overages of the 2004 bond issue budget, why our tuition rates are sky high in such sharp contrast to the dismal graduation rates and why it has taken so long for the truth to surface. I agree with you Dr. Acevedo but take umbrage to your closing staements, " As Thomas Jefferson once said, 'you get the leaders that you deserve.' Well that is exactly what we have HERE, beause la gente is silent, misinformed , or simply doesn't care."
WE HAVE NOT BEEN SILENT.
The majority of the current TSC Board of Trustees deserves much credit for the roadblock they placed into the grand plan of Dr. Julieta Garcia and the memorial she built for herself at the expense of one of the poorest taxing districts in the nation. Our local bloggers also deserve credit for their scathing critiques and investigative journalism and let us not forget the citizens who dared to speak up and protest. We sir, have not been silent. Direct us to the proper offices to demand an audit of the UT/TSC budgets of the past twenty years and also for the resignation of the the "President of the President" of Texas at Brownsville. I may be one voice, but I speak for many. Let us know and we will follow through.
Juliet has been significantly overpaid over these 20 years. You simply go to the head of the organization.
As President, she got a sweet deal on a house and how 'bout her $ 400,000 salary. If allegations are true, we can recoup some of the costs from her.
I agree, except for the part where the writer states that the campus should be re-located. The TSC bond issue provided for a new performing arts center and the REK center, among other things. Those types of facilities are fluff, quality of campus life projects that belong on a university campus, and NOT on a junior collegee campus. The UT campus should lease these buildings from the junior college.
Part of the reason that TSC has the highest tuition among Texas junior colleges is the schedule of fees that one has to pay in addition to the general tuition. These fees are in part due to reimbursement for the use of these facilities. Non-traditional (older) night students who are trying to gain a certificate as quickly and as cheaply as possible have no need for these "fluff" faciities. They just want to get their degree or certificate as quickly and as cheaply as possible.
If anything, leave UT at Fort Brown, and have them pay the taxing district rent "forever", and move the TSC over to the ITEC, or to a new facility up north.
I believe that UT has a place here in Brownsville. The campus is beautiful, and up to par with many other state campuses. It should be showcased in the UT system to bring new people down to Brownsville, in order to reverse the tide of all of our best and brightest who leave town as soon as they receive their highschool diploma.
Here we go again. "leave UT at Fort Brown..."
Why should TSC get the leftovers? Afterall, it was Juliet who started the renovations at TSC before the partnership. Who knew she would follow the white masters in austin when she pushed the old man from the TSC presidency.
Both campuses should remain at Fort Brown and learn to live together. This was so before the partnership, this can also be after the partnership.
If UT System is the "Titantic" then Juliet Garcia is the Captain that has been guiding the ship for the last 20 years. As the Captain, she has directed and managed the actions of UT System and its Board of Regents. Juliet's influence with the UT System is based on her control of UTB-TSC; especially her control of the TSC Board. We need to look at the previous board members who gave Juliet local control....Mary Rose Kardenas, in particular. Mary Rose and her muse, Juliet Garcia sought to control local education....and input from the public didn't matter to them. Juliet and Mary Rose "dictated" the UTB-TSC partnership, and by controlling TSC, they provided UT System with a new income line....the local tax payers. The partnership was a "farce" and the former TSC Trustees....including current TSC Trustees Little Bobby Robles and David Oliviera helped carry the water of corruption for Juliet...and continue to serve her loyally today. Education was something the local community needed and wanted....unfortunately, they allowed Juliet to define our needs and she let us down. Juliet is a self-promoter and that was her primary effort as President of UTB-TSC. Hopefully, mismanagement by Juliet is the basis for lawsuits in the future. Unfortunately, local law enforcement officials will not take her on because of her political and economic power. Since our local DA has no huevos...we can't expect justice unless the Federal or State governments take her on.
pura rata with all these federal and state, local monies, julieta garcia should be charged with grand theft and convicted and make her and the prevouios board members make restitution to the citzens of this districtm bola de ratas es lo que son only no mas no menos,
"I believe that UT has a place here in Brownsville."
That may be, but your suggestion that TSC leave the Fort Brown Campus for UT and move to ITEC is ludicrous. It would be like a tenant kicking out his Landlord. To show good faith, should not how UT pay their rent of over $11 million dollars, which has been in arrears for years?
Let UT purchase their own historical campus, letting them appropriate the campus from TSC would be another case of them raping TSC again. Will they never be satisfied?
Voter #8976
“We shouldn’t be criticized for using Chinese workers,” a current Apple executive said. “The U.S. has stopped producing people with the skills we need.”
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=business
Brownsville's economy needs junior college trained petroleum technicians, welders, cooks, nurses, shrimpers, mechanics, electricians, and maritime skills technicians. Not historians, literature, and music majors.
Juliet should be fired for building a $25 million dollar theater here. What rock does she live under. What was she thinking? Until we hold educators accountable, via firing, we cannot move forward.
There is more than enough blame to go around. Julieta was President of both institutions. Her employers were the UT Board of
Regents and the TSC Board of Trustees. Both boards failed miserably in their choice of President, their supervision and oversight of her work.
The truly sad part is the local taxpayers and students got hosed in the process. Our leaders have failed us once again, and they will all walk away free as birds to screw somebody else with their incompetence.
El Pinche Gringo
That middle school out there named after the "President of the President of Texas at Brownsville" needs to be renamed. Strip the school of that horrid name and rename it after someone more deserving. No one likes you Dr. Garcia, the community despises you, go away, far far away.
"suggestion that TSC leave the Fort Brown Campus for UT and move to ITEC is ludicrous. It would be like a tenant kicking out his Landlord."
why should one of the "poorest taxing districts in the nation" be living in a mansion when they could be re-couping some of OUR bond losses by renting our extravagant campus to the largest university system in Texas.
The point about UT being arrears in rent is well taken. We just have to be smarter this time around when we draft up lease documents. Now that the coyotes are not watching the hen house we can draw up a valid lease that has some teeth!
our future "college trained petroleum technicians, welders, cooks, nurses, shrimpers, mechanics, electricians, and maritime skills technicians" do not need to be paying extra high fees to be educated in a utopian campus. Rent it back to the state!!
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