Texas Border Business
By Amanda Sotelo
The duties of a South Texas College Board of Trustee expand past once-a-month meetings and event appearances, with committee involvement where most large decisions are made and crucial conversations that impact the college, students, faculty and staff are held.
The three committees: Finance, Audit and Human Resources, Facilities and Education and Workforce Development are led by appointed trustees, Dalinda Gonzalez – Alcantar, Rina Castillo and Alejo Salinas Jr., Ph.D., respectively.
Making history with her appointment, Castillo is the first newly-elected trustee to hold a committee chair position thanks to her long-time work in education and community and economic development.
“As a new trustee, being entrusted with this responsibility meant a great deal to me,” she said. “I also feel the weight of it because I don’t want to simply hold a title, I want to do something meaningful. This is why I wanted to serve in the first place – to ask questions, challenge us to think bigger, advocate for students and help open doors that can change lives.”
Castillo, who represents Northeast Hidalgo County, North Weslaco, Edcouch, Elsa, La Villa, Mercedes, Monte Alto, Northeast Alamo, Northeast Edinburg and Hargill, also said, as chair, she hopes to move from conversation to action.
“I want us to think strategically about where the gaps are, who we are not reaching and how we can bring education and workforce opportunities directly into our communities,” she added. “By the end of my term, I want to be able to point to real outcomes such as students we reached, opportunities we created, partnerships we strengthened and lives we changed.”
Gonzalez-Alcantar, who chairs the Finance, Audit and Human Resources committee, is now in her second term and reflects on what the committee has achieved and what their top priorities are.
“Our primary goal is to be good stewards of STC’s finances to maximize opportunities for our students and families in Hidalgo and Starr Counties,” she said. “There is a lot of financial instability at a state and federal level right now and our responsibility is also to stay informed about how this impacts our students and our employees. Overall, we’re responsible for approving the budget, remaining conservative, but also knowing where we need to spend to better serve our communities. It’s not an easy task.”
She added that it is also not lost on the committee, that a big financial cut goes to staffing, because it’s important that STC keep talent that helps create success for the college.
“We must compensate fairly to keep high-quality educators in the classroom. It is these educators, who are transforming lives and creating workforce-ready graduates who contribute to our economy. We need to keep our best talent,” she said. “Ultimately, it’s also about advocating for our communities and bringing down the dollars that will allow us to educate more students and change more lives.”
Salinas, the board’s longest-sitting trustee, said each committee focuses on a different aspect that impacts the college. His service as chair has expanded across all committees during his 30-year tenure on the board.
As chair of the Facilities Committee this academic year, his duties consist of carefully reviewing recommendations that come from STC administration, faculty and staff, proposed facility expansions, among other major projects.
“I review everything that comes to us very closely before I recommend a project to go to the board for discussion or voting,” he said. “It’s always about how we justify spending, staying on budget and recommending the projects that are vital to STC’s growth and equally valuable to our students and the communities we serve.”
Numerous projects that have landed on Salinas’ desk include campus expansions such as the current construction initiatives that are taking place on the Pecan Campus for a new Wellness Center, Continuing Education building and a renovated Cooper Center that houses STC’s Fine Arts programs. He says this growth is about expanding opportunities.
“Our college has undergone immense growth due to construction,” said Salinas. “From Weslaco to Starr County, we have followed all procurement procedures, legal requirements and process of law to facilitate growth for our college community. When we give our students room to learn, success is at the forefront.”
Information source: STC
