Hey guys, we've covered a few topics in regards challenges & opportunities facing our fair school. I thought now would be a great time to introduce you to those responsible for the direction of SFA, our admin & Board of regents. Many of you are likely familiar with Baker Patillo, but may be less familiar with the BOR. Here's an overview of Baker & the Board, courtesy of SFASU.edu

David Alders, Chair:

Term Ends: 2019

David Alders of Nacogdoches is president of Carrizo Creek Corporation and manager of Caddo Farms LLC and Dagwood Timber LP. He is chairman of the Nacogdoches Economic Development Corporation and Heritage Land Bank Association boards and a board member of the State Bar of Texas, Heartbeat Crisis Pregnancy Center and Nacogdoches Regents Academy. He is also a board member and past president of the Nacogdoches County Farm Bureau, vice president of the Pineywoods Groundwater Conservation District, a member of the East Texas Regional Water Planning Group Executive Committee, past board member of the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, and past chairman of the Texas Department of Rural Affairs Governing Board. Alders received a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in 1985.

Dr. Scott Coleman:

Term Ends: 2021

Dr. Scott Coleman is a dentist in private practice and a clinical adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has lectured internationally and published articles on dental techniques and technology. He is a member of the American Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, Texas Dental Association, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, American Academy of Dental Practice Administrators, Academy of Dental Facial Esthetics and Greater Houston Dental Society. He is also a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society, Alpha Chi National Academic Honor Society and Beta Beta Beta National Biology Honor Society. Coleman is serving on the board of directors for the Sam Houston Area Boy Scouts of American and as a Deacon and Director of Sunday School at Second Baptist Church. He is a member of the Baptist Medial Dental Fellowship, Give Back a Smile, and International Medical Outreach which provide free dental care to underprivileged children. He is past president of the Academy of General Dentistry and past board member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is an Eagle Scout and has been honored by the Boy Scouts of America with the prestigious Silver Beaver award for his distinguished service. Coleman received a bachelor's degree in biology from Stephen F. Austin State University and earned his doctorate degree in dental surgery from the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston.

Alton L. Frailey, Secretary

Term Ends: 2021

Alton Frailey has recently retired as the superintendent for Katy Independent School District, responsible for the daily operations of Katy ISD's 60 campuses, over 70,000 students and more than 8,500 employees. He is the president of the American Association of School Administrators, the past president of the Texas Association of School Administrators, treasurer of Texas School Alliance and secretary-treasurer of Urban Superintendents Association of America. He serves on the board of directors for Katy Area Chamber of Commerce, Katy Area Economic Development Council, Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, West Houston Association and The Bible Seminary. He is a member of the Rotary Club and has held leadership positions in the University Interscholastic League, the Texas Association of Suburban/Mid Urban Schools and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati. Frailey has received numerous honors and awards including Texas Music Educators Association Distinguished Administrator, Region 4 Administrator of the Year, Who's Who in Executives and Professionals, and the Trailblazer Award by South Dallas Business and Professional Women's Club, Inc. He earned his bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and master's degree in Educational Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. He received his superintendent certification from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Karen G. Ganntt:

Term Ends: 2023

Karen Gantt of McKinney is an attorney and partner at McCraw Gantt, PLLC. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Collin County Bar Association, Dallas Estate Planning Council, North Texas Estate Planning Council, and the College of the State Bar of Texas. In addition, she is the immediate past president of the SFA Alumni Association Board of Directors, former member of the SFA Alumni Foundation Board of Governors, and an elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church of McKinney. Gantt received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from SFASU and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law.

John R. "Bob" Garrett

Term Ends: 2019

Reappointed by Governor Rick Perry to a second term in 2013, John R. "Bob" Garrett of Tyler earned a bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from SFA in 1975 and holds a master of business administration from the University of Texas at Tyler. He is a residential and commercial real estate developer and president and CEO of Fair Oil Company, a Tyler-based oil and gas exploration company established in 1931. Garrett is chairman of the Tyler Development Code Committee, vice president of the RW Fair Foundation, and a board member of the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center and Salvation Army of Tyler. He serves as a director of Southside Bank. He is a past president of the Texas Association of Home Builders and Tyler Area Builders Association, a past state representative of the National Association of Home Builders and served for 15 years as a director of the Tyler Economic Development Council. Garrett served as chair of the SFA Board of Regents from 2011-2013.

Brigettee Carnes Henderson, Vice Chair

Term Ends: 2023

Brigettee Carnes Henderson of Lufkin is an independent consulting interior designer and executive assistant at Carnes and Co. Auctioneers. She is secretary of the Angelina Arts Alliance Board of Directors, chair of the Angelina County American Cancer Society's 2011 Cattle Baron's Gala, and a member of the Buckner Family Place Board of Directors, Buckner Family Services Circle of Angels and Junior League of Lufkin Sustainers. She is a past board member of the Lufkin Salvation Army, Museum of East Texas and Angelina Beautiful Clean. She is also past president of the Junior League of Lufkin and past president of the Angelina County Aggie Mother's Club. Henderson received two bachelor's degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University.

M. Thomas Mason

Term Ends: 2023

Tom Mason of Dallas is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hillwood Development Co, LLC. He is a board member of Caruth Village Homeowners' Association and an officer of the Land-Hyland Scholarship Fund, Woodrow Wilson High School Class of 1966. He is a former member of the Urban Land Institute, The Real Estate Council, and the Real Estate Financial Executives Association. Mason received an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserves and received a Bachelor of Science in math and general business from SFASU. While attending SFA, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta social fraternity, sophomore class vice president, chairman of Greek Week activities, and elected to Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities.

Kenton E. Schaefer:

Term Ends: 2019

Ken E. Schaefer of Brownsville is owner of Schaefer Stevedoring Company, Inc. He is director of the West Gulf Maritime Association and a past board member of the University of Texas Pan American, Texas Commerce Bank, Fondo de Inversion de Veracruz and Almacenadora Regional del Gulfo. Schaefer received a bachelor's degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1970.

Baker Patillo:SFA President

Too much to copy & paste, you can check out an interesting interview w/ Baker & more about his background here: http://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa/university-leadership/baker-pattillo

I present this mostly without comment because I'd like to hear what other's think about the direction of SFA & our Board.

Also, the next Board of Regents Meeting is January 29th & 30th, so if you wanted to make the board aware of any of your concerns or send praise, now would be the time to do so.

Overall, I like seeing people like Alton Frailey on our board. As former Superintendent of Katy ISD, he's overseen an incredibly large education organization, & also dealt with it while it was experiencing rapid growth.

On my wish list of potential BOR members, I'd love to see Steve Stagner, former CEO of Mattress firm & SFA Grad/Donor. Someone with that kind of business background & obvious commitment to moving SFA forward would be awesome.

Also, take a few minutes to read through SFA's other leaders here. Great backgrounds of them.

http://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa#section=university-leadership

Also, what topics do you guys want to cover on this thread next? I'm planning to put together a thread on admissions standards for us and peers, but what topics would you like to see after that?

Although I have nothing against David Alders I always wondered how an A&M Grad. got on the Board of Regents at SFA.

TallTexan said:

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Also, what topics do you guys want to cover on this thread next? I'm planning to put together a thread on admissions standards for us and peers, but what topics would you like to see after that?

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I'm pleased that you are taking the time to do this. Admissions is a good topic. I don't think we are far from where we need to be admissions wise. I believe two key areas that need to be addressed first to accelerate our nonexistent growth. 1) STEM. We need a full fledged engineering program. I'm guessing mechanical or electrical for starters. I've been told it would take $30-$40 million to create an endowment that would start a program. 2) NE side of campus. Specifically dorm 14 and 16 along with east college cafeteria are well past prime. I lived in dorm 14 for 2-1/2 years so it holds a special place in my heart but.... it (14) along with 16 need to be demoed to make room for some newer modern dorms.

There are other issues but those are my two biggies.

tangerito said:

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Although I have nothing against David Alders I always wondered how an A&M Grad. got on the Board of Regents at SFA.

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I think like half his kids went to SFA. I'm ok with expanding outside of SFA grads either way. I think SFA grads should be a majority but I'm all for stacking the board with the best possible candidates regardless of alumni status. Heck, we wouldn't have half the new buildings on our campus if Ed & Gwen Cole hadn't moved to town & started supporting the university without any prior connections to us.

BigJack85 said:

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TallTexan said:

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Also, what topics do you guys want to cover on this thread next? I'm planning to put together a thread on admissions standards for us and peers, but what topics would you like to see after that?

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I'm pleased that you are taking the time to do this. Admissions is a good topic. I don't think we are far from where we need to be admissions wise. I believe two key areas that need to be addressed first to accelerate our nonexistent growth. 1) STEM. We need a full fledged engineering program. I'm guessing mechanical or electrical for starters. I've been told it would take $30-$40 million to create an endowment that would start a program. 2) NE side of campus. Specifically dorm 14 and 16 along with east college cafeteria are well past prime. I lived in dorm 14 for 2-1/2 years so it holds a special place in my heart but.... it (14) along with 16 need to be demoed to make room for some newer modern dorms.

There are other issues but those are my two biggies.

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Excellent, I'm a big fan of campus building plans, so I'll dive into that as well.

I'm totally with you on the STEM issue, as well as the funding issue. In addition to a broader offering of STEM programs, we should have a construction management degree if we don't already. That might be joint degree between STEM & Business. On the funding issue, A&M just had boosters pledge $75 million to pay for their new head coach, so we can & should do a better job of expanding our backers across the state. With the proper vision, you could sell unaffiliated donors on supporting SFA.

I also believe we should create & expand a school of health that includes Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, Speech Therapy, Disability Services while also adding Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Health Administration, Physician Assistant program, and certificate programs for OTAs & PTAs.

I'll admit, SFA's strategy & the BORs vision was my primary reason for sharing this thread today. I wanted to make sure everyone knows who to contact when we feel the University can do a better job.

Big Jack, I believe you also mentioned the SFA partnerships with JUCO colleges the other day. I'll try to work that into a future post. I'd also like to see us have more partnerships for SFA students who are looking for grad degrees to have a pathway to get law degrees, attend medical school, dentistry school, etc.

INiedrauer said:

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Regarding STEM additions: http://www.sfasu.edu/9418.asp

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Thanks Isaac, that's going to be 1 nice looking building. We seriously need to talk about having a set architectural style for campus though, I swear every building is different.

A Construction Management program would be very valuable too. This could be run through the engineering school as its somewhat of an off shoot.

Construction Management & some sort of Oil & Gas degree.

SFA has no problem that would not be solved by increased enrollment. We peaked at 12,999 in 1999. Here we are 17 years later-no growth. Complacency and no accountability by the BOR and administration. Lots of lip service but no production.

W1964 said:

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SFA has no problem that would not be solved by increased enrollment. We peaked at 12,999 in 1999. Here we are 17 years later-no growth. Complacency and no accountability by the BOR and administration. Lots of lip service but no production.

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Meanwhile the population of Texas has increased exponentially.

BigJack85 said:

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If you want to see some good marketing look at James Madison. Watching the FCS championship game. JMU has put together some really solid pieces. SFA and Richards Carlberg would do well to integrate some of this type of 30 second and 45 second segments into SFA ad campaign

One of the things it does really well is show the beauty of the JMU campus. The current campaign for SFA is good but it does not do a good job of showing the beauty of the campus. I think that's a real mistake.

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We have by far, one of the most beautiful campuses in Texas. It'd be even more so if we could pick one architectural style & stick to it, but that's a debate for another day.

I would like to see a basketball only living situation on campus... We need to standout if we want to get the top recruits.. We have the coach but how long can we keep him... We gotta make the kids want to visit our campus.. It's beautiful and our professors are top notch..