MEETING OF THE
BOARD GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
December 1, 2010
Minutes
The Board Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees of Houston Community
College held a meeting on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, at the HCC Administration
Building, 3100 Main, 2nd Floor, Seminar Room A, Houston, Texas.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Mary Ann Perez, Committee Chair
Dr. Michael P. Williams, Committee Member
Bruce Austin
Sandie Mullins
ADMINISTRATION
Mary S. Spangler, Chancellor
Art Tyler, Deputy Chancellor/COO
Renee Byas, General Counsel
Doretha Eason, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor
Charles Cook, Vice Chancellor, Instruction
Daniel Seymour, Vice Chancellor, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness
Diana Pino, Vice Chancellor, Student Services
Margaret Ford Fisher, President, Northeast College
Fena Garza, President, Southwest College
Willie Williams, Chief Human Resource Officer
OTHERS PRESENT
Jarvis Hollingsworth, System Counsel, Bracewell & Giuliani
Alan Ainsworth, President, Faculty Senate
Other administrators, citizens and representatives from the news media
CALL TO ORDER
Mrs. Perez called the meeting to order at 11:19 a.m. and declared the Committee
convened to consider matters pertaining to Houston Community College as listed on the
duly posted Meeting Notice.
Dr. Williams recommended that priority is given to the Board policy issues.
REVISION TO BOARD GOVERNANCE POLICY
Motion – Dr. Williams moved and Mrs. Perez seconded to approve.
Mr. Hollingsworth apprised that the proposed changes to the Board Bylaws and
Governance policies were to include a provision to ensure that the Board will resist
attempts of undue influence and would report any attempts and undue influence from
administration.
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Board Governance Committee – December 1, 2010 - Page 2
Mr. Austin informed that he has reviewed the undue influence and inquired if the correct
language is unreasonable undue influence. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that the language
references to situations that exceed the normal process of campaigning.
Mr. Austin requested to add to the record definitions of unreasonable undue influence.
Dr. Williams requested an example. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that a situation such as getting
out of the role of a board member and focus more on the role of administration for
campaign related purposes.
Mr. Hollingsworth noted that an additional change to the Board Governance policy and
bylaws is regarding Requests for Records by Trustees. He noted that if a request for a
document comes from a Trustee, all Board members should be informed and the request
should be forwarded to the Board Chair for further instructions regarding the release.
Mr. Austin noted that his concern is that the policy may hinder receiving information that is
related to the position as a Trustee. Dr. Williams apprised that the purpose is to limit the
attempts to gather information that causes an undue burden on administration to provide
the requested information.
Mr. Hollingsworth noted that the policy provides that the Board Chair will review requests
for documents from Trustees and if the request is determined to lack relevance, cause an
undue burden on the administration, or if the responsive documents exceed fifty pages in
length, the Trustee will be required to file the open records request in accordance with the
Texas Public Information Act and will be responsible for all fees and costs associated with
the request.
Mr. Austin inquired if the Trustees know the common law duties, such as the duty of loyalty,
in accordance to the law. Mr. Hollingsworth informed that training is provided to the Board
during orientation.
Dr. Tyler inquired if copies will be provided to all Trustees. Mr. Hollingsworth informed that
the Trustees will need to respond that they are interested in receiving the documentation.
Motion – Dr. Williams moved and Mrs. Perez seconded. The motion passed with a vote of
2-0.
REVISIONS TO STUDENT SERVICES AND HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES
Mr. Hollingsworth informed that the Board policies and procedures were previously
inclusive as one document. He noted that the procedures were removed from the policy
because the procedures may change from day to day.
Mr. Austin reiterated that the reason the policies became so descriptive was due to
previous misunderstandings. Mrs. Perez informed that there will be a link to the
procedures on the site where the policies are posted.
Vote - The motion passed with a vote of 2-0.
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Board Governance Committee – December 1, 2010 - Page 3
Mr. Austin suggested that a yearly review be institutionalized. Mr. Hollingsworth informed
that a policy review schedule will be provided to the Board.
CREATION OF AN INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD AND PROCESS
Motion – Dr. Williams moved and Mrs. Perez seconded.
Dr. Cook informed that any institution that accepts federal funds is required to have an
institutional review Board and process to receive requests from both external and internal
researchers to involve HCC human subjects (students, faculty, and staff) in various studies.
Mr. Austin requested that the Institutional Research provide examples of best practices of
how other institutions have dealt with the issue. Dr. Cook informed that the research was
conducted.
Vote – The motion passed with a vote of 2-0.
REVISION OF POLICY ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Motion – Dr. Williams moved and Mrs. Perez seconded.
Dr. Cook informed that the purpose of the policy is to safeguard the interests and mission
of the college while encouraging creative thinking and activity by HCC employees. He
noted that the change will establish a committee to review the issues as opposed to the
Vice Chancellor for Instruction or College Presidents as stated in the current policy.
Dr. Williams inquired who will be involved from the Office of General Counsel. Mrs. Renee
Byas informed that legal representation will be involved.
Dr. Williams inquired if there is an agreement regarding faculty, how contractual obligations
with HCC will be handled. Mrs. Byas informed that there is contractual language in the IP
policy and procedure.
Mr. Austin informed that when forming new committees and sub-bodies the federal and
state administration procedure acts should be considered.
Vote – The motion passed with vote 2-0.
Dr. Cook requested that the review of the Instruction policy be tabled for discussion in
January 2011.
HCC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PLAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
David Cross provided an update regarding HCC’s efforts to develop an institutional
infrastructure that will sustain a continued commitment to diversity and inclusion. He noted
that the Affirmative Action data has been incorporated into the report to provide the bases
for the HCC Council for Diversity and Inclusion to begin to make recommendations
regarding the establishment of Diversity and Inclusion goals for the institution.
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Board Governance Committee – December 1, 2010 - Page 4
Mr. Austin inquired if outside and in-service training are being utilized. Mr. Cross informed
that there has been some in-service training as well as external training especially with the
students.
Mr. Austin informed that the Texas Coordinating Board previously noted that the college
faculty diversity should be in correlation with the student body diversity.
Dr. Williams inquired about the training regarding supervisors and apprised that the
problem often centers with the position of the employee. Mrs. Byas informed that the
ombudsman is in place.
Dr. Williams informed that the ombudsman is not there as an advocate for the employee if
they are paid by the administration. He noted that he has expressed concerns previously
about the ombudsman.
Willie Williams informed that there is supervisory training for new supervisors and noted
that training has been implemented for long-standing supervisors as well. He noted that
the training includes six modules.
HR POLICY – C4.1: EMPLOYEE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
Mr. Hollingsworth informed that there is a statement of intent indicating that the work
environment will be healthy, professional, and respectful. Mr. Hollingsworth informed that
the change will state that the Board instead of the college is committed to creating a
healthy environment.
Mr. Austin requested that statutory definitions are clarified especially regarding assault.
Dr. Williams commended Willie Williams regarding his oversight and management of the
Human Resources department and noted that there has been tremendous improvement in
the department since his coming on board. He also commended the department for
implementation of the supervisory trainings.
Motion – Dr. Williams moved and Mrs. Perez seconded to approve.
Vote – The motion passed with vote 2-0.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.
Recorded, transcribed and submitted by:
Sharon R. Wright, Manager, Board Services
Minutes Approved: _________________________________