PJC Regents OK Sulphur Springs Campus Project

The Paris Junior College Board of Regents, at a meeting this week, accepted the bid of $122,287 from Richard Drake Construction to construct the foundation of the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center welding shop. T he welding shop will be located at the new PJC-Sulphur Springs Center (formerly Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Company) that will undergo remodeling and expansion to accommodate all academic and vocation programs in the future.

Regents also received good news when they approved the 2013-2014 annual financial audit. “Basically, you have a clean opinion on the financial statements for the year,” said Teffany Cavanaugh from McClanahan Holmes as she presented the audit opinion. “There were no findings at all in the audit. Everything looks great.” “I think it’s a credit to the school to get these findings,” said regent Charles Lynch.

In other business the Regents:
• Adopted the 2015-2016 Academic Calendar, starting the fall 2015 semester on Aug. 31, 2015.
• Approved 2015 to 2020 Student Achievement Targets that are designed to guide PJC in improving the success of students. Now included is the goal of a three year cohort Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) graduation rate. It will allow standardized comparisons to the data of other colleges.
• Agreed to send Dr. Clifton Wilkerson and Charles Lynch to the Student Success Initiative Board of Trustees Institute. The Greater Texas Foundation will pay for the expense.
• Received a report from PJC Board Secretary Berdie Gibson on the American Association of Community College Trustees Annual Congress she attended.

The board also approved employment of Jacqueline Polk as Upward Bound student advisor, effective Jan. 5; accepted the resignation of Dr. Andrew Fisher as director of the PJC-Sulphur Springs Center, effective Nov. 30, and Gayla Jeffery as Educational Opportunity Center, effective Jan. 31, 2015.