April 30, 2026
Northeast Texas Community College Board of Trustees met for its regular April meeting on Tuesday, April 29th. The board received Stephanie Thurman’s intent to resign in March and formally accepted her resignation at the April meeting. Following her resignation, board members unanimously approved Dr. Gerald Stagg to be appointed to fill the Place 5 vacancy.
“Dr. Stagg is a longtime, well-respected member of our community who brings a wealth of experience and insight to the table,” said Robin Sharp, Chairman of the NTCC Board. “We are excited to welcome him to the board and are confident he will be an outstanding addition as we continue working to serve our students and region.”
Titus County Appraisal District
Shirley Dickerson, Chief Appraiser for the Titus County Appraisal District, addressed the board during public comment to present a check for $9,423.50. This was NTCC’s portion of TCAD’s budget surplus.
Student Spotlight
Next on the agenda was the Student Spotlight, which featured José Fuentes. Dr. Melissa Fulgham, lead advisor for Phi Theta Kappa, delivered a glowing introduction of Fuentes, who was recently elected as International President of Phi Theta Kappa. She also introduced Emma Mendoza, who served as Fuentes’ campaign manager for the election.
As International President, Fuentes represents 250,000 active members in over 1,200 chapters worldwide. It is the top leadership position in the organization, and he will also serve as the lone student voice on the Phi Theta Kappa Board of Trustees. In his presentation, Fuentes mentioned that he and his siblings are first generation college students who have benefitted greatly from NTCC. His long-term goal is to attend medical school and become a psychiatrist. He follows in the footsteps of his older sister, Angelica, who was a very successful student at NTCC a decade ago. She was active in both Phi Theta Kappa and Honors Northeast before receiving the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, for which José is currently a semi-finalist.
“Probably the biggest thing I learned from campaigning for president is how to talk to people. I’m naturally a pretty reserved person, so it is out of my comfort zone to initiate conversations with strangers. This experience has really helped me with that and improved my confidence,” José said during the meeting.
The board congratulated him on his accomplishment and said they look forward to hearing about his experience as president over the next year.
President’s Report
In his monthly report, Rose made comments on the following:
- Announced the passing of two notable figures from NTCC’s past. Dr. Jerry Wesson, a former NTCC administrator and author of the college’s official history book, died on April 20th. Al Clay, a former faculty member in electrical occupations and husband of Dr. Shirley Clay, NTCC Professor Emeritus, died on March 29th. He noted that both of these individuals left a lasting legacy at the college.
- Rose invited Dr. Jon McCullough, Executive Vice President for Advancement, to give an update on East Texas Giving Day, which was winding down at the time of the meeting. He reported strong support through the event and NTCC went on to raise $291,679 from 256 donors before midnight.
- The NTCC Eagles Baseball team will celebrate the 30th anniversary of winning the 1996 JUCO National Championship on Saturday, May 2nd. Rose extended an invitation to the board and public to come out for the free event, which will include free food and a special ceremony honoring the players from that team.
- Rose announced that May graduation will be held on Saturday, May 16th. There will be three ceremonies to accommodate all of the graduates and their families.
- The Foundation reported $50,141.34 in gifts for the month of March.
Items of Information
Rose announced that the college recently engaged the services of the well-regarded firm Lightcast to conduct an economic impact study for the college. McCullough gave a brief overview of the findings from the study, which included:
- In FY 23-24, NTCC added $46.2 million in income to the NTCC Taxing District (Camp, Morris and Titus counties).
- NTCC’s impact supported 1,082 jobs (one out of ever 33 jobs)
- NTCC employed 683 full and part time employees, which equaled $17.2 in payroll distributed back into the region.
- The net impact of the college’s institutional spending added $18 million in income to the regional economy (FY 23-24)
The full study, as well as a summary of highlights, will be published on the NTCC website soon.
Action Items
The board took action on the following items:
- Approved the Consent Agenda
- Approved a bid from Weaver to be the college’s auditing firm. Brandi Cave, Vice President for Administrative Services, said that they presented a very comprehensive proposal and they come highly recommended.
- Held a brief executive session.
- Formally accepted the resignation of Stephanie Thurman from Place 5 of the board of trustees
- Appointed Dr. Gerald Stagg to fill the unexpired term of Place 5 of the board of trustees
- Approved the employment of Jaqueline Galvan as a new Student Services Specialist Level 2
- Approved 2026-2027 employee contracts
