Jason Meldrum, associate vice president Student Services and Enrollment at Odessa College, was announced as the lone finalist for vice president for academic partnerships at the college during Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
OC President Gregory Williams said Meldrum has been at OC for a year and a half and served the college “really well.”
“He’s done a wonderful job with everything he has been given so far. He and his team led the outreach efforts for the Promise Program and he has been an able assistant in the Student Services and Enrollment Management area as the associate vice president to Kim McKay (Vice President Student Services and Enrollment Management),” Williams said.
Meldrum will replace Jonathan Fuentes who is going on to be president of Clovis Community College in Clovis, N.M.
Meldrum said replacing Fuentes will be impossible.
“We have just great employees here,” he said.
He added that it is bittersweet for him as he currently works with one of the best teams on campus.
In other business, the board approved a 10-year tax abatement agreement with Matheson Tri Gas valued at about $500,000.
They also approved increasing the homestead exemption for those 65 and over to $40,000 from the current $20,000.
All the other exemptions will remain the same, Board Chair Gary Johnson said.
An overview of the success of the early college high schools on campus, OCTECHS and Odessa Collegiate Academy, were given.
The four-year graduation rate at OCTECHS is 98.5 percent. ECISD’s rate is 85.5 percent and Texas is 90 percent.
Odessa Collegiate Academy’s four-year graduation rate is 96.2 percent.
This is for students who started in ninth grade in 2017-18 and received a high school diploma on time.
In the Vision 2030+ update, Vice President for Administrative Services Ken Zartner said the Wood Health Sciences Building is expected to be complete by the end of June with a grand opening in the fall at the end of August or early September.
Zartner said 8 new pickleball courts have been added to the campus.
Williams said $102,504 was raised in the employee giving campaign with 100 percent participation, which is a record.
Ryan Esparza won a Mustang in the Drive to Success finale May 3. He is majoring in criminal justice in the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences program.
Williams said 1,001 students participated in graduation.
The college raised $40,250 in the Permian Basin Gives campaign. The goal was $15,000.
