It’s 2012!  Are you worried about the world ending?  Sagging graduation rates?  Tuition hikes?  Job Security?  Or are you riled up about something in higher education that makes you want to shout from the rooftops?  If so, we invite you to write about it for the February eBulletin.  

The new year is a chance to invoke change.  Start working toward a better year today by getting involved with your association.

Submissions can be from 1 to 3 pages, and may be edited for length.  Articles with pictures are highly encouraged, and if you are a first-time contributor, please include a headshot and short, 3-sentence bio.

Submit your article to the eBulletin Editor at TACT@bizaustin.rr.com by February 10, 2012.  

Save the Date!  Come together for our Winter Conference, February 17-18 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin. 

Call our office at 512-873-7404 to register (only $40 for both days!). 

Join us Friday morning on our semi-annual trip to the Capitol to visit with state legislators, and keep an eye out for the conference agenda, coming soon!

State Representative Donna Howard has been selected as the TACT Legislator of the Year!  Rep. Howard (D-Austin), who serves on the House Higher Education Committee, was selected for her focus on students during committee deliberations, her continuing support for the TEXAS Grant, and for favoring the use of higher education specialists in the design and testing of public education.  She also insists on maintaining the quality of education while others seem more interested in the quantity of students receiving degrees.

Governor Rick Perry has appointed five new members to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), to officially take office September 1, 2011.  The Presidential hopeful is under scrutiny for appointing a prominent donor of his, James H. Lee, to the Board.

For a complete tally of the new members’ credentials, see the official press release here: http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/16517/

For an article detailing all of the THECB appointees’ relationships with Governor Perry, and other recent Perry appointees, click here: http://www.texastribune.org/texas-people/rick-perry/gov-perry-appoints-familiar-faces/

Get Involved.  Put your hard-earned dollars to work and contribute to the James M. Puckett, Ph.D. Government Relations Fund (GRF).  Contributions to this fund do not fund campaigns, but rather help to increase awareness of TACT in the public policy arena.

You’re invited to Save the Date for the TACT Fall Conference.

Also Save the Date for the AAUP ASC Advocacy Workshop, Saturday October 29 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin, TX.  View the full agenda here.  The AAUP workshop will run alongside the TACT Fall Conference, from October 28-29. 

Check out our new TACT History video, 60 Years of Success.  Thank you for your responses to our efforts with our new history page, and keep your pictures and memories coming to tact@bizaustin.rr.com.

Look ahead: Get ready for the August eBulletin and the 2011 ORP Study, releasing August 23, 2011.  View past eBulletins here.