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Student Fee Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes March 6, 2026

(View PDF version of Meeting Minutes)

Attendees: Rosalinda Garcia, Fred Juarez, Adriana Anderson, Adalberto Gonzalez, Jesus “Conrad” Galaviz, Santiago Garcia Rosales

Other Attendees: Patricia Ruiz

Welcome

Ms. Garcia welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Approval of Minutes

Approval of January 23, 2026 Minutes

Ms. Garcia asked if there were any corrections to the minutes and referenced the section under Next Steps outlining the committee’s beatification project to ensure this information was accurate. Hearing no corrections, motion to approve was made by Mr. Garcia, seconded by Mr. Galaviz, and all in favor voiced “I”. The minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

Discussion of SFAC Funds and Review of Report

Ms. Garcia presented the draft of the Letter of Recommendations to be sent to Dr. Maynard.  This document acknowledges the members’ review of the student fees imposed under Sections 54.507 (Student Health Services comprised of SHS, Disability Services for Students, and Counseling Services Office), 54.521 (Student Center Facilities), and 54.539 (Recreational Sports) all under the same code.  Ms. Garcia advised the committee this letter confirms the committee’s review of the proposed FY27 budget and the results of which did not identify any recommended changes.  Ms. Garcia added this letter also includes the committee’s continued efforts to meet this semester to discuss the possible uses of approximately $23,000 in available SFAC funds.

Regarding the proposed budget for Student Health Services, Mr. Gonzalez asked how the Counseling Services Office will be operated moving forward noting the recent $2 million endowment received from the Kate Marmion Foundation. Ms. Garcia reported that the full amount has not yet been received. As is customary with donations of this magnitude, the funds are distributed over a period of time. Ms. Garcia and Mr. Juarez provided an overview of how gifts and endowments operate.

Mr. Juarez stated the university would need to collect the interest acquired from the endowment invested to determine the allocation of additional funds for the Counseling Services Office in the projection for the next fiscal year budget.

 

Ms. Garcia gave several examples of how these additional funds could be used such as hiring another counselor or initiating a Student Peer Program to support the university’s JED Strategic Plan (program focuses on mental health awareness and resources).

Ms. Garcia advised that the Kate Marmion Foundation has stipulated that the funds must be allocated to mental health-related efforts.

Letter of Recommendation – Comments/Suggestions: Ms. Garcia asked the committee if there were any comments or suggestions on the letter to be presented to Dr. Maynard and stated this document will be forwarded to all committee members for review and requested approval. Ms. Garcia referenced the SFAC’s recommendation from two years ago to allocate the committee’s additional funds to the LOVE Committee and the Student Orientation, Leadership, and Engagement Dept.

Committee Discussion/Questions

TAMIU Bookstore: Mr. Gonzalez suggested that the TAMIU Bookstore should update the merchandise they offer. Mr. Gonzalez also suggested allowing for a student discount to be implemented, consistent with discounts extended to faculty and staff. Mr. Gonzalez added he wasn’t sure if this proposal can be considered by the SFAC committee, but he would also review this request with President Maynard.

Career Services Office: Mr. Garcia proposed considering the allocation of additional available SFAC funds to the Career Services Office’s “career closet” which provides business attire to students for scheduled interviews and/or other formal events related to the university.  Mr. Garcia advised in a recent conversation with the Career Services Coordinator, dry-cleaning expenses (incurred by the department when students return the loaned items) increased 129% in the 2024-2025 academic year compared to prior year. Mr. Garcia stated the department’s budget does not currently meet the dry-cleaning expenses and this expense category continues to increase. Mr. Garcia also suggested allocating this funding for the department to purchase new clothing for the “closet” which could be viewed as an investment in student success initiatives. Ms. Garcia stated we recognize the needs and clarified that the Career Services Office is not funded by student fees. Ms. Garcia added she would recuse herself from this proposal if the committee proceeded forward on this recommendation as Career Services reports to her thus introducing a conflict of interest.  

Mr. Gonzalez suggested a presentation by the Career Services Office on its operating costs would be very helpful and referenced the overview provided to the committee on the operating costs for the Student Health, Student Center, and Recreational Center. Ms. Garcia stated she would contact the Director to request this presentation and update the committee accordingly.

Pergolas: Ms. Garcia advised the committee, Mr. Trevor Liddle could not attend today’s meeting and therefore the information on the committee’s shading project is currently pending. Ms. Garcia stated this information will determine if the committee’s available funds will be sufficient to cover related costs and if not, how the committee could allocate its available funds for this project.

Committee Consensus: Ms. Garcia asked if the committee would like to change its decision on allocating the available SFAC funds to the Career Services Office instead of moving forward with the shading project.  The committee’s responses are detailed as follows:

  • Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Garcia, and Ms. Anderson agreed on the needs of the Career Services Office and these needs support this decision change.
  • Mr. Galaviz, however, voiced concerns regarding the committee’s consideration of another project before completing the process on its original proposal of the shading project.
  • Mr. Garcia stated distributing the available SFAC funds to the Career Services Office is more practical since the Physical Plant’s budget is anticipated to be sufficient to cover the costs of the shading project.
  • Mr. Gonzalez suggested the committee should review the information on the shading system pending to be received and provide an opportunity for the Career Services Office to present its information on operating costs to the SFAC committee - noting the change in SFAC committee members in the next academic year.
  • Ms. Garcia stated she would contact Mr. Liddle regarding the shading project, invite the Director of Career Services Office to the committee’s next scheduled meeting, and update Mr. Liddle on the committee’s recommendation to consider a distribution of available SFAC funds to the Career Services Office.
  • Mr. Gonzalez advised the presentation by the Career Services Office won’t change the committee’s decision to review the cost of the shading system but based on the information received, the committee may also be able to consider allocating some of the remaining monies of the available SFAC funds to the Career Services Office.

Next Steps

  • Ms. Garcia will forward the Letter of Recommendations to the committee members via email to request approval and ask each member to respond to this email with their approval to document their decision.
  • Ms. Garcia stated she would contact Mr. Liddle.
  • Ms. Garcia advised she will schedule a presentation by the Career Services Office and request the following information be outlined:
    • What would the department use the additional SFAC funds (if finalized) for?
    • Why does the department need these additional funds?
    • How does the department budget for its operating costs?
    • Include a projection of SFAC funds to be given (amount to be determined – if SFAC available funds are applicable).
Meeting Adjourned: 10:53 a.m.