John E. McBride
PATSCU 13th President (1987) THEHRA Historian |
It seems hard to believe but *THEHRA* (Texas Higher Education Human
Resources Association) is celebrating its 45th Anniversary in 2020. A child of its time, THEHRA began as PATSCU (Personnel Administrators of Texas Senior Colleges and Universities) and grew out of the concerns facing personnel (human resources) professionals throughout the nation in the mid 1970's. The personnel administrators in Texas higher education were experiencing the same disquieting criticism as their national peers. The Texas Coordinating Board was conducting a Non-Faculty Personnel Study, which according to a resolution passed by the Texas Council of Presidents of the State Colleges and Universities in January, 1975, revealed the desirability in the personnel areas of “a greater degree of professionalism and uniformity of instructional administration.” It was in this atmosphere, and partially because of it, that PATSCU was created. Jay H. Wilson, University of Houston, Central Campus led the effort to form an organization. A meeting for that purpose was hosted by Norman Minter at the University of Texas at Austin on July 12, 1974. Representatives who attended and signed the organizational resolution, in addition to Wilson and Minter, were Russell L. Bayne, UT-Arlington; Andrew J. Dobek, UT-System; G.D. Ferguson, Jr., UT-Dallas; Vernon Pike, Lamar University; Joseph L. Mitchell, North Texas State University; and Paul W. Yoder, University of Houston. During the fall of 1974, James R. Jannasch, UT-Medical Branch Galveston; Joseph C. Kennedy, UT-System and H. Ray Smith, Texas A&M joined in the organizational effort. A brief “organizational status” meeting was held during the College and University Personnel Association's (CUPA) national conference in Houston on October 28, 1974. At this meeting, temporary appointments were made and preliminary plans laid for the Charter Meeting in Austin on January 27-28, 1975. The Charter meeting Register showed that 44 members from 22 institutions attended this Charter meeting in Austin. The purpose of the organization as stated in the constitution was “to contribute to the advancement of higher education in its fullest and broadest implications and specifically to the professional advancement of personnel … in state supported senior colleges and universities in Texas.” This statement appears to reflect the concerns of today as well as those of the period in which THEHRA was founded. Excerpted from 40th Anniversary Conference 1975 - 2015 (allow several seconds to load) |