Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Clark of Moody became the latest McLennan Community College trustee this week after the board selected him to finish the unexpired term of District 7 Trustee Geneva Watley, who retired in December.
Clark, president and CEO of Equine Performance Veterinarians PLLC, has worked with the community college for 20 years, first as a part-time instructor and continuing education instructor, then as a veterinarian and tenured professor in the school’s veterinary technology program.
Watley retired in December after 15 years as a trustee, leaving before the current District 7 term comes to an end in May 2025. Clark was one of eight applicants the MCC board interviewed to fill the position, which represents voters in west McLennan County, including McGregor, Crawford, Eddy and parts of Hewitt.
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Clark was out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment. He will be honored Saturday night at the Texas Veterinary Medicine Association’s conference in Irving as its 2024 Equine Practitioner of the Year.
In statement released after his swearing-in Tuesday as an MCC trustee, Clark said his years of experience with MCC made him a believer in its educational mission and outreach.
“My involvement with different industries and businesses has shown me the outreach and impact MCC has, and I wish to see the impact not only continue but to grow as our community continues to grow,” he said in the statement.
Clark became the latest trustee appointed to the board in recent years. Trustee Jonathan Hill was appointed in February 2023 to fill the District 1 seat vacated by Trustee Doug McDurham, then won election to the seat that May.
In other action at its meeting Tuesday, the board approved Brandon Hill as MCC’s new dean of students, a recently created position. Hill comes to MCC after serving the last three years as the vice president of student development at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He previously worked as vice president of life calling and integrative services at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana.
As dean of students, Hill will oversee student testing, advising, success coaching, counseling, student life activities, well-being services and TRIO student support services aimed at increasing retention and graduation.
The dean of students position was created to raise student-support issues and services to the level of the college’s academic deans, said Fred Hills, MCC vice president of instruction and student engagement.
Baylor University this week introduced a $3.5 million state-of-the-art cybersecurity research center, Central Texas Cyber Range, which it has created with McLennan Community College.
