The blueprint Amarillo College crafted to offset recurring state budget cuts gathered significant momentum Jan. 26, when the Board of Regents appointed eminent Amarillo attorney Mark White to serve as AC’s executive vice president and general counsel.

Regents last August approved creation of a new executive position designed to spearhead a coordinated fundraising effort for meeting the College’s financial needs. They found a perfect fit in White, who brings considerable non-profit leadership experience to the table.

Not only has he served since 2009 on the AC Foundation Board of Directors, including a recent term as chairman, but he has presided over boards for the Amarillo Symphony and the Golden Spread Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Moreover, through his longtime membership in Amarillo law firm Sprouse Shrader Smith, White has served as AC’s chief legal counsel the past four years. So by joining the AC administration in a dual capacity, White will contribute both philanthropic and legal services – far more than Regents originally envisioned the new post would entail – at considerable savings to the College.

White will assume his new role as executive vice president and general counsel on March 1. His salary will be $160,000. Had these traditionally exclusive roles been filled separately, it would cost the College at least $200,000 annually.

“This is a remarkable, game-changing day for Amarillo College,” said Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, AC president. “Mark White brings with him great passion for the College, strong relationships within the community, and a keen business sense.

“We are very fortunate and I am honored that Mark is formally joining the AC family. Our Board made a wise and excellent choice. He is the ideal person to help lead us into a period of growth and transformation,” Lowery-Hart said. “And by combining these vital duties, the College is saving more than $40,000 a year.”

State funding for community colleges has declined steadily since the mid-1980s, and the College has tightened its belt as necessary. Then last summer, when AC was dealt a whopping and unanticipated $3.5 million biennial reduction, it became clear that the time for more fundamental change was at hand; a blueprint for financial stability was conceived.

The administration commenced an immediate restructuring of its workforce that resulted in the eventual elimination of twenty-two administrative positions while calling for the establishment of just two new administrative positions. At the same time, Regents began to search for a philanthropic linchpin to fill one of those new administrative posts, someone to develop a master strategic fundraising plan.

In hiring White, Regents garnered a prominent community leader who in fact got his start at AC; he completed an associate degree at the College in 1977 and went on to obtain baccalaureate and law degrees from Texas Tech University.

The Board also acquired someone who is well known by lawmakers and those in the legal profession – statewide: White spent three years as chairman of the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline, three years serving on the Board of Directors for the State Bar of Texas and is currently serving as chairman of the State Bar of Texas Committee on Continuing Legal Education. He also is a past president of the Amarillo Area Bar Association.

A staunch advocate of AC, White says he is thrilled about moving on to a new professional challenge after 33 years focusing solely on the practice of law.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to put all my experiences – business-management skills, non-profit philanthropy, and the practice of law – into a new, full-time role on behalf of an institution that I hold dear,” White said. “I’m very excited about it. I look forward to devoting all my energy to the College’s mission of ensuring student success.”

White is charged with leading an advancement team consisting of the AC Foundation’s board and staff, and the College’s grants personnel. He will pursue or coordinate public financing, grants, annual campaigns, planned giving, connecting with alumni, and business and industry partnerships.

White also will continue to provide the College with expert legal counsel, but henceforth he will do so as an official member of AC’s leadership team.

In all capacities, he is ready to hit the ground running.

“We must connect with our vast alumni base, which is something the College has never before had the resources to do,” White said. “We must work hand-in-hand with local business and industry to ensure we’re doing the best job we can of meeting each other’s specific needs.

“AC needs to be in the best possible position to help students succeed, to help them make better lives for themselves and their families. Nothing else we strive to do as a College or as a community will strengthen Amarillo more than when students achieve success at AC.”

January 26, 2016