First Friday Events Schedule

Texas A&M Finishes Its First Semester Without A Faculty Advisory Body

Texas A&M goes through its first semester without an organized body representing faculty members. The website of A&M’s chief academic officer, the provost, posted on November 14th the continuing work to create a new faculty advisory council. State lawmakers this year replaced independent faculty senates with councils that are controlled by the board of regents and university administrators. The provost’s website says the goal is for the new council to hold their first meeting by February. The website of the future Texas A&M faculty advisory council has no information when some members of the new council will be elected and when some will be appointed. State lawmakers decided the leadership of the new council will be named by the president. The president will also appoint one member from each college or school. Faculty will select the remaining members. The maximum size of the new advisory body is 60. The provost also reported on what three committees are doing until they disband with the start of the advisory council. There is a transition team deciding the process of naming council members. There is a group that is overseeing the upcoming review of A&M’s core curriculum and general education requirements. And the third committee is reviewing and advising all curricular matters previously managed by the faculty senate until that body was eliminated by state lawmakers.

Brazos County Commissioners Get A Review Of The November 2025 Election

Brazos County’s election administrator tell county commissioners that an audit of the November 2025 election revealed no discrepancies. Trudy Hancock explained how her office complied and went beyond new state requirements for reviewing results. New state laws included changing ballots being reviewed by precinct to ballots being reviewed by voting location. 15 percent of Brazos County’s registered voters participated in school board elections, the Bryan ISD bond election, and changes to the state constitution. Click below to hear Trudy Hancock’s comments at the December 9, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting. Listen to “Brazos County commissioners get a review of the November 2025 election” on Spreaker.

Registered Nurses At St. Joseph Regional Hospitals Vote To Unionize

More than 700 registered nurses at St. Joseph Regional Hospital vote to unionize. A news release from Texas AFL-CIO says the representation with National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) will allow nurses to have a say in making decisions in patient care, staffing, and to help recruit and retain experienced nurses. The news release quotes a St. Joseph RN as saying they have deep concerns for patient safety and well-being. A statement from the hospital says in part they express gratitude to their nurses and the hospital looks forward to continuing their tradition of providing compassionate and patient centered care. St. Joseph’s becomes the 33rd hospital owned by parent company CommonSpirit to be represented by NNOC/NNU. The union also says they represent three other hospitals in Texas. Statement from St. Joseph Health: Based on the preliminary vote counts, St. Joseph Health’s Registered Nurses have chosen union representation, pending the official certification of the NLRB. We express our gratitude to our nurses and look forward to continuing our 90-year tradition of providing compassionate, patient-centered care here in the Brazos Valley. News release from the Texas AFL-CIO: HEADLINE: 700+ Registered nurses at St. Joseph hospital in Bryan-College Station vote decisively to join National Nurses Organizing Committee / National Nurses United Registered nurses at CommonSpirit Health’s St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital (St. Joseph Health) in Bryan, Texas voted decisively this week to join National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), the nation’s largest and fastest-growing union of registered nurses. “This is a great day for the nurses at St. Joseph Health and for the patients in our community,” said Tara Cassell, a registered nurse in the labor and delivery unit. “Nurses have come together to ensure that our voices are heard as we advocate for our patients. We were compelled to organize and form a union because of our deep concerns about our patients’ safety and well-being. We are excited to build a strong contract that protects nurses and patients so we can provide the best care possible.” The election was held on Dec. 9 and 10 and was conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. The more than 700 RNs join RNs at Ascension Seton Medical Center (ASMCA) in Austin, Texas, who ratified their first union contract just last year, as well as RNs in El Paso and Corpus Christi represented by NNOC/NNU. Nurses at the 316-bed facility say they voted to join the union because it is critical that nurses have a say in making decisions in patient care, staffing, and to help recruit and retain experienced nurses, which leads to improved patient care. St. Joseph Health is owned by CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the nation. CommonSpirit Health made $1.1 billion in profits last year. In past years, the compensation for CommonSpirit Health CEOs has been among the highest for nonprofits in the country. Former CEO Lloyd Dean and current CEO Wright Lassiter, lll took home a combined $36.6 million in 2024. Nurses contend that CommonSpirit clearly has the funds to address the patient safety issues at St. Joseph Health. “Nurses understand the importance of putting patient care and safety before profits,” said Katie Oberhelman, a registered nurse in the medical unit. “As we bargain for our first contract, we will be negotiating for our patients. We must demand safe staffing in all our units and on every shift that takes into account the acuity of our patients. We must put in safeguards against workplace violence in order to ensure that our hospital is first and foremost a place of healing.” “These nurses put patient care first by decisively voting to unionize,” said Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Lorraine Montemayor. “Now, they’re going to inspire countless other workers across the state to claim their power and organize their workplaces. Welcome to the labor movement, y’all!” Nurses will now move to elect their bargaining team and prepare to negotiate their first contract. NNOC/NNU now represents more than 17,000 nurses at 33 CommonSpirit Health facilities across the country.