What happened: The Midland College Board of Trustees met Tuesday, March 17, and approved a final surface use agreement and oil and gas lease tied to at least $35 million in upfront payments, appointed Jacobe Kendrick to fill the unexpired Place 3 board seat, approved more than $1.6 million in facilities and software contracts, and held tuition flat for 2026-27 in line with Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide freeze request.

Key points:

  • Oil and gas agreement: Trustees unanimously approved a final surface-use agreement and an oil and gas lease. The agreement structures at least $35 million in guaranteed upfront payments to Midland College, $15 million within 30 days of execution, and another $20 million tied to permitting milestones, before any drilling can begin.

The college’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget is approximately $77 million, making the upfront payments alone equivalent to roughly 45% of the annual operating budget.

  • Place 3 board: Trustees voted 6-0 to appoint Jacobe Kendrick to fill the unexpired Place 3 seat previously held by Larry Lawrence, who retired effective March 5 after serving since 2009. The college will swear in Kendrick at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. The term runs through 2028.
  • Tuition and fees frozen: The board unanimously approved no changes or increases to tuition or general fees for the 2026-27 academic year, citing Gov. Abbott’s statewide tuition and fee freeze request. The college’s only exception is the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Financial Aid for Swift Transfer rate for dual credit courses, set at the state level. The board approved proposed laboratory fees and special charges for 2026-27.
  • Room and board increases: Trustees unanimously approved increases to O’Shaughnessy Residence Hall room and board rates and proposed increases in meal-service charges. College leaders had previously said the housing increase reflects significant upgrades to O’Shaughnessy Hall, and the meal plan increases stem from contractual cost increases from the college’s food service provider over the past two years.
  • Software platform: Trustees approved a $362,080 contract for an artificial-intelligence-driven customer relationship management platform designed for higher education that handles recruitment, admissions, advising, retention, and application fraud detection.
  • Facilities contracts: Trustees approved two large campus contracts. They voted to award $507,330 to replace remaining plastic laminate-clad panels at the Chaparral Center with new wire channel frames and to add wire channel frames to the upper sections. They also approved an $801,140 contract with Trane to replace two air handling units and rebuild the existing cooling tower. Both expenses come from the major renovations line in the current budget.
  • Primary Care Pathway Program: The board received a presentation from the Primary Care Pathway Program. The program, founded in 2015 as a multi-institutional partnership, intends to expand access to medical school for students from underserved communities and strengthen West Texas’s health care workforce.

Since the first cohort in 2016, 34 students have earned early medical-school acceptance, and 33 have earned associate degrees. The program reports retention rates above 60%, above the 16% national average, and an average grade-point average of about 3.9. Future priorities include expanding cohort capacity, increasing rural exposure, strengthening scholarship support, building alumni mentorship networks, and replicating the model across additional health-career pathways.