Minutes
Blinn College District
Brenham Campus Advisory Committee Meeting
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
The Brenham Campus Advisory Committee met on October 7, 2025, in the Multipurpose Room of the STEI Building, located at 900 Prairie Lea Street, Blinn-Brenham Campus.
Committee Members Present: Mr. Clay Gillentine, Mr. Jon Hill, Dr. William Loesch, Ms. Jamie Rankin, and Mr. Brandon Roznovsky.
Committee Members Absent: The Honorable John Durrenberger and Ms. Micah Goebel.
Representing Blinn College present at the meeting were: Dr. Mary Hensley, Mr. Leighton Schubert, Mr. Jay Anderson, Dr. Becky McBride, Dr. Clen Burton, Mr. Scott Schumacher, Mr. Myron Dippel, Dr. Bennie Graves, Mr. Richard Bray, Mr. Mark Feldhake, and Ms. Debbie Stevens.
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Jon Hill at 12:23 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the March 20, 2025, meeting were approved with a motion by Ms. Jamie Rankin, seconded by Mr. Brandon Roznovsky.
Enrollment Update by Dr. Becky McBride, Vice Chancellor of Student Services
Dr. McBride shared the preliminary fall enrollment numbers as of September 16, 2025, showing 2,237 students enrolled at the Blinn-Brenham Campus and noted that 40 additional students have been added since then. She also stated that dual credit has grown overall, and we are trending in a positive direction, with the Blinn-Brenham Campus registering 576 new students from April–July of 2025. Dr. McBride expressed her excitement at having the highest enrollment at the Blinn-Brenham Campus since 2019 and highlighted that our preliminary districtwide Fall 2025 enrollment numbers have surpassed the certified numbers for Fall 2021, Fall 2022, and Fall 2024.
Dr. McBride noted that Blinn-Brenham on-campus student housing has experienced an increase of 252 students living on campus for the Fall 2025 semester as compared to the Fall 2024 semester. This represents the highest on-campus student housing occupancy at Blinn-Brenham since 2019. She also shared that Blinn-Brenham has 1,760 total on-campus student housing beds available, with 96% currently occupied—representing 1,692 beds leased. Dr. McBride pointed out that the Blinn Food Services Department is serving more students as well.
Mr. Hill asked if these increases are moving upward since COVID, and Dr. McBride confirmed that students are developmentally in a better place now and are ready to leave their homes. She also stated that her team is making in-person efforts to prepare students to register for on-campus housing for the next semester before leaving campus for winter break. We are currently enrolling students for Winter Mini-Mester and the Spring 2026 semester.
Applied Technology Workforce Community Update by Mr. Jay Anderson, Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences, Technical Education, and Community Programs
Mr. Anderson provided an update on the Hodde Technical Center by reviewing the current student enrollment (159), representing Healthcare, Construction Management, and Welding Technology. He stated that this is an increase of 52 students since 2023. Mr. Anderson reported that we have gained new school districts in the Certified Medical Assistant program. New districts include Bellville ISD, Fayetteville ISD, and Schulenburg ISD, which join Brenham ISD, Giddings ISD, and Weimer ISD, totaling 44 students at the Hodde Center. Mr. Anderson also shared that the College has $41,300 available in scholarship funds for workforce students at the Hodde Center for the 2025-2026 school year.
Mr. Anderson then provided an update on recent faculty additions of Jon Ambs, Welding and Industrial Trades Coordinator, and Bert Guynes, Construction Management. Mr. Roznovsky noted that finding qualified instructors remains a challenge but emphasized that our community’s ability to meet the demand for these specialized skill sets is a strong reflection of Blinn’s success.
Ms. Rankin questioned if scholarships will be available for students once the Duddleston Scholarship ends. Mr. Schubert stated that Blinn awards over 300 endowed scholarships each year in addition to the Washington County resident scholarship. He added that Blinn always has scholarships available and distributes them annually. Mr. Schubert also encouraged the committee to direct anyone interested in scholarships to the Blinn website, where a full listing of available opportunities can be found.
Brenham Campus Community Engagement Update by Mr. Scott Schumacher, Athletic Director, and Mr. Myron Dippel, Executive Dean of the Blinn-Brenham Campus
Mr. Schumacher began by recognizing former Blinn student-athlete Xavier Hutchinson for his accomplishments in the National Football League as a Houston Texan. He then shared that Blinn-Brenham’s athletic programs now include 31 coaches, 3 administrators, and 615 students—512 of whom are student-athletes and 103 redshirt athletes. He noted that many of our athletes transfer to other junior colleges or continue their education and sports involvement at four-year universities.
Mr. Schumacher stated that the Blinn Athletic Department also includes three full-time trainers who are responsible for assisting fifteen sports—including twelve teams that are NJCAA Academic All-American Teams. These athletes have 4,071 cumulative hours of community service, and many of them also participate in Trustee Randy Wells’ Faith Mission Mentors program, a reading program with elementary kids, the annual Brenham Maifest tradition, along with the Men’s Soccer team’s participation with the Fortnightly Club. Mr. Schumacher stressed the importance of Blinn recruiting quality students on campus who are also competitive on the playing field. He concluded by expressing his appreciation to Blinn Administration for their outstanding support of our athletes.
Mr. Roznovsky questioned whether recent changes to the NIL portal have impacted athletes' interest in attending Blinn. Mr. Schumacher explained that NIL doesn’t have a significant effect on Blinn. He further stated that, in general, NIL changes are encouraging athletes to wait for offers; however, four-year clubs are now looking for older students. Fortunately, this scenario has resulted in Blinn getting higher quality students.
Mr. Hill asked how junior colleges are able to remain competitive across various sports. Mr. Schumacher replied that scholarships are important and added that Dr. Hensley, Chancellor of the Blinn College District, has been influential in budgeting for quality people, facilities, and equipment. He also highlighted the Buccaneer Backer Club, which provides apparel and tickets to various events, and specifically mentioned Blinn hosting the Regional Volleyball tournament on November 11-12, 2025. Mr. Schumacher stated that his goal is for Blinn to become the central hub for hosting tournaments, which would reflect the strength of our program and the quality of our campus.
Mr. Dippel noted that Blinn students play an active role in campus events—both as organizers and participants. He offered that the community can find more information about all campus events on the Blinn A-Z index page located at www.blinn.edu, and he highlighted a few examples:
- Brenham parades
- Athletic events
- Musical concerts
- Theatre performances
- Blinn’s Performing Arts Department stages four productions each year, drawing audiences from both the student body and the broader community—including local schools and churches. Mr. Schumacher noted that Blinn students recently contributed behind the scenes as sound and lighting crew members for a production of iLuminate, a top competition team on America’s Got Talent.
- The Sound of the Season event at Festival Hill draws a large audience and showcases the Buccaneer Band.
Mr. Dippel further highlighted the Blinn Agriculture Program. These students volunteer in the community by helping to judge at local fairs. They will also host the annual Blinn College Agriculture Mechanics Show in the spring that brings students from across the state who come to exhibit their projects. Mr. Dippel noted that the event has outgrown our facilities on campus and will be held this year at the Washington County Expo Center. The 2024 event welcomed over 250 students, including cutting and welding contests with 60 competitors in each competition.
Ms. Rankin asked if there were any plans for on-campus expansion or a sports complex. Mr. Leighton Schubert responded that we are in the design phase for expanding our facilities for students and the community, some of which will include football, soccer, and a field house.
Mr. Dippel invited the Committee to attend campus activities, highlighting examples from earlier in the year as well as upcoming opportunities:
- NASA scientist who came to speak on campus
- Kruse – Walk with the Doc
- Athletics hosting high schools at various games
- All athletic competitions: football, soccer, volleyball, baseball, basketball, softball, etc.
Comments and Questions
The spring meeting of the Blinn-Brenham Advisory Committee will be scheduled at a later date.
With no other business, Mr. Jonathan Hill asked for a motion to adjourn at 12:50 p.m. The motion was made by Ms. Rankin and seconded by Mr. Roznovsky.