The Center for Professional Development in the A&M-Commerce College of Business and Technology has a new director and a new program manager.

Serving as the director is Jay Phillips, founder of the A&M-Commerce Bank Operations Institute. Kim Bush is the program manager for the center.

Phillips is well known to A&M-Commerce and the region. He is an alumnus, who served on the last East Texas State University Board of Regents prior to the institution becoming a member of the Texas A&M University System on Sept. 1, 1996. A former Commerce banker, Phillips worked in the banking field for 22 years. He now lives in Dallas and serves as a consultant to banks. Phillips will work part-time at the center which opened its doors at the University in the mid 1970s. “I thought it would be fun to do,” the 1971 graduate of A&M-Commerce said of directing the center.

Bush, a native of Commerce and also an A&M-Commerce graduate, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1993. “I am excited to be back in Commerce and looking forward to developing new and innovative programs for the center which will benefit the community and the University,” she said. Bush worked as the marketing and operations manager at the Texas Tech Center for Professional Development. She began her job at A&M-Commerce last April and is a full-time employee at the center. The center will continue to sponsor the Bank Operations Institute, now in its 20th year, but will expand its services by coordinating executive education programs for businesses and companies.

Phillips and Bush are currently learning the training needs of the business community in the northeast Texas region and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. They are working on putting together a business plan for the center regarding programming and services for next year. Programs being developed include a management series for the medical industry, a leadership conference for women in the northeast Texas business community and in the metroplex, a certificate series in human resource management, and a project management program. Instructors may include A&M-Commerce faculty, professionals from business, and consultants.

The center will also offer custom training for businesses and corporations to meet their needs, Phillips said. “We will facilitate the training and arrange for speakers,” he explained. The center’s 20th Annual Bank Operations Institute will be held Nov. 5-10 in San Antonio at the Texas Engineering Extension Service’s Education Service Center.