LCC Board of Trustees welcomes pair

Compiled by The Lookout Staff
and from LCC Press Releases

The LCC Board of Trustees appointed Noel Garcia Jr. and Dr. Terrence Frazier to fill a pair of vacant board seats during a special meeting Monday, Jan. 29.

Garcia and Frazier will hold office in the unpaid positions until Dec. 31, 2024. They will be officially sworn in at the board’s Feb. 19 regular meeting.

LCC Board of Trustees Vice Chair Lawrence Hidalgo spoke about the selection process, and the fact there were 25 people who applied for the vacant positions.

“I was surprised we had so many candidates; that was good,” Hidalgo said. “The two we selected, I thought, were very awesome and will make great additions.

“The process was open to everyone. The applicants in our first meeting (Jan. 22) were screened down by votes to four, and then at our last meeting we interviewed the four.”

Garcia and Frazier were selected from four finalists following interviews with each candidate at the Jan. 29 meeting. The other two finalists were Ronald Gillum and Becky Brewer.

Frazier is the owner and chief operating officer of Sweet Encounter Bakery Cafe in downtown Lansing. He has more than 25 years of administrative experience.

Frazier is also currently the consultant for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at Michigan State University, where he supports the chief diversity officer in leading MSU’s DEI Strategic Plan through collaboration with key stakeholders across the institution.

Garcia has served the Lansing Police Department for more than 25 years; first as a detective, and then ascending to detective sergeant, patrol sergeant, patrol lieutenant, public information officer as a lieutenant in Central Records, and finally to Internal Affairs commander.

Upon retirement from the LPD, Garcia joined The Wilson Talent Center (formerly the Capital Area Career Center) as a Law Enforcement Program instructor, a position he held for 10 years.

The two new trustees are replacing Andrew Abood and Ryan Buck on the LCC Board of Trustees. Both resigned from the board at the end of 2023.

The election to fill the remaining two years of Abood's position and the remaining four years of Buck’s position will be held at the next general election in November of 2024.

Hidalgo talked about why he likes the selections of Garcia and Frazier.

“I can only speak for myself, of course,” Hidalgo said. “Noel, I thought, brought in a different side than the other trustees because of his experience in law enforcement, and his educational training as a teacher in the Ingham County Career Center ... I thought that was great.

“Terry has lots of community connections and is an entrepreneur. He brings in that aspect.”

Board Chair Angela Mathews said she also feels the new board members will bring a lot to the table.

“I am really excited,” Mathews said. “I think they both bring a wealth of experience.

“They both have children of their own within the school system and they come from very diverse backgrounds … yet the commonality is their knowledge of LCC. I think that they are only going to add to the trajectory of LCC.”