University of Houston System Chancellor Renu Khator has named Raymond Victor Morgan Jr., interim president of the University of Houston-Victoria, effective April 21. Morgan currently is president emeritus and professor of mathematics at Sul Ross State University.
“Dr. Morgan has the right blend of experience, accomplishments and understanding of vital transitional issues such as the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) accreditation process,” Khator said. “He is a proven leader with a strong background in academics and a demonstrated record of achievement in student recruitment and retention and student success. He is the ideal person to serve in this important role. I also wish to thank Wayne Beran, vice president for administration at UH-Victoria, for ably serving as acting president while the search for an interim president was underway."
Morgan said, "I am excited and looking forward to the opportunities and challenges of serving UHV and Victoria."
Morgan was the 10th president of Sul Ross State University, a regional comprehensive state university with an enrollment of almost 3,000 students including the three remote communities of Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde as an off campus center called the Rio Grande College of Sul Ross State University. The Texas State University System Board of Regents appointed him as president in 1990, making him the first president of Sul Ross to come from within the ranks of its faculty.
He served 19 years as president, before stepping down in 2009. The Board of Regents of the Texas State University System passed resolutions renaming the Sul Ross State University Center in honor of Morgan and his wife, Mary Jane.
He then served as special assistant to the vice chancellor and president designate of the University of North Texas (UNT) at Dallas from December 2009 until August 2010. In that role, he assisted the university and the UNT System with the process of transitioning UNT at Dallas from a branch campus of the University of North Texas to a free standing master’s level institution.
His career at Sul Ross began in 1975 when he joined the university as an associate professor of mathematics. The following year he was named the mathematics department chair and was appointed science dean in 1979.
In 1986, he moved to the President's Office to serve as executive assistant to the president with responsibility for athletics, financial aid, student affairs, enrollment management and institutional image. He served as acting president from Nov. 17, 1989, until his appointment as president in September 1990.
During his tenure, Sul Ross conducted its first major development campaign, which surpassed the challenge goal by 10 percent; increased endowments from $1 million to $13 million; completed a major construction campaign that led to a new University Center and multi-purpose center; established a monthly breakfast for community leaders; implemented a system of shared governance; implemented its first two-way interactive distance learning courses in 1994; and implemented the first administrator evaluation system on campus and extended the system to all non-faculty employees.
After attending public schools in Bangs, Texas, he went on to earn his B.A. degree in 1964 from Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. He received a master of arts degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., in 1965. He earned his Ph.D. in 1969 from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. All of his degrees are in mathematics.
Following graduation from the University of Missouri, he served on the faculty at Southern Methodist University for six years as an assistant professor of mathematics before moving to Alpine and Sul Ross.
Morgan has published several articles in mathematics and written one book on the mathematics of agriculture. He has taught mathematics at all university levels and enjoys returning to the classroom when opportunities arise.
Morgan has been active in professional organizations in mathematics, student affairs and educational administration. His hobbies include motorcycling, golf, shooting sports, classical music and travel.