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Contact: Eric Gerber |
Editor’s note: Additional information about the UH System Board of Regents is available on the Web site at http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/. FY 05 Officers Include Leroy Hermes as Vice Chair, Raul Gonzalez as Secretary HOUSTON, Aug. 19, 2004 – Morgan Dunn O’Connor, owner and managing partner of the Bissett Ranch Partnership, has been elected chair of the University of Houston System Board of Regents for fiscal year 2005, which starts Sept. 1, 2004. She replaces Thad “Bo” Smith, who will continue to serve on the board through Aug. 31, 2005. The board also elected Leroy L. Hermes to serve as vice chair and Raul A. Gonzalez as secretary. The board is the governing body of the University of Houston System. O’Connor was appointed to the UH System Board of Regents in 1999 by then-Gov. George W. Bush and will serve through August 2005. Previously, she was the board’s vice chair for two terms during the 2003 and 2004 fiscal years. O’Connor was a member of the board’s Education Task Force, chair of the Administration and Finance Committee for two years, and served on the University Advancement Committee and the Technology Task Force. “It is an honor and a privilege to be elected chair of the University of Houston System Board of Regents,” O’Connor said. “Our universities are experiencing rapid growth, while continuing to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and community service. These are exciting and challenging times for higher education. I look forward to working with my fellow regents along with the higher education leadership throughout the state and our elected officials in the Texas Legislature as we find new ways to meet the growing need for an educated citizenry. I believe that the University of Houston System, already a leader in educating a diverse student population, will help lead the state in creating the leaders we need for our state and our nation,” she said. A fifth generation Texan, she was born and raised in Victoria, where she manages her ranching, agricultural, and oil and gas interests. O’Connor holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law. O’Connor serves on the UH-Victoria President’s Advisory Council, holding the post of chair of its institutional resources committee since 1998. She currently serves or has served on numerous civic, educational, and corporate boards, including St. Mary’s University School of Law dean’s advisory board, Texas Heart Institute board of trustees, Art Museum of South Texas board of trustees, St. Joseph High School board of trustees, and many others. She is regional vice president of the Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association, she holds membership in the State Bar of Texas, and she is a member of the Victoria Board of Wells Fargo Bank, Texas N.A. Other UH System regents include Thad “Bo” Smith; Michael J. Cemo; Morrie K. Abramson; Theresa W. Chang; Dennis D. Golden; Raul A. Gonzalez; Leroy L. Hermes and Lynden B. Rose The Board of Regents is composed of nine members (chair, vice chair, secretary, and six members). Every two years, the Governor of the State of Texas, subject to Senate confirmation, appoints three members to the Board of Regents. Each member serves a six-year term. Board responsibilities include: preserving institutional independence and defending each UH System component university’s right to manage its own affairs through its chosen administrators and employees; enhancing each university’s public image; interpreting the community to each of the universities and the universities to the community; nurturing each university so that each may achieve its full potential within its role and mission; and providing policy direction, insisting on clarity of focus and mission, to each of the universities. ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom. |
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