Top Ten Moments: June 2023

I donned a lab coat at the Advanced Energy Materials Laboratory for an amazing display of work led by our chemistry students and their professor, Dr. Chris Rhodes. Doctoral student Sam Kimmel taught me how to make a rechargeable battery using zinc and nickel available in the U.S. Other students are developing advanced catalysts that will split water into hydrogen and oxygen as part of efforts to create clean hydrogen.

Congratulations to this year's Presidential Awards honorees! The Presidential Seminar Award honorees are Dr. Johanna Fauerso and Dr. Tanzima Islam. Dr. Ty Schepis and Dr. Carlton Fong won the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities. Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching honorees are Dr. Roseann Mandziuk, Dr. Elizabeth Eger, and Dr. Ewa Siwak. Dr. Christine Norton and Dale Blasingame won the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Service.

One of my top priorities is recognizing the exceptional work of our employees by providing salary increases and additional positions. I recently announced our investment of $12.3 million in TXST employees for FY24. This includes a performance-based merit pool for eligible employees; a 2% salary increase for eligible employees who earn under $100,000; creating new positions; and ensuring that our lowest paid employees will now earn at least $30,000.

At the end of several days of meetings with The Texas State University System Board of Regents, the TXST Strutters put on a dazzling show at Bobcat Stadium. The performances were a tribute to the long and storied history of the Strutters. Founded in 1960, the Strutters hold the distinction of being the first dance team organized on any major university campus in Texas.

Don’t you love running into fellow Bobcats off-campus when you’re not expecting it? It happens to me a lot in my travels across Texas and the U.S. Sometimes just wearing a TXST shirt or hat inspires a stranger nearby to holler, “Eat Em Up Cats,” or “Go Bobcats!” Recently, wearing my TXST gear in the Austin airport, I got to meet a lot of Bobcats with fun summer travel plans. Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat.

TXST’s inaugural Juneteenth Jamboree was a moving commemoration of the emancipation of African Americans in Texas. I enjoyed connecting with so many of our students, faculty, staff, and community members in Sewell Park as we remembered this historic milestone. Thanks to the event organizers for bringing us together. The DJ, games, food, and free kayak and paddleboard rentals were a blast

With Texas school districts facing teacher shortages, TXST was proud to announce the Grow Your Own program with Austin Community College and Round Rock ISD last week. Through this new partnership, the TXST College of Education will coordinate with ACC and Round Rock ISD to support aspiring teachers from high school through their bachelor’s degree and teacher certification.

As we collaborate to develop the university’s 2023-2028 strategic plan, the divisions have been working to define their priorities for the coming years. It was inspiring to hear the vice presidents and Athletics department present their plans this week in a strategic planning forum. Working together, we will achieve our Hopes & Aspirations High vision, centered on our Run to R1 and enhancing student success.

We held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Football Performance Center at Bobcat Stadium. Special thanks to Johnny and Nathali Weisman, Bo and Darlene Trevillion, and Scott Emerson for their generous contributions to the renovation and expansion project. They gave our fundraising effort a major jumpstart and many other passionate Bobcat fans have contributed. The future is bright for our football program.

I was honored to be the ceremonial starter for the Texas Water Safari, a canoe race that starts on our beautiful TXST campus at Spring Lake and ends 260 miles downstream at Seadrift on San Antonio Bay. The race is known as the “world’s toughest canoe race” and goes down the San Marcos River to the Guadalupe River before reaching the coast. Congrats to all the racers! They tell me it’s no walk in the park.