Government

Gov. Perry appoints 21 members to the Commission for College Ready Texas

The Commission will hold public hearings through fall 2007 on college readiness standards for our state

From the Office of Gov. Rick Perry

April 11, 2007

AUSTIN–Gov. Rick Perry today appointed 21 members to the Commission for a College Ready Texas. The commission will provide leadership and guidance to the State Board of Education to improve college readiness programs by aligning high school curriculum with college standards.

“Education has always been, and will always be, the cornerstone to success,” Gov. Perry said. “Every student deserves to receive the necessary groundwork to be academically equipped for college. With the guidance of the Commission for a College Ready Texas, students will have access to improved college preparation tools.”

The commission will hold public meetings from April through fall 2007. The commission will consider the public testimony from these meetings to make recommendations to the State Board of Education, which has the authority to adopt, align and define college-readiness standards for Texas.

Commission Chair

Sandy Kress of Austin will serve as chair of the commission. Kress is a partner in the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., where he focuses on public law and policy at the state and national levels. He served as senior advisor to President George W. Bush on education and as president of the board of trustees of the Dallas Public Schools. Kress currently serves on the Education Commission of the States. He previously served as counsel to the Governor's Business Council and Texans for Education, and as a member of the Texas Business and Education Coalition. Kress received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and earned his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.

Business, education and community service leaders appointed to the commission:

Albert Black, President, On-Target Supplies and Logistics of Dallas

Barbara Cargill, Member, State Board of Education

Jose Cuevas Jr., Founder and CEO, JumBurrito

Dr. Robert Duron, Superintendent, San Antonio Independent School District

Linda Evans, President of Grants and Planning, The Meadows Foundation of Dallas

Bruce Esterline, Vice President of Grants and Planning, The Meadows Foundation of Dallas

Larry Faulkner, President, The Houston Endowment; and former President, The University of Texas at Austin

David Garcia, CEO, CEDRA Corporation of Austin

Bill Hammond, President and CEO, Texas Association of Business

Dr. Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jan Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution of Stanford University

Woody L. Hunt, former Chairman of the Board of Regents, The University of Texas System

Jodie Jiles, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets of Houston

Charles E. McMahen, Chairman, Governor’s Business Council

George McShan, former President and President-elect, Texas Association of School Boards

Sonya Medina, Executive Director, AT&T Foundation

Elaine Mendoza, Member, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

David Merrill, Vice President-Investments, AG Edwards & Sons, Inc.

Dean Nafziger, Ph.D., CEO , Edvance Research, Inc.

Dr. Richard M. Rhodes, President, El Paso Community College

Dr. Ricardo Romo, President, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Zeynep Young, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Eight co-chairs appointed to oversee the four subject-specific teams:

Dr. Linda Ferreira-Buckley, Chair, Department of Rhetoric and Composition English, The University of Texas at Austin

Selina Jackson, English Teacher, Wall Independent School District

Linda Gann, Mathematics Instructional Specialist, Northside Independent School District

Dr. Selina Vasquez-Mireles, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Texas State University

Mercedes Guzman, Science Teacher, El Paso Independent School District

Dr. C. O. Patterson, Professor of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station

Larry Garibaldi, Instructional Team Leader, Houston Independent School District

Dr. Jonathan Lee, Associate Professor of History, San Antonio College

De-facto members of the commission include:

Commissioner Shirley Neeley, Texas Education Agency

Commissioner Raymund Parades, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Susan Combs, Texas State Comptroller

John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, Texas High School Project – Communities Foundation of Texas