Governor Abbott Appoints Hurley and Sias to Texas Southern University Board of Regents
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Caroline Baker Hurley and reappointed Mary Evans Sias, Ph.D. to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents for terms set to expire on February 1, 2027.
Caroline Baker Hurley of Houston served as a state district judge for over 21 years in Harris County, and continues to sit by assignment as a Senior Retired State District Judge. Prior to the bench, she was a partner of McFall, Sherwood & Sheehy. She is currently in charge of a MDL, and an arbitrator and a mediator with a certificate from the AA White Dispute Resolution Center. In addition, she has taught several courses as an adjunct professor in Trial Advocacy at the University of Houston Law Center. She is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law and has been elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is a representative from the Houston Chapter to the ABOTA National Board. She has served as chair of the Ethics Committee for the Harris County Civil District Judges and on several committees of the State Bar of Texas, including the Committee on Judicial Ethics, Judicial Section. She is a past president of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists and the ADR Section of the Houston Bar Association, a member and chair of a State Bar Grievance Committee, and co-editor of the Texas Business Litigation treatise. Additionally, she serves on the board for BakerRipley, Posse Houston Advisory Board, The Tapia Center for Excellence and Equity in Education, Hobby Center Foundation, and the Houston BARC Foundation. She is an advisory board member of The Chinquapin School, lifetime board member and former chair of Girls Incorporated of Greater Houston, former chair of Leadership Houston, and former vice president of The Heritage Society. Baker received an A.B. in History from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law.
Mary Evans Sias, Ph.D. of Dallas is the Director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative and Assistant to the President of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Previously, she served as President of Kentucky State University, and as the Senior Vice President of Student Affairs and External Relations for The University of Texas at Dallas. She has served as the chair of the Boards of Directors of both the Association of Public-Land Grant Universities (APLU) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), two of the nation’s six national organizations in higher education. Sias’ other board experiences includes serving as chair of the Board of Presidents of the Southern Intercollegiate Association and of the Educational Testing Service Advisory Board for HBCUs. She is also a former board member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges, Kentucky One Hospital Board, Frankfort Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort YMCA, and the Frankfort Woman’s Club. Sias is a former board director of the State Bar of Texas, member and Fund Development chair and Special Events chair for the Dallas Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and a member and past president of the Cottonwood Creek Garden Club. Sias received a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Tougaloo College, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Master of Business Administration from Abilene Christian University. Additionally, she received an honorary doctorate in public service from Central Michigan University.
These appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.