Governor Abbott Appoints Four to Texas Commission on Community College Finance
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Woody Hunt, who will serve as chair, Mark Escamilla, Ph.D., Brian Jones, and Todd A. Williams to the Texas Commission on Community College Finance for terms set to expire at the pleasure of the Governor. The commission was established by SB 1230 (87R) to make recommendations to the 88th Texas Legislature regarding the state funding formula and funding levels for public junior colleges in Texas that would be sufficient to sustain viable junior college education and training offerings throughout the state and improve student outcomes in alignment with state postsecondary goals.
Woody Hunt of El Paso is Senior Chairman of the Board of Hunt Companies, Inc. He is a member of the Texas Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center-Houston Board of Visitors, vice-chair for the Council for Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, and a foundation trustee of the Texas Higher Education Foundation. He is founding chairman of the Borderplex Alliance in El Paso, where he now serves on the Board of Directors, and member and former Chairman of the Texas Business Leadership Council. He was previously chairman of the Texas Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee, Texas Select Commission on Higher Education and Global Competitiveness, and Paso del Norte Health Foundation, and a former board member for Complete College America. Additionally, he is a former member of the Western Governors University Texas Advisory Board, Commission for College Ready Texas, Texas Tax Reform Commission, National Board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), Texas Advisory Committee on Higher Education Cost Efficiencies, Task Force on Higher Education Incentive Funding, Council for Continuous Improvement and Innovation in Texas Higher Education, the Paso del Norte Foundation. He has served on numerous other civic, non-profit, and professional boards. Hunt received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in Management from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Mark Escamilla, Ph.D. of Corpus Christi is the President and CEO of Del Mar College, where he has been since 2008. Additionally, he has over 20 years of experience in higher education. He is the former secretary/treasurer for the Texas Association of Community College. Escamilla received a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Counseling from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, an Associate of Arts from Del Mar College, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
Brian Jones of Odessa is the Director of Professional Learning at Odessa College. He is a member of the Texas Community College Teachers Association, National Education Association and the Texas Association of College & University Student Personnel Administrators. Additionally, he is a former member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Association of American Educators. He is a community organizer for Vitalant Blood Services, serves on the board for Young Professionals of Odessa (YPO), and the music director for Life Challenge Church. Jones received a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music Education from Texas Tech University, and is completing his Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Abilene Christian University.
Todd A. Williams of Dallas is the Chairman and CEO of The Commit Partnership and the founder and president of the Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. He is a the former chairman of the board for the Real Estate Council of Dallas and the Real Estate Finance Investment Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, he is the former chairman of the Dallas ISD Citizen Budget Commission, Teach for America Dallas Fort Worth, and Austin College, and previously served on the Texas Commission on Public School Finance. Williams received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Austin College and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.