Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Selects Chairman, Vice Chairman
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents today elected Charles W. Schwartz of Houston as its Chairman and re-elected Elaine Mendoza of San Antonio as its Vice Chairman.
Schwartz succeeds former Board of Regents Chairman Cliff Thomas of Victoria, who remains on the board. Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott re-appointed Thomas to a second term on the board that expires on Feb. 1, 2023.
“The leadership of Chairman Schwartz and Vice Chairman Mendoza will undoubtedly keep the Texas A&M System on its current upward trajectory,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp. “We are all grateful to Chairman Thomas for his service and guidance. I look forward to continuing to work with all the members of this truly exceptional Board of Regents.”
“The Texas A&M System is engaged in what I believe to be some of the most exciting initiatives in higher education, and it is truly an honor to serve as the Chairman of this board,” Schwartz said.
“I am grateful to my fellow Regents for the honor of continuing in this role,” Mendoza said. “After a very successful term with former Chairman Thomas, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Chairman Schwartz and our colleagues to keep the System moving forward.”
Schwartz’s term on the Board of Regents expires February 1, 2019.
A nationally known securities litigator and mergers & acquisitions expert, Schwartz graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in 1977 and Harvard Law School with an LL.M. in 1980. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a Life Member of the American Law Institute.
Schwartz is a former Director of the State Bar of Texas from 2000 to 2004 and served as its Chairman from 2002 to 2003. He received the Dan Rugeley Price Memorial Award from the Texas Bar Foundation in 2004. He served on the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline from 2008 to 2014.
Schwartz was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2013. He has served as chair of the Committee on Finance and as a member of the Committee on Buildings and Physical Plant. Additionally, he has served on the Policy Review Committee and the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. Schwartz also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board for Lease of University Lands.
Gov. Abbott recently reappointed Mendoza for a second term on the board that runs through Feb. 1, 2023.
Mendoza is founder, President, and CEO of Conceptual MindWorks, Inc. (CMI), a biotechnology and medical informatics company.
Mendoza, who received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University, was appointed to the Board of Regents in 2011. She is Chair of the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. She served on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from 2005 through 2011. She also served as Chair of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2004 and 2005.
In April 2013, Mendoza received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M, and in October 2013 she received the ATHENA Leadership Award from the North San Antonio Chamber.
Among her many civic and business accomplishments, Mendoza was appointed in 2012 by the San Antonio Mayor and City Council to lead the board of a municipal corporation focused on delivering high quality education to four year olds in San Antonio.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact:
Reeve Hamilton
Executive Director, Media Relations
(512) 705-7710
rhamilton@tamus.edu