More Texas universities turn to politicians to lead them

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As the clock wound down on the year’s second overtime legislative session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful leader of the Texas Senate, took a few minutes to say goodbye to his right-hand man, Sen. Brandon Creighton: The architect of a recent bevy of laws reshaping higher education in Texas — from the ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs to limits on protests and faculty’s influence on campuses — was stepping down to take a new job overseeing those very changes.

Texas Tech regents voted Thursday to name the Conroe Republican their sole finalist for chancellor, the university system’s top job, betting that his political connections and influence at the Capitol will help secure funding, expand research opportunities and elevate the system’s profile.

Chancellors are at the helm of each university system’s fleet of campuses, and Texas universities have increasingly turned to politicians to lead them, a shift that Patrick celebrated Wednesday. He pointed to the Texas A&M and University of Texas systems’ new chancellors — Glenn Hegar, the state’s former state comptroller and a former state senator, and former state Rep. John Zerwas, respectively — as models of the kind of political leadership he believes universities need.

”There’s a whole new look at least in Texas of who [university leaders] think should lead universities, people with legislative experience, people who have been accountable to the people, people who have a record,” Patrick said. “You don’t just have to have nine letters behind your name and some education degree to run a university when it really takes more than just that.”

Experts say regents have increasingly prioritized political savvy over academic leadership when picking university system leaders, a statewide and national shift they warn could make higher education less independent and give politicians greater influence over academics, research and campus life.

Barrett Taylor, a higher education governance expert at the University of North Texas, said Creighton’s selection signals that Texas is entering a new phase in that transformation.

“Enacting laws was part of the agenda for reshaping public higher education in Texas, but it’s not where it ends,” he said. “There are going to be additional steps, and this is probably one of those steps.”

Renée Cross, senior executive director at the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, agreed.

“It just makes too much sense for public universities — and for those in power — to have, for lack of a better word, their ‘lieutenants’ in these high-ranking positions,” she said. “If Lt. Gov. Patrick really wants to change the system of higher education in Texas — and he’s been pretty open about wanting to — of course you’d want people you know and trust running these large university systems. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Even if Democrats controlled the state years from now, I could see them doing the same thing.”

In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Texas Tech Board Chair Cody Campbell said regents believe the chancellor’s job is fundamentally different from a campus president’s, and should emphasize representation before state leaders rather than academic oversight.

“We do not need a chancellor who knows how to run the math department,” he said.

Politics over academics

Among Texas’ seven public university systems, only two chancellors have teaching experience, University of Houston’s Renu Khator and Texas Woman’s University’s Carine M. Feyten.

Political experience among Texas university system leaders isn’t new. Texas State University System Chancellor Brian McCall served two decades in the Texas House, but his official bio on the system’s website omits his political career and instead highlights his Ph.D. and other academic credentials. Texas Tech’s first chancellor, then state Sen. John T. Montford, also left the Texas Senate to take the post in 1996, and former U.S. Rep. Kent Hance later served in the role. John Sharp, Hegar’s predecessor, was a moderate Democrat before serving as Texas A&M chancellor for 14 years.

But Texas Tech’s selection of Creighton is notable because regents are openly touting his political influence and his role in writing many of the higher education laws that campuses have recently been busy implementing. It comes at a time when university leaders are placing less emphasis on traditional academic leadership, and political leaders like Patrick are challenging the notion that academic credentials are necessary to run a university.

Taylor said Texas’ approach mirrors efforts in other conservative-led states, where lawmakers have pushed to reshape universities by installing leaders who will carry out their legislative priorities.

“It seems like the emphasis is not on having been a distinguished academic. It’s not on having been an industry leader. It is on having some kind of ties back to state government,” Taylor said. “And insofar as that pattern continues, I think that’s a pretty clear signal about what the state wants from its public colleges and universities. It wants them to get on board with what the state is doing, rather than to continue to exercise the kind of independence they have historically enjoyed.”

Judith Wilde, who studies university leadership at George Mason University, said politically aligned chancellors give lawmakers and state leaders even more influence over universities.

“It’s to the governor’s advantage, because if he wants to delete a program, [chancellors] will just follow and do it. If he wants to add a program, they’ll follow and do it. There will be much less questioning of things that there would be in a normal situation,” Wilde said.

Creighton’s education overhaul

Creighton spearheaded some of the most consequential higher education laws in recent years.

In 2023, Senate Bill 17 banned diversity, equity and inclusion offices at public universities, which had proliferated across the country as a way to boost faculty diversity and help students from all backgrounds succeed. Creighton, the bill’s author, argued they had grown into bureaucracies that undermined merit, imposed political litmus tests, and discriminated against some students by offering exclusive resources to others who belong to certain demographic groups.

Creighton also co-authored Senate Bill 18 that year. The law made it easier for universities to revoke tenure, which provides job protections to professors so they can teach and research without fear of reprisal. Supporters of the law argued the change was necessary to hold professors accountable and prevent what Patrick called efforts to “indoctrinate students” with “woke, leftist ideology.”

This year was another busy one for Creighton. He successfully helped pass a school voucher program through the Legislature, delivering a key win for Gov. Greg Abbott. He authored Senate Bill 37, which requires university system regents to review their schools’ curriculum periodically and directs them to consolidate or eliminate low enrollment programs. Supporters frame the changes as improving accountability and efficiency, but faculty and higher education experts warn the law could be used to target programs unpopular with the Texas Legislature’s conservative majority.

Creighton also pushed through Senate Bill 2972, a law largely in response to the Pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year that gives regents more power to restrict protests and other expressive activity on campus. On Wednesday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued the UT System, UT-Austin and UT-Dallas to block the law, arguing it violates students’ First Amendment rights.

Creighton spent seven years in the Texas House and another 11 in the Texas Senate, where he rose to become chair of the Education Committee. His peers elected him to serve as president pro tempore, a role in which he acts as governor when both Abbott and Patrick are out of state.

Creighton has acted as a top ally for Patrick, who has prioritized education reform in recent years. Patrick’s campaign to reshape higher education began in 2022, when UT-Austin faculty asserted their right to decide what to teach. He responded by vowing to rein in professors and give state leaders more influence over universities. Since then, the Legislature has expanded its role in shaping campus priorities, including creating and investing $100 million into a civic leadership school in UT-Austin, which Abbott said will “restore classical civics and leadership education.”

With Patrick running for re-election — and narrowing Creighton’s political options — some observers said the timing of the Texas Tech job opening offered the state senator a different kind of opportunity.

“Since the lieutenant governor has no plans to leave unless an election forces him out, I think that had a lot to do with it,” said Drew Landry, a government professor at South Plains College. “At some point you get tired of being a Texas senator. Even though you are one of 31 people and you have a lot of influence, at some point you get tired of it. I think this may have been a good opportunity to make more money. It’s a six- or seven-figure job.”

Under the Texas Constitution, state senators — a job that is supposed to be part time — earn $7,200 annually. Tedd Mitchell, Texas Tech’s current chancellor, made $1.3 million last year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Moving to Raider Country

Many in Lubbock didn’t initially understand why Texas Tech regents selected Creighton, a Longhorn from southeast Texas.

“There is a good bit of surprise,” said Andrew Martin, an art professor who leads Texas Tech’s American Association of University Professors chapter. “I don’t think anybody that I knew expected Sen. Creighton would even be interested in this position.”

Until last week, many in the community assumed U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington — a Texas Tech graduate and the system’s former vice chancellor for research and commercialization — was the frontrunner. Some have speculated that Abbott quietly supported Creighton’s selection, given that regents are appointed by the governor and typically align with his priorities.

“I think we all know what happened is Gov. Abbott reached his hand down and decided we had to pay back the old boy for pushing through the destruction of DEI and the voucher bill,” said Kyle Rable, a Texas Tech graduate student and a Democrat who is challenging Arrington for his seat in Congress.

Rable questioned whether Creighton would “understand the donors of West Texas” or commit to staying in the role long-term.

Campbell, the chair of Texas Tech’s board of regents, dismissed speculation that Abbott influenced the outcome, saying he “never spoke to Gov. Abbott one time throughout the process.” Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Campbell described the search process as “extensive and time-consuming.” He said the contest was never just between Arrington and Creighton, with regents evaluating “dozens of candidates” whom they had identified through the system’s alumni network and their own contacts.

In the end, he said, political experience was more important than an academic background because, unlike university presidents, a chancellor’s job is less about overseeing faculty and curriculum and more about fundraising, government relations and representing the system statewide.

While Arrington has wide support in the region, Campbell said Creighton would win them over.

“He might as well be from West Texas,” Campbell said. “He grew up on a ranch in eastern New Mexico and worked as a pipe fitter in a chemical plant in high school. He sort of embodies that hard working, gritty, tough mentality we pride ourselves on at Texas Tech.”

Texas Tech regents are expected to formally approve Creighton’s appointment later this month after a state-mandated 21-day waiting period.

Martin said he’ll be watching how Creighton’s policies affect Texas Tech’s ambition to join the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only group of the nation’s top research institutions, and the integrity of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, which trains future doctors and other health professionals. He said collaboration between faculty and administrators is key to obtaining AAU status.

Martin also wondered if Creighton’s implementation of some of the laws he has authored will limit how Texas Tech teaches courses that are foundational to medicine and public health, including material on health disparities and the use of instructional images of the human body.

Even with those concerns, Martin said he is hopeful Creighton’s leadership will benefit the system, which has grown to a $3 billion enterprise employing 21,000 people and educating 64,000 students.

“I want to believe we operate from a shared conviction about the importance of higher education,” Martin said.

Faith Geistweidt, president of the Texas Tech Student Government Association, said in a statement that she’s confident Creighton’s leadership will strengthen the university’s focus on students. His “vision for growth will help ensure that student voices are heard, that our opportunities expand, and our university continues to thrive for generations of Red Raiders to come,” she said.

David Nelson, a retired lawyer and a Texas Tech alum, said he was also surprised Creighton was chosen over Arrington. But after reflecting, he said he understands why regents wanted someone with stronger political connections in Austin than ties to Lubbock.

“When I was a student at Texas Tech in the 1960s, Tech was ‘state supported,’” Nelson said. “Today, Tech is more accurately ‘state assisted.’ I think it’s a shame that in today’s environment, university presidents and chancellors have to focus so much attention and effort on fundraising. But there is no going back — that’s just the way it is.”

Lubbock County Republican Party Chair David Bruegel said he wasn’t concerned about Creighton’s legislative record or his lack of West Texas ties.

“I think what he may do is level the playing field and allow for more academic diversity, making sure we’re teaching free market perspectives,” said Bruegel, who is in real estate.

Bruegel said he thinks that having Arrington represent the region in Washington D.C. and Creighton leverage his connections in Austin gives Texas Tech an advantage at both levels of government.

Looking ahead, Campbell said Creighton will be expected to help the system advance several of its goals, including expanding defense, energy and agriculture research; growing enrollment at Texas Tech University to 50,000 students within the next decade; and expanding health care access to a region that’s severely underserved in that aspect.

Creighton, he said, is “the guy with the energy and the capability and the connections to help us to advance those initiatives.”

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