Garcia to address higher education challenges at National Press Club

Juliet V. García, Ph.D., executive director of the University of Texas Institute of the Americas, will weigh in Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on a new report produced by the National Commission on Colleges and University Boards.

The report, Consequential Boards: Adding Value Where it Matters Most, advocates for the improvement of university and college board governance to address challenges in higher education. It describes many of the major challenges facing higher education including accessibility and degree attainment for current and future students, institutional fiscal sustainability, educational quality, economic development and social equity, service to communities and knowledge creation.

The report also examines the critical role that governance makes in improving decision-making and offers seven recommendations aimed at boards in support of the distinct role only they can play in improving institutional value through more effective governance. 

Commission Chair Philip Bredesen, former governor of Tennessee, and Richard D. Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards, will introduce the discussion. Other panel members will include:

  • Eric J. Barron, president, Pennsylvania State University
  • William E. (Brit) Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland
  • Gary Rhoades, professor and director, University of Arizona Center for the Study of Higher Education
  • Robert G. Templin, Jr., president, Northern Virginia Community College
  • Ann Daley Ryherd, former executive director, Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board

Charles Miller, former chairman of The University of Texas Board of Regents, serves on the National Commission on Colleges and University Boards.

García, who served as president of UT Brownsville for 23 years before her appointment as the founding executive director of the UT Americas Institute, was appointed to the Association of Governing Board’s Board of Directors last spring.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities, six health institutions and an enrollment of more than 214,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public universities in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $15.6 billion (FY 2015) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 90,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.