(BEAUMONT) - The Texas State University System Board of Regents today elected Dr. Jaime R. Garza of San Antonio chairman of the board for the 2014-15 term. Dr. Garza was elected during the board's quarterly meeting on the campus of Lamar University in Beaumont.
Garza is currently a professor of surgery, professor of otolaryngology, and assistant dean for South Texas Affairs at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is president and CEO of Texas Plastic Surgery and Renew Center at Stadia and is past president of the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Garza received his B.A. in political science from Tulane University, earned his M.D. (with honors) and D.D.S. degrees from Louisiana State University, and is dual board-certified in two surgical specialties.
Garza was appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Rick Perry in 2011 and has served as chairman of the Board's Academic Affairs Committee and a member of the Board's Information Resources, Diversity Enhancement and Governmental Relations committees.
The Board of Regents also elected Rossanna Salazar of Austin vice chairman of the board. Salazar was appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Perry in 2011. She has served as chairman of the board's Rules and Regulations Committee and the Lamar Components Committee, and as a member of the Academic Affairs and Governmental Relations committees.
Rossanna Salazar is managing partner of ROSS Communications Inc., a Texas-based public affairs and strategic communications firm that has served domestic and international clients since 1993. ROSS provides services that include issue management, strategic counsel, earned and social media, coalition building, and grassroots development.
The Texas State University System Board of Regents is the governing body of Texas’ first university system, which comprises eight institutions: Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Texas State University, Sul Ross State University, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar State College-Port Arthur and Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College. The chair and vice chair serve one-year terms.