(HUNTSVILLE) - The Texas State University System Board of Regents today elected Rossanna Salazar of Austin chairman of the board and William F. Scott of Nederland vice chairman. Ms. Salazar and Mr. Scott were elected during the board's quarterly meeting on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.
Ms. 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. Prior to founding ROSS Communications, she served as press secretary to the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Before joining Mrs. Hutchison’s campaign, Ms. Salazar served as communications director for then-Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry. She was Mr. Perry’s chief media spokesman and served as a member of his senior staff. She previously served as press secretary and chief speechwriter for Governor Bill Clements.
Ms. Salazar began her career as a reporter for Texas newspapers. She was a political writer for the San Antonio Light and a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. Her reporting experience in San Antonio began in 1983 at the San Antonio Express, where she covered local government affairs.
Ms. Salazar is a member of the Executive Committee of the Texas Association of Business, a member of the board of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute and serves as chairman of the Clements Legislative Scholars, a program of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in Tucson.
The Board of Regents also elected William F. Scott of Nederland vice chairman of the board. Mr. Scott is the CEO, chairman and co-owner of Trans-Global Solutions Inc., as well as chairman and general partner of TGS Development, LP. He earned a bachelor of science degree in government at Lamar University, with which he has maintained strong ties as a member of the Lamar University College of Business Board of Advisors, Comprehensive Campaign Cabinet and Lamar University Foundation Board.
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.