2022 Texas Higher Education Leadership Conference

Thanks for making this year one for the books!

Over 300 leaders in higher education, philanthropy, business and industry, and government attended the 2022 Texas Higher Education Leadership Conference. Thank you to everyone for making this year’s conference a huge success!

We heard one theme repeated throughout the conference: This is a pivotal moment for higher education, and Texas is leading the way. Now is the time for our policymakers and higher education leaders to strengthen Texas higher education, so we can drive prosperity and competitiveness for decades to come.

During Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Harrison Keller’s State of Higher Education address, he outlined the three challenges facing Texas higher education today:

  • Educational attainment: The pandemic accelerated changes in how we work, the kinds of jobs available, and the types of credentials, degrees, and certificates required to fill those jobs.
  • Workforce education: The Texas economy is changing at an unprecedented pace, in directions that require more education beyond high school diplomas, from short-term workforce credentials to graduate degrees.
  • Research and development: Competitiveness in every industry, the strength of the state and national economies, and even national security increasingly depend on how well we compete at the frontiers of knowledge and discovery.

Commissioner Keller’s address encompassed the three core goals of Building a Talent Strong Texas: to improve educational attainment, increase production of credentials of value, and bolster research and development. In his address, Commissioner Keller challenged attendees to commit to advancing these goals equitably and at scale.

“We can’t get there by tinkering around the margins and doing just a little more of what we’ve already been doing,” he said. “We have to achieve impact at scale – impact as big as Texas.”

You can watch the State of Higher Education on YouTube and download the transcript.

The conference also included a keynote address from U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal, who thanked those in attendance for making Texas a “state to watch” in higher education. Kvaal applauded Texas for leading the way in its data modernization efforts, development of credentials of value, and focus on inclusivity.

Panel discussions included conversations on credentials of value, recommendations from the Commission on Community College Finance, higher education and the 88th Texas Legislative Session, and many other topics. Breakout sessions included conversations on philanthropy in higher education, My Texas Future – a new tool designed to help Texans reskill and upskill – and required regent and trustee training.

Thank you for attending, sharing your insights, and your partnership in helping our students achieve their Texas-sized potential. We can’t wait to see you again next year!