New UH System Board of Regents Officers, Student Regent Set for FY2013

The University of Houston System Board of Regents elected officers for fiscal year 2013 at its quarterly meeting in August. Nelda Luce Blair was elected to a second consecutive term as chair, Jarvis Hollingsworth is the new vice chair and Tilman J. Fertitta fills the role of secretary. Also, Gage A. Raba was sworn in as the new student regent during the board’s Academic and Student Success Committee meeting.

The board is the governing body of the UH System, which includes UH, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown and UH-Victoria, branch campuses UH-Sugar Land, UH System-Northwest and UHCL Pearland, and a teaching center in Cinco Ranch.  The board consists of Blair, Hollingsworth, Fertitta, student regent Raba, Michelle (Mica) McCutchen Mosbacher, Jacob Monty, Nandita Berry, Spencer D. Armour III, Roger Fleming Welder and Welcome W. Wilson Jr.

An alumna of the UH Law Center, Blair was appointed to the board in 2008. Last year, she was elected to her first term as the board’s chair. Blair previously served as the board’s vice chair and has served on several of its committees including chair of the Academic and Student Success Committee; vice chair of the Facilities, Construction and Master Planning Committee; board liaison for Governmental Relations; and the Executive and Compensation Committee.

Nelda Luce BlairBlair is president and owner of The Blair Law Firm, P.C., and is triple certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in real estate law. She serves on the board of The Woodlands Township and chairs the board of The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau. She also serves as president of the Conroe Independent School District Education Foundation and on the Lone Star College System Chancellor's Advisory Council. Blair has been named a “Hometown Hero” of The Woodlands, one of “Houston’s Most Influential Women of 2009” by Houston Woman magazine and “Citizen of the Year 2009” by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, where she also serves on the board. A noted attorney, Blair’s legal expertise has been showcased on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News and Court TV.

Jarvis HollingsworthHollingsworth was appointed to the board in 2009. An alumnus of the UH Law Center, he is a partner in the Houston office of Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP, and was named a “Texas Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly magazine. Last year, Hollingsworth served as the board’s secretary, chair of the Finance and Administration Committee, and a member of the Executive and Compensation Committee.  During his first two years on the board, he served as chair of the Endowment Management Committee. He previously served on the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas and as chairman of the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. He also served on the board of directors of the Texas Growth Fund and is a former director of the Lehman Brothers Private Equity Advisory Board. He is a member of the National Association of Securities Professionals New York’s Wall Street Hall of Fame and was named as one of the “75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street” by Black Enterprise magazine. He has received honors from the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Lawyer magazine, the Houston Bar Association, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the NAACP. He is a 2007 recipient of the UH Black Alumni Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award and the 2006 recipient of the UH Law Alumni Association's Private Sector Achievement Award. Hollingsworth previously served as a director of the UH System Alumni Organization. A former captain with the U.S. Army, Hollingsworth received a Meritorious Service Medal. He received his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Tilman FertittaFertitta was appointed to the board in 2009. He is the sole owner, chairman and CEO of Landry’s Inc., one of America’s leading dining, entertainment, gaming and hospitality companies.  Fertitta has received many personal honors including “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” from Ernst & Young. He also was the second-youngest inductee into the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Fertitta serves as chairman of the Houston Children’s Charity and the Houston Police Foundation.  He serves on the Executive Committee of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the boards of the Texas Heart Institute and the Greater Houston Partnership.  An influential business figure, Fertitta has been frequently featured in every major financial and industry publication.  He has appeared on numerous national business programs and has been a featured speaker at many conferences and seminars.  Fertitta is one of the foremost authorities in the restaurant, gaming entertainment and hospitality industry. 

Gage RabaRaba succeeds Tamecia Glover Harris, who recently graduated with a juris doctor degree from the UH Law Center and a master of business administration (M.B.A.) from the university’s C.T. Bauer College of Business. Raba is pursuing an M.B.A. at the C.T. Bauer College of Business and is expected to graduate in 2013. He is a member of the Bauer Graduate Real Estate Club and the Bauer M.B.A. Society. Recently, Raba served as Graduate Senior at Large for the 48th administration of UH’s Student Government Association and was the assistant director for Frontier Fiesta 2012. He also is a recent inductee into the Sons of the American Revolution.

In 2005 Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation directing each public university’s board of regents to include one non-voting student member. In 2007 the governor signed legislation creating a student representative position on the Coordinating Board.

For more details on the UH System and the UH System Board of Regents, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/.

###

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM

The University of Houston System is a comprehensive system of higher education institutions serving to further the intellectual capital and economic strength of the Gulf Coast region. The UH System includes the University of Houston, a nationally recognized Tier One public research university; the University of Houston-Downtown, a four-year undergraduate university expanding into graduate programs; the University of Houston-Victoria, a four-year university with undergraduate and master’s level degree programs; and the University of Houston- Clear Lake, an upper-division and master’s level institution. The system also includes three branch campuses, UH-Clear Lake Pearland, UH System - Northwest and UH Sugar Land, as well as a multi-institution teaching center, UH System Cinco Ranch. In addition, the System owns and operates Houston Public Media (HPM). HPM comprises KUHF-FM, Houston’s National Public Radio station; KUHA-FM, Houston’s 24-hour classical music station; and KUHT-TV, the nation’s first educational television station. To learn more about the UH System, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/.