The ombudsman will serve as an intermediary between state colleges, government officials and constituents and handle complaints involving DEI.
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Texas governor Greg Abbott picked a regent from Texas Southern University to serve as the state’s first higher ed ombudsman, who will ensure state universities adhere to recent laws that restricted the role of faculty senates and banned diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the state announced in a news release last week.
The new office, which will be housed under the state Higher Education Coordinating Board, will serve as a go-between for state lawmakers and colleges and universities. It also will manage complaints and investigations related to reported violations of either the DEI ban or some provisions of Senate Bill 37, which state lawmakers passed earlier this year and that requires state institutions to make a number of changes.
Brandon Simmons, a former tech company executive, corporate attorney and venture capitalist whom Abbott previously appointed to serve on the Texas Southern Board of Regents, will lead the ombudsman’s office. Simmons has also served as an entrepreneurial resident and distinguished professor of business at Wiley University in Marshall, Tex., since 2024.
“Brandon Simmons’ achievements and dedication to educate our future leaders as an entrepreneur, professor, and university chairman will help ensure Texas’ higher education institutions continue to set the national standard and prepare our students to thrive,” Abbott said in the release.
Faculty and academic freedom groups have raised concerns about this new watchdog, speculating that the ombudsman could give the governor more power over universities. Under the law, the ombudsman can recommend that state lawmakers cut off a university’s ability to spend state funds until it complies.
The state Senate still has to sign off on Simmons’s appointment before he can take office.
If confirmed, Simmons will have four other employees and nearly $800,000 a year to run the new office, according to the Legislative Budget Board.
