COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Susan Ballabina officially took office Monday as the 28th president of Texas A&M University, with Texas A&M System Chancellor Glenn Hegar expressing confidence in her ability to lead the institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have absolute confidence that Dr. Ballabina is going to do a fantastic job as the president of Texas A&M University,\u201d Hegar said Monday. \u201cShe has been part of our system for 32 years, worked in the university for several years. She\u2019s one who understands it, knows the people, and understands the impact that it can have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballabina\u2019s appointment fills a position that had been vacant for eight months following former President Mark Welsh\u2019s resignation last September. The Board of Regents unanimously approved her appointment last week after she served as executive vice chancellor of the Texas A&M System.<\/p>\n
Hegar said Ballabina received widespread support from across the university community during the 21 days between her announcement as the sole finalist and her formal approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a significant amount of outpour from a cross-section of the Aggie network,\u201d Hegar said. \u201cPretty much everybody was talking about how qualified she is to serve in this capacity, how well known she is, how well respected she has been throughout her career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballabina is the third woman to serve as president of Texas A&M, following Elsa Murano (2008\u20132009) and M. Katherine Banks (2021\u20132023). She takes over from interim President Tommy Williams.<\/p>\n
Hegar said Ballabina\u2019s immediate priorities include meeting with faculty, students, employees, alumni and affiliate organizations across the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, everybody is very proud of this university,\u201d Hegar said. \u201cThe vision for going forward to being from a great university to an even greater university and making sure we are focused on our students, that we\u2019re focused on research, cutting-edge technology, making sure that we are having a servant\u2019s heart, bringing leadership among our students so they can take the next step forward in serving not just the state, but the nation and impacting the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The university will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.<\/p>\n
Ballabina originally served on the presidential search committee but recused herself before applying for the position. System leaders said she never evaluated candidates.<\/p>\n
After her approval last week, Ballabina told the Board of Regents she was ready to lead the university forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow lucky am I to get the opportunity to lead us through that and to help everyone get focused on what matters, and that\u2019s our students,\u201d Ballabina said.<\/p>\n
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