Texas A&M University’s Board of Regents has unanimously confirmed Dr. Susan Ballabina as the 28th president of the flagship College Station campus, cementing a continuity pick after several years of leadership upheaval.
Regents voted Wednesday to approve Ballabina after the state‑mandated 21‑day waiting period that followed naming her the sole finalist in April.
She will officially step into the presidency on May 11.
Ballabina is currently the system’s Executive Vice Chancellor and has spent more than three decades moving through A&M and system leadership roles, including Chief of Staff to the president, Senior Vice President for Academic and Strategic Collaborations, and Deputy Vice Chancellor and COO for Texas A&M AgriLife.
Board Chairman Robert Albritton said the unanimous vote “reflects a clear sense of direction for Texas A&M,” emphasizing that regents see “strong momentum” behind Ballabina’s appointment among campus constituencies and system stakeholders.
Chancellor Glenn Hegar likewise called her a “proven leader” who understands the institution and stressed that as A&M marks its 150th year, the university needs leadership focused on “results” and “accountability” to guide it through the next phase.
The decision comes after a stretch of instability in the president’s office.
Former President Mark Welsh resigned in 2025 following a period of public uproar sparked by his handling of a children’s literature course that included instruction on introducing LGBT and gender identity material to children as young as three.
Former state senator Tommy Williams has been serving as interim president since the fall.
Before that, prior president Kathy Banks had resigned in 2023 after public backlash over the attempted hiring of DEI‑aligned journalism director Kathleen McElroy and broader concerns about DEI practices across the university.
This time, regents chose someone deeply embedded in the A&M bureaucracy. Ballabina has been closely involved in system‑level budgeting, legislative relations, statewide outreach, and initiatives like Healthy Texas and disaster recovery work after Hurricane Harvey, which regents highlighted as evidence she can “lead at scale.”
