Ambassador Antonio Garza to address fall 2017 commencement
Posted by Jayme Blaschke
Office of Media Relations
December 5, 2017
Retired United States Ambassador Antonio Garza will be the keynote speaker at one of six commencement ceremonies to be held at Texas State University on December 15-16 in Strahan Coliseum.
Garza will speak during the 2 p.m. ceremony December 15, to be attended by degree candidates from the McCoy College of Business Administration and Graduate College.
Degree candidates from the College of Education and Graduate College will attend the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony December 15.
Degree candidates from the College of Applied Arts, University College and Graduate College will attend the 6 p.m. commencement ceremony December 15.
Degree candidates from the Department of Anthropology, Department of English, Department of Geography, Department of History, Center for International Studies, Department of Modern Languages, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology and College of Health Professions will attend the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony December 16.
Degree candidates from the Department of Philosophy, Department of Psychology, College of Science and Engineering and Graduate College will attend the 2 p.m. commencement ceremony December 16.
Degree candidates from the College of Fine Arts and Communication and Graduate College will attend the 6 p.m. commencement ceremony December 16.
More than 3,200 students are candidates for undergraduate and graduate degrees at Texas State this fall. A live stream of the ceremonies will be available at www.txstate.edu/commencement/.
From 2002 to 2009, Garza served as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Prior to that time, he served as chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, first elected to statewide office in 1998. During that same period, Garza was appointed vice chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which represents the governors of 30 member and eight associate states in the development of comprehensive energy and conservation policies. He served as Texas Secretary of State and senior policy advisor to the governor of Texas from 1994 to 1997, and as Cameron County Judge from 1988 to 1994.
Garza currently serves as counsel in the Mexico City office of White and Case LLP, one of the world’s leading global law firms with 39 offices in 26 countries. Additionally, Garza is Chairman of Vianovo Ventures, a management consultancy with a focus on cross-border business development. He is a director of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and member of the council on foreign relations. Garza is a past recipient of the “Aguila Azteca” or Aztec Eagle, the Mexican government’s highest honor bestowed upon a foreign national.
Garza holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law and has been honored as a distinguished alumnus at both institutions. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the District of Columbia Bar and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Garza is married to Liz Atkinson Garza.
About Texas State University
Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of 38,694 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 181,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world. Designated an Emerging Research University by the State of Texas, Texas State is classified under “Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity,” the second-highest designation for research institutions under the Carnegie classification system.