Chancellor Matthews - Biography

A native Texan, Charles Matthews has distinguished himself in government, business and civic leadership.

Charles Matthews became the Chancellor of The Texas State University System on February 1, 2005, after a nationwide search by the Board of Regents. During his time at the System, Chancellor Matthews has become an outspoken voice for Higher Education.

From his first day as Chancellor, Matthews has stated that one of his main goals is to minimize the upward pressure on tuition in order to keep higher education affordable to all potential students. To that end, he has explored ways to increase efficiencies, decrease expenditures and raise revenue. 

Matthews has been instrumental in refinancing bonds from the System as well as the System’s Foundation in order to realize greater savings. He has streamlined the planning and construction process and implemented a comprehensive review of the procedures, contracts and financial aspects of the System’s construction projects. This has resulted in a more transparent, predictable and cost-effective model for managing campus construction projects.

In addition, Matthews has formed an Information Technology Committee composed of institutional representatives to carry out key strategic planning. These collaborative efforts will provide greater efficiencies by eliminating the duplication of resources and capitalizing on the economies of scale offered by all the institutions collectively.

Matthews has also been instrumental in assisting the four Lamar component institutions (Lamar University, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College-Port Arthur and Lamar State College-Orange) damaged by Hurricane Rita in September 2005. Dealing with this tumultuous event required Matthews to work diligently with state, local and campus officials in order to resume classes as soon as possible. It took almost a month for all four of the institutions to reopen, but each was able to complete the semester.

Prior to his current position as Chancellor, Matthews served as the 40th Commissioner of the Railroad Commission of Texas for ten years. First elected in 1994, he won re-election in 2000 to a second term, receiving the highest number of votes ever cast for a Railroad Commissioner.

Before taking office at the Railroad Commission in January 1995, he served as the Mayor of Garland, the ninth largest city in Texas. In addition, he served as President of the Texas Municipal Power Agency and was Governor William P. Clements’ appointee to the Texas Turnpike Authority.

Chancellor Matthews earned a B.A. at the University of Texas at Dallas, a Masters in Public Administration from Texas State University, and an Ed.D. at the University of Texas at Austin in Higher Education Administration.

Chancellor and his wife Julia have four grown children, six grandchildren, and reside in Austin, Texas.