(AUSTIN) – Chancellor Brian McCall announced today that Candice Woodruff, formerly a senior policy advisor to Gov. Greg Abbott, has joined the Texas State University System's Governmental Relations Office as director of policy and planning.
Woodruff has more than a decade of legislative and executive branch experience working directly on higher education issues. She most recently served in Gov. Abbott’s Policy Office, spearheading the creation of the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI) and developing the governor’s policy and budget recommendations for higher education.
As chief of staff to Representative Dan Branch during his tenure as chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, Woodruff worked to develop funding streams to help emerging research institutions reach Tier One status, reform the ‘Top 10 Percent’ law and create more higher education opportunities for students in Texas.
Woodruff was raised in Plano, Texas. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s University with a master’s degree in Political Science.