As Houston and Texas transfer towards a pivotal 2026 election cycle, training management throughout the area is being examined not simply by coverage shifts however by public belief and institutional survival. From state takeovers and funding scrutiny to nationwide fights over tutorial freedom and fairness, the selections made by training leaders within the subsequent 12 months will form school rooms and communities past the varsity and college doorways.
The next leaders sit on the middle of that reckoning. Whether or not steering universities by way of heightened state oversight, advocating for Black educators amid systemic upheaval, or governing the state-controlled Houston ISD, every will likely be carefully watched in 2026.
James Walter Crawford III: President of Texas Southern College (TSU)
James Walter Crawford III turned president of Texas Southern College in June 2024, taking the helm of considered one of Texas’ most distinguished HBCUs after a interval of management turnover. A retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and a former college president, Crawford has emphasised scholar achievement, attaining will increase in four-year commencement charges and introducing new initiatives, together with the Tiger Promise tuition assure, internship pipelines, and co-curricular job simulations by way of the T-CLAW platform. His presidency coincides with heightened scrutiny of public college funding and governance throughout the state. In November, state officers ordered the Texas Rangers to analyze TSU after a state audit revealed proof of monetary mismanagement and delays in submitting monetary stories. In 2026, Crawford’s management will likely be carefully watched as TSU continues to navigate state funding dynamics and its function as an financial anchor in Houston’s Third Ward. How successfully he strengthens institutional credibility and fundraising capability will form TSU’s trajectory properly past his early tenure.
Dr. Brenda Dearmon: President of Houston Space Alliance of Black Faculty Educators (HAABSE)
Dr. Brenda Dearmon leads the Houston Space Alliance of Black Faculty Educators (HAABSE), a key regional group advocating for Black educators and academic fairness. HAABSE performs a visual function in scholarship assist {and professional} improvement throughout the Houston space. Dearmon’s management comes at a second of serious adjustments in public training, significantly in Houston ISD, amid the continuing state takeover beneath the Texas Training Company. As trainer retention and college local weather stay central issues, organizations like HAABSE can advocate for college students and assist gaps left by coverage shifts. In 2026, Dearmon’s affect will likely be measured by how successfully HAABSE sustains community-based management.
Dr. Melanye Value: Endowed Professor and Director of Ruth J. Simmons Heart for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M College
Dr. Melanye Value is an endowed professor of political science at Prairie View A&M College and the inaugural director of the Ruth J. Simmons Heart for Race and Justice, which investigates race and justice by way of oral histories and public scholarship. A PVAMU alumna, Value leads analysis that focuses on race and democracy. The middle was established to advance scholarship and dialogue at a time when curricula associated to race and tutorial freedom are more and more contested. In 2026, Value’s work will likely be particularly related as universities face growing strain from political stakeholders over range, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Her management locations PVAMU on the middle of nationwide conversations about the way forward for Black research.
Angela Lemond Flowers: Member and Vice-President of the Houston ISD Board of Managers (TEA-appointed)
Angela Lemond Flowers serves on the TEA-appointed Board of Managers governing Houston ISD through the state takeover, which is scheduled to proceed by way of at the least 2027. A longtime educator with over twenty years of expertise in classroom and nonprofit settings, Flowers holds decision-making authority over district coverage, superintendent oversight, the HISD finances, and campus interventions affecting roughly 180,000 college students. In 2026, her function will stay important as HISD approaches a pivotal interval of assessing tutorial outcomes beneath state management and figuring out benchmarks for a possible return to native governance.
Reginald DesRoches: President of Rice College
Reginald DesRoches has served as president of Rice College since July 2022, main considered one of Texas’ most influential personal analysis establishments. A civil engineer and former provost, DesRoches is the CEO of the college and its 8,600 college students, eight colleges, and greater than 900 college members. DesRoches goals to show Rice’s top-rated undergraduate applications into graduate applications, whereas sustaining its “dedication” to DEI, per his profile on the college web site. Beneath DesRoches’ management, new programs, such because the undergraduate enterprise main, had been launched. Rice’s choices more and more form regional conversations round expertise pipelines and university-community partnerships. In 2026, DesRoches will likely be watched for the way the college positions itself amid shifting federal analysis priorities, debates over entry and affordability, and his management decisions that can sign how personal establishments steadiness fairness and civic duty in a altering higher-education panorama.
