Charles Ray Matthews (born May 19, 1939) is a former member and chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission and the chancellor-emeritus of the Texas State University System. Based in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Texas, his service on the Railroad Commission extended from 1995 to 2005; as chancellor, from 2005 to 2010.

Background

A native of Waco, Texas, Matthews received his higher education later in life, having graduated with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1994 from the University of Texas at Dallas. In 1999, he received a master's degree in public administration from Texas State University in San Marcos, then known as Southwest Texas State University. In 2006, he was awarded a PhD in higher education administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Political career

From 1984 to 1986, Matthews was the mayor of Garland, Texas, a

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

position in which he worked to reduce the tax rate and to cut municipal expenditures. In 1986, he lost a race for county judge in Dallas County. In 1994, he unseated veteran

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Railroad Commissioner James E. Nugent. Matthews outpolled Nugent, 2,046,614 votes (49.8 percent) to 1,978,759 (48.1 percent). Another 84,769 votes were cast (2.1 percent) for the

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Rich Draheim. In 2000, Matthews won reelection to the Railroad Commission without Democratic opposition. He received 3,633,901 votes (77 percent), with the remaining 23 percent split between two minor party contenders. As railroad commissioner, Matthews supported more exploration for natural gas to meet future electricity needs.

TSU system chancellorship

Early in 2005, Matthews stepped down from the Railroad Commission to succeed Lamar Urbanovsky as the university system chancellor. Matthews served on the Texas Turnpike Authority under appointment from Republican Governor Bill Clements. He is a former director, president, and chief executive officer of the Texas Municipal Power Agency. Originally established in 1911 to supervise the normal schools of Texas, the TSU system, which Matthews headed for five years, consists of nine institutions: Texas State University-San Marcos, Angelo State University in San Angelo,

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

in Huntsville, Lamar University in Beaumont, the Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Sul Ross State University in Alpine, and Rio Grande College of Sul Ross State University. These schools enroll more than seventy thousand students.

Personal life

Matthews is the former president of Housing Administrators, Inc., president and CEO of M Mortgage Company, a director of Southern Bank and Trust/

Texas Commerce Bank The Texas Commerce Bank (officially Texas Commerce Bank N.A., with its parent bank holding company known as Texas Commerce Bancshares, Inc.) was a Texas-based bank acquired by Chemical Banking Corporation of New York in May 1987. The acquisiti ...

, and the owner/operator of Matthews Investments. He is a former member of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and the National Coal Council. Matthews has been active in

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

, the Lions Club, Young Men's Christian Association, and the Boy Scouts of America. He served as chairman of the Garland

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

and received the highest honor of the Garland business community, the Tall Texan Award. He and his wife, the former Julia Freeman (born January 19, 1945), a native of McAllen, Texas, reside in rural Aquilla near Hillsboro, Texas. They have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Charles (Texas politician) 1939 births Living people Members of the Railroad Commission of Texas Mayors of places in Texas Texas Republicans Businesspeople from Texas People from Waco, Texas Politicians from Austin, Texas People from Garland, Texas People from Hill County, Texas Educators from Texas