WGU Texas
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About WGU Texas
WGU Texas was established in 2011 as a partnership between Western Governors University and the state of Texas with a unique mission to help Texans obtain a quality education. When WGU was established in 1997, the founding governors realized that technology, the internet, and a new model of competency-based education could transform higher education by creating new opportunities for working adults.
Western Governors University is available to learners across the country, and coursework is offered online so students do not have to go to a campus location. Students in Texas can recieve unique scholarship, financial aid, and other opportunities at WGU as a result of the partnership between WGU and the state of Texas.
WGU Texas Celebrates 11 Years
On August 3, 2022, WGU Texas marked 11 years of providing expanded access to affordable, career-focused degrees to adult learners across the state.
Established by the state of Texas in August 2011, WGU Texas’ innovative competency-based education has helped strengthen the state’s workforce by expanding access to affordable higher education and creating better lifestyles for graduates and their families.
But the real success stories are our students and graduates. The university’s enrollment has grown to more than 14,000 full-time students, and it has awarded more than 25,000 bachelor’s and master’s degrees in high-demand fields, changing lives one degree at a time.
The WGU Texas mission is to help more Texans obtain a quality education.
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What Our Alumni Are Saying
People love their WGU experience. See why it means so much to them and what makes us different.
"I found my educational 'home' at WGU, I couldn't imagine going anywhere else!"
— Misty Wagnon
B.S. Accounting, WGU Texas
"My MBA helped me leverage my way into a C-Suite position in SaaS firm specializing in telemedicine."
— Cameron Ramirez
MBA, WGU Texas
"I pursued a degree to follow my dream of becoming a teacher. I have been teaching for 3 years and absolutely love what I do. Being a military spouse, we traveled continuously and I was able to finish my degree online while also being a new mom."
— Brooke Rodriguez
B.A. Elementary Education, WGU Texas
"I've always wanted to become a RN. I took the longest route to get here and now I'm 27 and finally accomplished my dream! All thanks to WGU for making a program that I could work and get my school work done."
— Brittney Burns
BSN Prelicensure, WGU Texas
"My degrees from WGU has given me a relevant and valuable skill set that has improved my income and life. My email box always has emails from recruiters looking to fill roles with my education and experience. Basically I never have to look for a job, the job finds me."
— Mark Alvarado
M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, WGU Texas
Linda Garza Battles, WGU Regional Vice President, South
A longtime leader in higher education policy, Linda Battles brings 28 years of leadership and management experience in higher education policy development, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement to WGU as Regional Vice President, South Region.
Before joining WGU, Battles worked at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas House of Representatives, where she dedicated her career working on statewide policies to expand access to higher education, improve student success, and increase funding for state financial aid programs. She worked on landmark legislation to expand access to higher education for underserved populations, such as the Top Ten Percent Law, providing automatic admission to the state's public universities for graduates in the top ten percent of their high school class.
Battles earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a doctoral candidate in the Executive Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of Southern Florida and a Basic Mediation Certificate from Austin's Dispute Resolution Center. She serves on the Board of Austin Voices for Education and Youth, and is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) in Austin. In 2017, the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce recognized Linda as a Woman of Distinction and in 2022, she received the Community/Business Leader Award from the Pflugerville Education Foundation, and the 2022 Trailblazer award from the El Paso in Austin Network.
As RVP, she expands the university's partnerships and drives the region’s operational strategy and oversight of university initiatives to deliver high-quality education and graduates that meet workforce needs.
Manuel Gonzalez, WGU Regional Director, South
As WGU Regional Director, Manuel Gonzalez, Ph.D. helps grow brand awareness and enrollment through partnerships with community colleges, school districts, the healthcare industry, corporations, and organizations. He advocates for policies that benefit WGU students, including expanding access to underserved/underrepresented communities.
Gonzalez brings more than 10 years of higher education, policy, and advocacy to WGU and has served on numerous college advisory boards throughout the state. Most recently, he served as the Director of the Community College Association of Texas Trustees (CCATT), a membership organization representing more than 400 elected trustees and regents across the state’s 50 public community college districts. He previously worked at the Trellis Company, where he led “Project Success,” a federal financial aid pilot program aimed at assisting over 40 under-resourced minority-serving institutions across a 10-state region. He has worked with the Texas Legislature, the White House Domestic Policy Council, and as policy director of the national coalition, Student Advocates for Graduate Education (SAGE).
Gonzalez holds a baccalaureate degree from Trinity University, an M.Ed. in College & University Personnel Administration and Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership & Policy, both from the University of Texas at Austin. During his higher education academic career, Dr. Gonzalez received several graduate fellowships to support his studies, along with various recognitions commending his scholarship. Gonzalez serves on Leadership Austin’s Board of Directors and is board secretary for the Austin Community College District Board of Trustees and trustee, representing Place 5. He serves on the Board of Directors for Friends of the Children – Austin, the Trinity University National Alumni Association Board, and the Austin Community Foundation Somos Austin Steering Committee.
WGU Texas Board Members
- Andres Alcantar
- Patricia Diaz Dennis
- John Fitzpatrick
- Bernie Francis
- Bonnie Gonzalez
- George V. Grainger
- Stephen C. Head
- William Serrata
- Cristie Remmel
Andres Alcantar, Management & Public Policy Consulting, Alcantar Public Policy Consulting– Austin
Andres Alcantar is the former Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission and previously served as Deputy Director of the Governor’s Budget, Planning, and Policy Division, focusing on workforce, economic development, and competitiveness issues. He also served as an advisor to former Governor George W. Bush in the Office of Budget and Planning and was a director for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. He is currently principle at Alcantar Public Policy Consulting.
Patricia Diaz Dennis, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, AT&T, Retired – San Antonio
Patricia Diaz Dennis was responsible for AT&T Corporate Litigation,
Procurement, Corporate Real Estate, Environmental, Corporate Compliance, IT, Trademark and Copyright legal matters until she retired in November 2008. A leader in community service, Diaz Dennis broke ground when she became the first Hispanic woman to serve as the chairperson of the National Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of the USA. Diaz Dennis was appointed to multiple federal government positions including Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, and Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.
John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Educate Texas – Austin/Dallas
John Fitzpatrick serves as the Executive Director of Educate Texas (formerly the Texas High School Project). Educate Texas, a public-private initiative of Communities Foundation of Texas, is an innovative alliance of public and private groups that share a common goal: improving the public education system so that every Texas student is prepared for success in school, in the workforce, and in life. Before taking the helm at Educate Texas, Mr. Fitzpatrick served as Executive Director of the Capital Area Training Foundation, now Skillpoint Alliance, a nonprofit organization working to build relationships between industry, education, and communities to benefit Central Texans. He is a former school board member, Chamber of Commerce executive, middle school teacher and coach.
Bernie Francis, Owner and CEO of Business Control Systems, and First Class Caregivers, Inc. – Dallas
Bernie Francis is owner and CEO of two businesses, Business Control Systems, LP a technical and professional staffing firm and First Class Caregivers, Inc., a non-medical care-giving services firm. He is a Vietnamera veteran of the United States Air Force. He serves on the executive committee of the Texas Business Leadership Council (formerly the Governors Business Council) and chairs its P-16 Taskforce. As a volunteer and one of five board members, he’s developed and built five not-for-profit, resort-style, retirement communities for seniors across Texas. He is called upon occasionally to serve the governor and/or legislators on special commissions.
Bonnie Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer, Knapp Community Care Foundation - Weslaco
Bonnie Gonzalez leads Knapp Community Care Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation that serves the mid-valley communities in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Her passion for community and economic development has helped her be instrumental in the development of a comprehensive strategic Corporate Plan of Action for the organization. She previously served as President/CEO for the Rio Grande Valley
Empowerment Zone Corporation for nine years. During her tenure, she was responsible for a $40 million federal grant that she used as seed money to create a $416 million return on the initial investment. She also previously established and led the successful Teenage Parent Alternative Program providing educational programming for high school students with children.
George V. Grainger, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, Texas A&M Foundation - Houston
George Grainger recently joined the Texas A&M Foundation (TAMF) as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships. In coordination with the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Research, he will work across campus to provide strategic grant solicitation support to academic and research programs which have projects and/or scholarly expertise that aligns with the programmatic interests of regional and national private foundations.
Prior to joining TAMF, Mr. Grainger served as Senior Program Officer-Education at Houston Endowment Inc., one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in Texas. Mr. Grainger joined Houston Endowment in 1999 where he oversaw approximately $15 million in new commitments to the K-12 and higher education sectors annually. He was responsible for approximately $250 million in aggregate grant making during his tenure at Houston Endowment.
Mr. Grainger has over twenty-five years of experience in organized philanthropy, serving as President and Trustee of the George & Anne Butler Foundation since 1983. Prior to joining Houston Endowment, he was a senior member of the Institutional Advancement division at the University of Houston. Mr. Grainger received his business degree from the University of Houston.
Stephen C. Head, Chancellor, Lone Star College – The Woodlands
Stephen C. Head, Ph.D. was appointed as the fourth chancellor of Lone Star College in 2014 after a thirty-year history of high-level positions at LSC including President of Lone Star College-North Harris, Executive Vice Chancellor, acting Chief Executive Officer, interim President at Montgomery College and President of Kingwood College. His focus is on student access, equality, success and completion; academic quality; workforce programs in alignment with community needs; and collaborative agreements with educational, business and local civic organizations. His values include operating the college on a sound, fiscally conservative model based on data, efficiencies, accountability and common sense. He also emphasizes transparency, ethical behavior and a culture of high expectations and achievement.
Dr. Head received his Ph.D. in History from Texas Tech University. He earned a Master of Arts degree in History and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Lamar University in Beaumont Texas. In addition, he previously taught history undergraduate and graduate classes for LSCS and university partners, and graduate classes in community college leadership and higher education finance.
Dr. Head currently serves on the American Association of Community Colleges board of directors and has served on the board of five area chambers of commerce and three economic development districts or councils. He has served on the Executive Committee for the Texas Association of Community Colleges and on the Executive Committee for the American Association of Community Colleges.
He is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences on community college issues. In 2016, he was appointed by Governor Abbott to serve on the Texas Economic Development Corporation and a special Governor’s Committee for Safety and Security.
William Serrata, President, El Paso Community College – El Paso
Dr. William Serrata was named the President of the El Paso County Community College District effective August 1, 2012. Dr. Serrata comes to EPCC from South Texas College in McAllen where he served as the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management for over seven years. Dr. Serrata has provided enrollment management leadership in retention, dual credit enrollment, and graduation rates with an emphasis on first-generation and Hispanic populations and establishing a college-going culture.
He has served on the Texas Workforce Education Leadership Committee and on the Executive Committee for the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Dr. Serrata serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande, Board of Directors for the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the United Way of El Paso, the Executive Committee of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Directors for Sierra Providence Hospital on the national level, Dr. Serrata is a member of the Board of Directors of Excelencia in Education, Catch the Next and the National Student Clearing House Advisory Council. He serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI) and was recently selected to join the 2015 class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows.
Dr. Serrata and his wife Jessica have been married for over a decade and are blessed with two wonderful sons, Nathan and Joshua.
Cristie Remmel, Founder and President of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Veterans Chamber of Commerce
Cristie Remmel is the Founder and President of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Veterans Chamber of Commerce. She is a U.S. Navy Veteran who served as a Marine FMF Corpsman (Medic) during Desert Shield/Storm. She was attached to Marine Air Wing 39 out of Camp Pendleton, CA, and deployed to Bahrain with MWSS 373. Cristie received the Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with Globe Anchor and 2 Stars, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal during her enlistment. After her Honorable discharge from the military, Cristie obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and her Master’s degree in Fine Arts.
Partner With WGU
If you are a company or community college that is looking to do something more for your employees or students, a partnership with WGU could be the perfect fit. Learn more about creating a partnership with WGU for tuition reimbursement, a scholarship, or other opportunity.
Featured Partners
WGU partners with hundreds of companies to help increase learning opportunities for every individual. Some of our partners include:
WGU has Strong Partnerships Across Texas and the South Region
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