Kelly Damphousse (original)

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Kelly R. Damphousse
10th President of Texas State University
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2022
Preceded by	Denise Trauth
Personal details
Born	Canada
Occupation	Academic administrator, sociologist

Kelly R. Damphousse is a Canadian-born American academic administrator and sociologist who has served as the 10th president of Texas State University since July 1, 2022. Before joining Texas State, he served as chancellor of Arkansas State University.

His presidency has coincided with enrollment growth, expansion of research initiatives, and changes to the university's athletics conference affiliation.

Education and early career

Damphousse, who was raised in Northern Canada, was selected as the sole finalist to become president of Texas State University after serving as chancellor of Arkansas State University. He earned an associate degree in law enforcement from Lethbridge College, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University, and a master's degree and Ph.D. in sociology from Texas A&M University. He began his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He later served on the faculty at Sam Houston State University before joining the University of Oklahoma, where he joined the faculty in 1997. At Oklahoma, he served as associate dean, interim dean, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He also served as the university's faculty athletics representative from 2012 to 2017. His scholarship has focused on terrorism, substance abuse, and the criminal justice system.

Arkansas State University

Damphousse became chancellor of Arkansas State University in 2017. He announced his resignation in 2022 after being named the sole finalist for the Texas State presidency.

While at Arkansas State, he served in intercollegiate athletics governance, including as president of the Sun Belt Conference and as a member of the NCAA Board of Governors.

Texas State University

Texas State named Damphousse the sole finalist for its presidency in March 2022, and the Texas State University System Board of Regents confirmed him as the university's 10th president on April 21, 2022. He took office on July 1, 2022, succeeding Denise Trauth.

In 2023, Damphousse introduced "Hopes & Aspirations High," a strategic vision built around five imperatives: elevating student success, achieving Carnegie R1 research classification, increasing enrollment, growing the university's Round Rock Campus, and becoming an employer of choice. The vision informed the 2023–2029 University Plan, which was approved by the Board of Regents in November 2023.

Enrollment

Texas State set records for freshman enrollment in each fall semester from 2022 through 2025, growing from 7,573 freshmen in fall 2022 to 9,329 in fall 2025. Overall enrollment surpassed the university's previous all-time record of 38,849 (set in 2016) in fall 2023, and exceeded 40,000 for the first time in fall 2024. Fall 2025 enrollment reached 44,596, a 9.6% increase over the prior year, with additional records for graduate students, international students, and total new students. Texas State became the most-applied-to university in the state through the ApplyTexas application during this period.

The growth was supported in part by co-enrollment partnerships with community colleges across Texas.

Research

Texas State is classified as an R2 ("high research activity") university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university has stated a goal of achieving R1 classification ("very high research activity") by 2027. R1 status requires a minimum of $50 million in annual research expenditures and at least 70 doctoral graduates per year over three consecutive years.

Research and development expenditures at Texas State increased during this period, and the university awarded 71 doctoral degrees in fiscal year 2024, meeting one of the R1 thresholds for the first time. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved seven new doctoral programs during this period, and the university invested $50 million in doctoral program expansion.

In November 2023, Texas voters approved Proposition 5, creating the Texas University Fund, a $3.9 billion endowment benefiting Texas State, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Houston. Texas State began receiving approximately $22 million per year from the fund to support research.

Campus development

In May 2025, the Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the university's 2025–2035 Campus Master Plan, which encompasses the San Marcos and Round Rock campuses and five other university properties. The plan projects growth to more than 50,000 students by 2033.

On the San Marcos campus, construction began in 2024 on a $137 million STEM classroom building expected to open in fall 2026. New residence halls brought campus housing capacity to nearly 10,000 beds, including the 1,006-bed Hilltop Complex (opened fall 2024) and the 1,000-bed Canyon Hall (opened fall 2025).

Enrollment at the Round Rock Campus grew from approximately 1,300 students in fall 2022 to a record 2,918 in fall 2025. The campus added 10 degree programs in fall 2024 and admitted freshmen for the first time, having previously served only upper-division and graduate students. In December 2024, the university broke ground on Esperanza Hall, a $52.4 million academic building, the campus's fourth permanent facility and its first new construction since 2018. The master plan envisions the Round Rock Campus growing to 10,000 students by 2030, with capacity for up to 15,000.

In 2024, the Board of Regents approved the establishment of the university's first international campus in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, through a partnership with the Elisia Education Hub. The campus, located on the hub's existing 370-acre site, began offering courses in fall 2025.

Athletics

Texas State accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12 Conference beginning in 2026. In May 2024, the university signed a 15-year, $23 million naming rights agreement with University Federal Credit Union for its football stadium, the largest such deal in the Sun Belt Conference.

During his presidency, Texas State won the Sun Belt Conference's Vic Bubas Cup, the conference's all-sports championship trophy, in consecutive years (2023–24 and 2024–25).

Texas State football won the first bowl game in program history on December 26, 2023, defeating Rice 45–21 in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

Presidential debate

In November 2023, the Commission on Presidential Debates selected Texas State to host a presidential debate on September 16, 2024, which would have been the first presidential debate held in Texas. In June 2024, the commission canceled all of its planned debates and released Texas State and three other host universities from their contracts after the presidential candidates arranged debates independently of the commission.

Faculty speech and academic freedom

In September 2025, Damphousse terminated Thomas Alter, a tenured associate professor of history, over remarks Alter made at an off-campus political conference. The dismissal drew criticism from academic-freedom advocates, including the American Association of University Professors, which said the firing violated established standards of academic freedom and due process. A Hays County judge temporarily reinstated Alter, ruling that the university had not provided adequate due process before the termination. Following a university hearing in October 2025, Damphousse upheld the termination. Alter appealed the decision and filed a lawsuit against the university.

The case drew attention alongside the firing of a faculty member at Texas A&M University during the same week, prompting broader discussion about academic freedom at Texas public universities.

External links

• Office of the President, Texas State University

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