Texas State welcomes new president Dr. Kelly R. Damphousse

Dr. Kelly Damphousse took office as Texas State University's 10th President on July 1, 2022. He hit the ground running, hosting and joining a myriad of university events on the San Marcos and Round Rock Campus in his first few days on the job.

Peruse these images for highlights of his first week in office, including Meet & Greets with students, faculty, and staff, plus visits to New Student Orientation sessions with incoming Bobcats and their families.

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Week One in Photos

kelly and beth damphousse speaking to woman
President Damphousse hosted a Meet & Greet on the San Marcos Campus to mingle and chat with students, faculty, and staff on July 1, 2022.
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Dr. Christine E. Hailey (center), Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, writes a welcome note for the Damphousse family at the Meet & Greet. Lee Lancaster (right) with the Special Projects team helped organized the event. Hundreds of welcome notes and well wishes were gathered from both Meet & Greet events and gifted to the Damphousse family.
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Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff queued up to meet Dr. and Mrs. Damphousse under the arch of the Denise M. Trauth and John L. Huffman Undergraduate Academic Center. That facility was formerly called the Undergraduate Academic Center, but was re-named shortly before Dr. Damphousse took office in honor of Dr. Denise Trauth’s two decades of leadership.
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Dr. Aimee Roundtree, associate dean of research in the College of Liberal Arts and Faculty Fellow in the Office of Research and Sponsored Program (center), chats with Kelly and Beth Damphousse under the arch. Joining her are (from left) Dr. Nathan Pino, professor in the Department of Sociology and Dr. Scott Bowman, associate professor Criminal Justice and Criminology, special assistant to the provost, Inclusion and Diversity.
kelly and beth damphousse posing with police officers and upd staff
Before he went into academia, President Damphousse was interested in law enforcement. Here he and Beth meet with UPD Capt. Patrick Cochran, Operations, Cpl. Clark Flynn, day shift patrol, Ashley Eicher,and police cadet, Sheridan Tate. Dr. Damphousse has an associate degree in law enforcement, three years serving as a prison guard, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University.
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During New Student Orientation (NSO), TXST holds 18 First Gen Sessions for students and families to learn about the support offered to first-generation students and their families at Texas State. Dr. Damphousse visited the NSO Q&A Student Panel in the LBJ Teaching Theatre, where orientation leaders answer questions from the audience about student life and academics.
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Dr. Beverly Woodson Day, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management, guided Dr. Damphousse around the LBJ Student Center on July 1, after his San Marcos Campus Meet & Greet, to visit several New Student Orientation sessions.
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After the Meet and Greet event on the San Marcos Campus, the Damphousses headed to the LBJ Student Center to receive their Texas State ID cards.
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On July 5, Kelly and Beth Damphousse explored the Round Rock Campus and met students, faculty, staff, donors and community leaders in a full day of Meet & Greet events, facility tours and breakout sessions.
kelly and beth damphousse speaking to group of three people
President Damphousse shared on Twitter: “After a great day meeting TXST Round Rock faculty, staff, students, and some Round Rock/Austin community leaders, Beth and I were charmed by meeting Avery Slocum, a TXST criminal justice and criminology senior, Chuy’s Restaurant hostess, TXST UPD social media guru and president of Lambda Alpha Epsilon honor society.” (Pictured here at the Round Rock Meet & Greet)
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Helping to fill out welcome notes at the campus Meet & Greet are Amy Haffelder and Kama Davis. Haffelder (left) is a systems analyst II, Institutional Inclusive Excellence – Faculty & Staff Initiatives. Davis is the staff attorney, Attorney for Students Office, that offers legal services to all currently enrolled Texas State students.
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The Damphousses meet up with student-athlete Lauryn Thompson, a senior forward on the women’s basketball team. Lauryn is a psychology major from Arlington.
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Alana Rosenwasser, a senior lecturer in the mathematics department, joined the July 1 Meet & Greet on the San Marcos Campus. Alana is a TXST alum who is also a former Mathworks camper and counselor. Founded in 1990, the mission of Mathworks is to research and develop model programs and learning communities that engage K-12 students in doing math at a higher level.
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President Damphousse, who is himself a first-generation college student, speaks to a room full of first-gen students and their families during a New Student Orientation session on July 1, 2022.
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Dr. Damphousse visits in the LBJSC with some of the students who will be making up a record-breaking 2022 freshman class at Texas State.
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kelly and beth damphousse speaking to Dr. Marla Erbin-Roesemann
Dr. Marla Erbin-Roesemann, director of St. David’s School of Nursing, joins the Meet & Greet on the Round Rock Campus. TXST is recognized as offering the best Bachelor of Science and Nursing program in Texas. Next spring a new academic program is set to launch: a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Post Master's Graduate Certificate Program.
kelly and beth damphousse posing with large group of nursing students
aerial view of meet and greet
Students from the Round Rock Campus (RRC) met Dr. Damphousse in the second floor lobby of the Avery Building. The Avery Building is named after a family of TXST Heroes who in 2003 donated the 101 acres on which the RRC now sits.
kelly damphousse speaking to nursing students