Dr. Charles Cottrell – 9/12/09
President, St. Mary’s University
The St. Mary’s Board of Trustees named Charles L. Cotrell, Ph.D. as the12th president of the University, and its first lay president, in April 2000, after being appointed acting president in October 1999.
Cotrell, vice president for Academic Affairs from 1986-1999, received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science from St. Mary’s in 1962 and 1964, respectively, and his doctorate in political science from the University of Arizona in 1970.
Cotrell began his teaching career at St. Mary’s in 1966 as an assistant professor of political science, was tenured in 1976, and became a full professor in 1977. He also taught at Texas A&M-Kingsville (then Texas A&I University) from 1965-1966 and was a Fellow in the Center for Behavioral and Social Research at Wesleyan University in Connecticut during 1969-1970.
In addition, Cotrell served at St. Mary’s as chairman of the Department of Political Science during 1971-1973, director of the graduate program in Political Science and Public Administration, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences during 1983-1986, and assistant to the president for planning and institutional research in 1983.
He has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice on election systems and political participation, was guest editor of PUBLIUS: Journal of Federalism, Special Issue on the Voting Rights Act, November 1986, and is the author of numerous articles in professional journals. He has presented his research on Capitol Hill before the House of Representatives and the Senate, in addition to numerous committees in federal voting rights cases.
Promoting St. Mary’s as a premiere Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution by advancing academic excellence is one of Cotrell’s priorities and is therefore committed to ensure an education at St. Mary’s remains affordable and accessible to our community. In 2008, he was invited by former Mayor Phil Hardberger to assist in the formation of the P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County and was also called upon to serve on the oversight board for the City of San Antonio’s pilot college savings program, Cribs to College. In 2005, he served as chairman of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas and currently is the chair of Texas Campus Compact.
Among his honors, Cotrell received the Marianist Heritage Award in 1985, Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1992, Henry B. Gonzalez Hispanic Achievement Award from the St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association in 1994, and Career Achievement Award from the American Political Science Association in 1995 in recognition of 25 years of outstanding scholarship, teaching, civil rights research and service to the Latino community. In 2009, Cotrell received the Albert Pena Lifetime Achievement award as one of the founders of the Mexican American Unity Council.
Cotrell, a San Antonio native, is married to the former Abbie Massey. They have four sons.
Hosts,
Bjorn Dybdahl of Bjorn's
John Thurman of Heart of Texas Realty
Scott Woolfolk of Documation
Sponsors
