Dr. Mary Hendrix is passionate about students and about the life-changing impact of education. A first-generation college student herself, she has devoted her entire career to making a difference in the lives of students. For the past 31 years, she has been employed by Texas A&M University-Commerce in various key leadership positions and was named the University’s first Vice-President for Student Access and Success in January 2009. Since assuming this position, the university has increased enrollment 24% and has set numerous enrollment milestones, including reaching 12,000 students in Fall 2012. In addition, student retention, persistence, and graduation rates have increased.
A former public school teacher, counselor, and administrator, Dr. Hendrix has also served as an educational consultant to state departments of education, regional educational consortia, community colleges, and public schools. She has authored a state-adopted textbook for seventh and eighth graders for career investigation and educational planning, numerous instructional manuals, and has secured grants in excess of $22 million to support her passion for raising academic expectations for students to meet real-world requirements, improving instructional strategies, using technology as a medium to foster student access to educational opportunities, and improving college readiness and student success. Most recently, she has served as the project director for the university’s Texas Affordable Baccalaureate project, which is the state’s first SACSCOC-approved competency-based degree program.
She holds the Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and has a master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Student Personnel and Guidance. She has served in many leadership positions at community, state, and national levels, including most recently serving on the SACSCOC competency-based advisory committee and Western Governor’s University (WGU)-Texas’ teacher advisory committee. Dr. Hendrix has garnered numerous awards, including: American Vocational Guidance Association’s Service Award, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Commerce ISD Hall of Fame, Texas Vocational Guidance Association Outstanding Educator, and she was nominated for the Latina Living Legend Award by the DFW Hispanic 100 organization in 2010.
