by McKinnon Rice, Fort Worth Report
January 14, 2026

Editor’s note: Welcome to On Campus: A roundup of what’s new and notable across Tarrant County’s colleges and universities.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Darryl Heath of Colleyville and Colt McCoy of Aledo to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the oversight body for the state’s public colleges and universities.

Heath, a graduate of Texas A&M University, previously chaired the school’s College of Engineering Advisory Council and serves on the board of trustees for the Texas Higher Education Foundation, the coordinating board’s nonprofit sidekick. 

Locally, Heath is the executive director of the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership. He retired in 2015 after more than three decades at the consulting firm Accenture. 

McCoy is best known for his 13-season career as an NFL quarterback and college football career at the University of Texas, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management.

He currently works in real estate and is the Fort Worth partner for the real estate advisory firm HPI. He also serves on the advisory board of the University of Texas Real Estate Center. 

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and American Council on Education awarded the University of Texas at Arlington this national distinction that recognizes how community engagement is a part of everyday life at the school, according to a university news release.

Community engagement is integrated into student learning and research at UTA, the release read. 

“Community engagement is a core theme of our strategic plan, and this designation is a recognition of our commitment. I’m proud we have achieved it,” President Jennifer Cowley said in the release.

UTA frequently highlights its Carnegie R1 status that designates the institution as having “the highest level” of research activity.

UTA students volunteer at a Super Service Saturday event. (Courtesy photo | UTA)

Former T3 CEO takes on college advising in Dallas

Natalie Young Williams, who formerly served as president and CEO of the Tarrant To & Through Partnership, is now chief impact officer for the Dallas college and career advising organization Education is Freedom, according to a release from EIF.

T3 and EIF are nonprofits that guide students in obtaining postsecondary credentials, such as college degrees or career-related certifications. 

Williams came to T3 in 2021 and departed in November. T3 is under the leadership of interim CEO David Saenz, who previously served as a senior education adviser.

Former UTA assistant police chief steps into TCC chief role

Jay Tillerson began his role as the new chief of police at Tarrant County College this week. 

Tillerson previously served as an assistant chief at UTA. That university instituted body-worn cameras and launched the Students on Patrol program under his leadership, according to a news release.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dallas Baptist University and a master’s degree from UTA. the latter of which he earned during his time as assistant chief.

Teddy Wong’s announces NIL partnership with TCU tennis player

Teddy Wong’s Dumplings & Wine and TCU tennis player Duncan Chan are now NIL partners.

NIL is an arrangement that allows college athletes to profit from sponsorships using their “name, image and likeness.”

The junior student-athlete and teammates are often patrons of the restaurant, and the restaurant’s values align with Chan’s, according to a release from Teddy Wong’s.

“It means a lot to partner with a restaurant that values dedication and growth the way TCU Tennis does,” Chan said in the release. “Their support motivates me to keep pushing forward.”

McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org. 

The Fort Worth Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2026/01/14/on-campus-gov-abbott-appoints-2-from-tarrant-area-to-state-higher-ed-board/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>

<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://fortworthreport.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=368566&amp;ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://fortworthreport.org/2026/01/14/on-campus-gov-abbott-appoints-2-from-tarrant-area-to-state-higher-ed-board/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/fortworthreport.org/p.js”></script>