Dr. Denise Trauth
“I am very proud of our student body in many ways,” says Dr. Denise Trauth, president of Texas State. “It is a larger student body than when I began at the university, and it is a more diverse student body than when I began. I am proud that the demographics of our students at Texas State more closely match the demographics of Texas than any other of the public universities in the state. We have worked hard to serve the whole state, and I feel like we’re doing that.”
Growing up as one of seven daughters in Ohio, Trauth learned the value of education early on from her parents. They encouraged each of their daughters to see education as a way forward to more opportunities. That message stuck with Trauth in her career. And it is a message that she believes is especially critical for younger generations today to hear.
“Part of American culture now is a narrative that says college isn’t important,” says Trauth. “But if you look at what higher education does for people, it doesn’t just prepare them to go out into the world of work. It does that, and it does that very well. But we also know that people who go to college have better health outcomes, they vote more, they are more civically engaged. College is not just about bettering your income but about developing you as a whole person.”
Trauth’s journey in higher education speaks to that growth. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English at the College of Mount St. Joseph, a master’s in journalism at The Ohio State University, and a doctorate in mass communications at The University of Iowa. From 1977 to 1993, Trauth served as an assistant professor, then professor, at Bowling Green State University. There, she chaired a department and became associate dean of the graduate college.
But becoming president of a university, let alone for a 20-year tenure, was not on her radar.
Around 1993, Trauth accepted a job at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) as dean of the graduate school and associate vice chancellor for graduate programs.
