Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush Joins Bush School Faculty

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will join the faculty of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University as an executive professor and John D. White ’70 Distinguished Professor of Practice.  He will teach a concentrated course in January on the role of gubernatorial leadership and its impact on government at all levels, announced Bush School Dean Mark Welsh.

Governor Bush will teach the elective course during a 10-day period, Jan. 6-16, which is prior to the formal start of the university’s spring semester, but 65 Bush School students have already signed up for it, Welsh noted.

The course will give Bush School students a firsthand account of the roles and responsibilities of the state executive from the governor of a diverse and increasingly populated state. Governor Bush is also expected to review contemporary research on the nation’s governors and their policies and provide insights from other governors and institutional actors, such as state legislators, executive branch administrators, and gubernatorial staffers.

Dean Welsh said he is proud to welcome Governor Bush and the insight into policy and governance he will provide.

“Governor Bush is a dedicated and accomplished public servant who will provide our students—future leaders in public life—with a vivid perspective of the challenges facing state officials,” said Welsh. “We are very pleased to offer a course of this nature and look forward to Governor Bush’s arrival on campus,” Welsh said.

Bush School professor Dr. Blease Graham will serve as co-instructor for the course.

A successful entrepreneur and businessman in Texas and Florida, Gov. Bush served as the first two-term Republican governor of Florida from 1999 through 2007. During his eight years as governor, Bush pushed an ambitious Everglades conservation plan, supported caps for medical malpractice litigation, launched a Medicaid privatization pilot program, and instituted reforms to the state education system, including issuance of vouchers and promotion of school choice.