As President of Tarleton State University, Dr. James Hurley is moving the university forward in innovative ways.
Unanimously appointed president in 2019 by The Texas A&M System Board of Regents, Dr. Hurley, a visionary leader in higher education, has already implemented a number of changes as part of a strategic plan to become the nation’s premier public university. The plan is called Tarleton Forward 2030: Our Future-Focused Plan.
Tarleton Forward focuses on student success by giving all students the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to lead and to stand beside them from the moment they apply through decades beyond graduation. There are 15,000 students spread across five campuses in Texas.
Dr. Hurley is driving unprecedented growth at Tarleton. Under his leadership, the university has seen a 25% increase in enrollment, making it one of the fastest-growing universities in the U.S.
In addition, Dr. Hurley, who is the university’s 16th president, launched the largest comprehensive capital campaign in Tarleton’s history, raising nearly $150 million to commemorate its 125th anniversary, and shattering a $100 million goal in 2022 – two years ahead of schedule.
During his time, Tarleton State has elevated its profile in academics, research, enrollment, retention and graduation rates, fundraising, athletics, and regional engagement. Money magazine named Tarleton one of the “Best Colleges in America” for 2024.
Dr. Hurley’s efforts to advance research and innovation endeavors have increased research
expenditures by 67%, helping earn Tarleton State the designation of Doctoral
Universities: High Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher
Education. This puts the university among only 133 across the country designated as high
research institutions.
He established and secured funding to launch multiple major research
initiatives, including the President’s Excellence in Research Scholars (PERS) and the Institute for Rural Economic Development and Research.
Tarleton State now operates as an EDA University Center, the only one in the region and one of just 73 nationwide. In an effort to bring new collaboration and more research dollars to Texas, a state-of-the-art Research and Economic Development Building was opened in 2024.
With impressive growth in the student population, the university has continued to build and
enhance its infrastructure under Dr. Hurley. At the start of 2024, Tarleton State broke ground on
an $80 million Health Professions Building to help meet the need for healthcare professionals. A
$110 million Event Center is also under construction, with the venue set to host NCAA Division I
basketball and provide space for academic convocations, symposiums, conferences, and
conventions
Tarleton State has over $500 million invested in active construction and design.
In 2024, Dr. Hurley received the United States Congressional Patriot Award from
Congressman Pat Fallon for his positive contributions to society through higher educational
leadership. In 2023, Fort Worth, Inc. magazine honored him as one of the 400 most influential
North Texans. In 2022, the North Texas Commission honored him with its distinguished
Education Leadership Award, recognizing his lasting impact on the region.
An invitation in 2022 to join the Association of Public & Land-grant Universities
reflects Hurley’s commitment to groundbreaking discovery, educational access and student
success. APLU membership underscores Tarleton State’s place among the top academic
institutions in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Dr. Hurley’s cultivation of broad and deep connections has resulted in a student body
representing 230-plus Texas counties, 48 states, and 48 countries. Collaborations with
regional Distinguished High School Partners and two-year Distinguished College Partners
strengthen the university’s commitment to educational attainment and affordability, offering
guaranteed scholarships for qualified students. In addition, the recently launched Tarleton
Today, a dual-enrollment program, allows students to earn college credit while in high school. The program currently has 2,500 students enrolled.
Additionally, his Tarleton Promise scholarship provides tuition, fees, room and board, and books
to students who exhaust federal and state financial aid. He spearheads efforts to address the
state’s growing education and workforce needs by serving on several governing boards
pertaining to higher education affordability, economic development, and public policy.
Dr. Hurley currently serves on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges (SACSCOC) Board of Trustees, which is the accrediting body for degree-granting higher
Education in the Southern United States, as Treasurer of the Council of Public
University Presidents and Chancellors (CPUPC), Chair of the WAC Board of Presidents, and on
the North Texas Commission Executive Board of Directors.
In 2019, he advanced Tarleton State to NCAA Division I status in the Western Athletic
Conference. He was instrumental in the league’s expansion and in bringing championship
football back to the WAC. Academically during the four-year reclassification period, the Texans
set records in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate for a reclassifying institution, highlighted by
posting a 990 (out of 1,000) in the first year. Competitively, the Texans have excelled on a
national level, capturing multiple regular season and postseason championships.
Dr. James Hurley is committed to educational access, student success, and community engagement, positioning Tarleton State University as a rising star in higher education.
A nationally recognized innovator and academic leader, Dr. Hurley has been an
instructor, professor, dean and vice president. Before coming to Tarleton, he served as President of Tusculum University. Under his leadership, TU added its University Health Center, College of
Health Sciences and Niswonger College of Optometry. It is this broad academic experience that has uniquely prepared him to lead a fast-growing public university.
He is a first-generation college graduate, the grandson of coal miners and the son of
parents who taught him that education holds the key to a brighter future. This is the
motivation behind his lifelong advocacy in promoting higher educational opportunity and
supporting access for all students.
He holds a doctorate from Morehead State University, a master’s degree from Indiana
University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pikeville. He completed the Institute
for Presidential Leadership at Harvard University and received a certificate of higher education
management from Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Hurley, Tarleton State University, and a clear vision for the future are the elements of higher education that spell success.
