Texas Tech System welcomes three new members to the Board of Regents

In front of Texas Tech University System leaders and their family members, three newly appointed regents were sworn in and participated in their first TTUS Board of Regents meeting Thursday in Lubbock.

Vice Chairwoman Ginger Kerrick Davis presided over the swearing-in ceremony, which came at the start of the two-day regents meeting in the Tech System building in Lubbock.

The three regents - Tim Culp of Midland, Shelley Sweatt of Wichita Falls and Clay Cash of Lubbock - were appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in mid-March and were confirmed by the Texas State Senate during the last week of April. The new regents' terms will last until Jan. 31, 2029.

Regent Tim Culp of Midland

Culp, the president of Southwest Royalties, Inc. and Desert Production, Inc., said he was eager to serve on the board representing his alma matter.

"Gov. Abbott gave me a wonderful opportunity to serve here — I'm so grateful for this opportunity," Culp said. "We have amazing leaders — my colleagues — but we also have some of the most amazing leadership anywhere in the nation."

Culp also serves as the chairman of the TTFI as well as the First United Methodist Church Midland Team.

He is a 1981 graduate of Tech, with a degree in accounting. His wife, Annette, and three of his four children also attended or graduated from Tech.

Regent Shelley Sweatt of Wichita Falls

Sweatt is the president and CEO of The Priddy Foundation and president of The Priddy Foundation Board of Trustees.

She also serves as a member of the Texas Woman's University Board of Regents and was a former member of the Midwestern State University Board of Regents — which was dissolved after the institution became the newest component institution within the Tech System.

"As a regent, I look forward to supporting the leadership and students of the university while also representing the MSU community in north central Texas," Sweatt said. "Since Midwestern joined the Tech System, it's important to our community to have a strong connection between our institutions, and I am simply delighted to be that connection."

Sweatt earned her bachelor's degree from Tech and her doctorate at the University of North Texas. Her husband, Greg, and her daughter, Merrill, also graduated from Tech.

Regent Clay Cash of Lubbock

Cash, president of Cash Family Investments and the Cash Family Foundation, recalled a brief story about how he first heard about his nomination to the Tech System Board of Regents. He was skiing and was sitting next to a family whose kids would be attending Tech in the fall. One of the parents asked Cash one question.

"He said 'Would you please take care of them kids?' I said, 'Absolutely.' And at that moment, I realized what it is to be a regent." Cash said. "My job is to take care of students."

Cash is a 1997 graduate of the Rawls College of Business at Tech, earning his degree in business administration.

He also serves on the Texas Rangers Association Foundation and the Ranching Heritage Association as a board member as well as the Texas Tech Foundation, Inc.

After swearing in the new regents and hearing from them, Chairman Mark Griffin said this moment in time is one that they would remember for the rest of their lives. The Board then entered into its two-day meeting, which is set to run through Friday in Lubbock. See Sunday's Avalanche-Journal for takeaways from the meeting.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech System welcomes three new members to the Board of Regents