Kristen Lindley

AUSTIN – Texas Gov. Rick Perry has appointed the first student ever from the University of Houston-Victoria to fill the student regent position on the University of Houston System Board of Regents.

Kristen Lindley, the 2008-2009 UHV Student Senate president and the Association of Independent Institutions Softball Player of the Year, will serve a one-year term beginning Monday.

“This will be a really wonderful opportunity for me,” Lindley said. “Being a part of the UHV Student Senate this past year was more rewarding than I ever could have imagined, and I’m sure this will be the same kind of experience.”

Lindley, whose hometown is Spring, Texas, decided to apply for the position after talking to Tamara Goodwin, the 2008-2009 student regent, and getting excited about the opportunity. Lindley’s application was one of several forwarded to the governor’s office by Renu Khator, the UHS chancellor and UH president. Lindley was interviewed a couple of week ago and then found out that Gov. Perry had appointed her.

“We are so proud of Ms. Lindley and all of her accomplishments,” UHV President Tim Hudson said. “She has shown remarkable leadership skills during her time at UHV, and I know she’ll provide a valuable student perspective on the Board of Regents.”

As an undergraduate student at UHV, Lindley made her mark at the university both on and off the field. Lindley, a pitcher and designated player, was co-captain of the UHV Jaguars softball team during its inaugural season and in 2008-2009. As a junior, she was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Southwest All-Region First Team and the NAIA All-Region VI First Team. The NFCA also recognized her as an All-American Scholar-Athlete for achieving a 3.5 grade-point average or better for the 2007-2008 school year.

As a senior, Lindley continued to show leadership. The Jaguars were crowned the NAIA A.I.I. softball champions on May 2 and advanced to the 2009 NAIA Softball National Championship in Decatur, Ala. In addition to being named the A.I.I. Player of the Year and a member of the 2009 A.I.I. All-Star Team earlier this month, the NAIA announced May 20 that Lindley was one of its 2009 First-Team All-Americans.

While off the field, Lindley was on the UHV Student Senate in 2007-2008 as the undergraduate representative from the School of Business Administration. She also spent time mentoring Victoria middle school students in math. As a senior, Lindley became president of the Student Senate and a member of the Gamma Beta Phi honor society and the President’s Climate Control Committee. Hudson gave her the Student Leadership Award in November for her exemplary leadership and initiative on behalf of the university.

Lindley graduated magna cum laude on May 16 from UHV with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She’ll start classes in UHV’s Master of Business Administration program in the fall and work part time in the university’s Administration and Finance Office. Lindley needs to take six more hours of accounting classes and an ethics course before she can sit for her Certified Public Accounting exam.

“I really appreciate all the people who called the governor’s office and supported my selection as the student regent,” Lindley said.

Welcome Wilson, chairman of the UHS Board of Regents, said he was looking forward to working with Lindley.

“I applaud the governor for the selection of an outstanding student and an outstanding Texas Citizen,” he said. “I have been very impressed with Ms. Lindley and know she’ll do a good job.”

Although the UHS student regent is not a voting member of the Board of Regents or count as part of a quorum, Wilson said that the student always makes substantial contributions to the board. Lindley will serve on Board of Regents committees and attend receptions and meetings just like any other regent.