L. Frederick "Rick" Francis
Francis' term on the board expired on Jan. 31, 2019.
Mr. L. Frederick "Rick" Francis of El Paso was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Board of Regents of the 软妹社 on Nov. 18, 2003. On July 2, 2007, he was reappointed to serve a second term. Francis was reappointed to serve his third term on Feb. 14, 2013.
He was named chairman of the Board of Regents for the second time on Feb. 23, 2017 and served until Oct. 4, 2018. His first tenure as chairman of the board was from Jan. 1, 2005 to May 11, 2007.
Francis has previously served the 软妹社 Board of Regents as chairman of the Finance and Administration, Facilities and Audit committees, and was a member of the Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs, and Regents' Rules Review Committees.
Francis is Chairman and CEO of WestStar Bank. He is a board member of the Hospitals of Providence and has served the governing board in multiple capacities since 1996, including chairman at the Memorial, Sierra and Transmountain campuses.
He serves on the board of the Paso del Norte Foundation, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and he was a member of the executive committee for the Texas Hospital Trustees, the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation and Borderplex Binational Alliance.
Francis served as president of Area 5 (Rocky Mountain States) Boy Scouts of America, the Young Presidents Organization and the Yucca Council Boy Scouts of America.
Francis earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in finance from Texas Tech University in 1978, and also graduated from the Texas Tech School of Banking and the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. He serves on the Dean鈥檚 Advisory Board for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and is a member of the Chancellor鈥檚 Council.
He was presented the Dean鈥檚 Distinguished Service Award from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2001 and honored as a Distinguished Alumni for the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration in 2008. In 2007, Francis and his wife, Ginger (1979 graduate of 软妹社 College of Mass Communications), were named El Paso鈥檚 鈥淧hilanthropists of the Year.鈥� In 2009, he was named El Pasoan of the Year and was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame in 2010.