New Staff Council president aims to champion staff voices and morale
When students return to campus for the fall semester, Heather Crow will be stepping into a new leadership role dedicated to the staff who work to support them every day.
Crow, who is the coordinator of operations for The Student Success Center at Texas A&M University-Victoria, has been named the next incoming president of the university’s Staff Council. Drawing on nearly eight years of experience at A&M-Victoria, she hopes to amplify staff voices, guide colleagues through the ongoing institutional transition and help sustain a sense of pride and enthusiasm in the workplace.
“I just want the staff’s voices to be heard,” Crow said. “And that they find a newfound excitement for all the changes that are happening.”
Crow joined the university in September 2018, beginning as a part-time administrative assistant in the same department where she serves today. Her role soon expanded to full-time administrative assistant and has over time morphed into her current position.
As responsibilities shifted within the department, she began to take on more duties, including managing tutors and overseeing tutoring operations, along with a variety of other functions that support student success. Having remained rooted in The Student Success Center throughout her tenure has given her a front-row seat to the evolution of processes, procedures and services designed to help students thrive. That continuity, she believes, will be an asset as she steps into her new leadership role with Staff Council, she said.
“Serving as Staff Council President has been an honor, especially as we worked to strengthen the relationships between staff and faculty and bring our campus community together,” said Tamera Steele, who served as the council’s previous president. “I’m proud of the foundation we are building for the future of Texas A&M University-Victoria, and I’m excited to pass the torch to Heather. I know she will bring her own passion and leadership as we continue moving forward together as one university community.”
In the past, Crow has served as the council’s communications officer and, for a period, as treasurer. When the council needed someone to step into the president role, her colleagues turned to her, and she accepted, seeing it as an opportunity to contribute during a period of significant organizational change and system transition.
Crow will serve alongside a leadership team that represents a cross-section of staff roles. The 2026-2027 Staff Council leadership is:
- President Elect: Abby Gonzales
- Secretary: Debbie Vardaman
- Treasurer: VACANT
- Communications Officer: Hailey Watson
- Staff Representative (Non-Exempt): Kimberly Hohlt
- Staff Representative (Exempt): Randall Jasek
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.