Texas Southern University Honors the Life and Legacy of Dr. Mary Evans Sias

Texas Southern University mourns the passing of former Regent and Interim President Dr. Mary Evans Sias, a distinguished educator, visionary leader, and steadfast advocate for students whose impact on higher education will be felt for generations.

Dr. Sias devoted her life to advancing educational opportunity, strengthening institutions, and empowering future leaders through service marked by grace, wisdom, and unwavering excellence. Her leadership at Texas Southern University came during pivotal moments in the institution’s history, and her influence helped shape the University’s continued path forward.

Appointed by the Governor of Texas to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents in 2020, Dr. Sias brought decades of national higher education leadership experience to the role. She later answered the call to serve as Interim President of Texas Southern University in 2023, coming out of retirement to guide the institution during a critical transition. During her tenure as interim president, she led with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to student success and institutional stability.

“Dr. Sias guided Texas Southern University through a pivotal period of transition with wisdom, grace, and unwavering resolve,” said President J.W. Crawford III. “Although I did not have the privilege of knowing her for many years, her impact on this institution — and on my own transition into leadership — was immediate and profound. Her legacy lives on through the administrators, faculty, staff, and students she inspired, and through the enduring strength and vision she helped cultivate at this great University.”

A nationally respected leader in higher education, Dr. Sias served as Director of the Millennium Leadership Initiative and Assistant to the President of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities before retiring in 2021. Prior to that role, she served more than a decade as President of Kentucky State University, where she championed student achievement and institutional advancement while elevating the university’s national profile.

Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Sias held numerous leadership positions that reflected her broad influence across higher education and civic engagement. She chaired the boards of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, two of the nation’s most prominent higher education organizations. Her service also extended to organizations including the Educational Testing Service Advisory Board for HBCUs, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and the State Bar of Texas.

Before becoming a university president, Dr. Sias served as Senior Vice President of Student Affairs and External Relations at the University of Texas at Dallas and as Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas.

Texas Southern Board of Regents Chairman James Benham reflected on his relationship with Dr. Sias: “What I will remember is not on any résumé. I will remember her laugh. I will remember the way she could tell you that you were wrong without ever making you feel small. I will remember how seriously she took students — not as an abstraction, not as a talking point, but as actual young people whose names she learned. I will remember that she and Shad quietly endowed a scholarship at Texas Southern for students they would never meet, because that is who they are. That scholarship will outlive all of us. So will what she taught the rest of us about how to lead. Mary was, plainly, one of the finest human beings I have ever known. Today I am grieving a friend. The University is grieving a leader. Higher education is grieving one of its great ones. All three things are true at once.”

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Dr. Sias earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Tougaloo College, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She also earned an MBA from Abilene Christian University and received an honorary doctorate in public service from Central Michigan University.

Her remarkable contributions earned her numerous honors and awards throughout her lifetime, including the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Award in Higher Education and the Women Leading Kentucky Martha Layne Collins Leadership Award.

Beyond her accomplishments, Dr. Sias will be remembered for her warmth, mentorship, and enduring belief in the transformative power of education. Her legacy lives on through the countless students, colleagues, educators, and communities she inspired.

Texas Southern University extends its deepest condolences to the Sias family, her friends, former colleagues, and all who were impacted by her extraordinary life and service. Her contributions to Texas Southern University and higher education will never be forgotten.

Memorial Service
Sunday, May 17, 2026
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Memorial Chapel at Restland
13005 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, Tx. 75243