2023 Graduations

By Howard Balanoff

The Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program Graduation was held on Monday December 4, 2023.  The graduation was conducted in the Capitol Auditorium at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas.  A reception for the graduates and their guests was held in the Legislative Conference Room of the Capitol.

Dr. Miha Vindis, Director of the Texas CPM Program welcomed the graduates and their guests and introduced Mr. Joe Chacon, former Police City of Austin, Chief of Police (Ret), who delivered the CPM graduation speech and praised the CPM graduates for their commitment to public service. Chief Chacon is a graduate of the Texas CPM Program. 

The Texas CPM Program is a consortium of Texas Universities that operates under the umbrella of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service has been continuous service since 1995 and over its 28 year history has graduated over 2,000 public and not for profit sector employees. 

The universities that participated in the December 4, 2023, CPM Graduation are:

University                                                                                 Number of Graduates

Texas A&M International University                                          15
Stephen F. Austin State University                                              9
University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley                                       7
Texas State University Round Rock/San Marcos                     7

Total                                                                                               38

The names of the December 2023 CPM graduates are shown below.

Texas A&M International University, Peter Haruna, CPM Director

David Arredondo, Jr.                                       Alonzo J. Olivarez Jr.
Adrian Matthew Gause                                  Aileen Ramos
Eduardo J. Herrera                                           Martha A. Raz
Maria Elsa Hinojosa                                         Jesus Reyes 
Andrew Joseph Knapp                                    Silvestre Rodriguez Jr.
Gloria Landin                                                      Isabel D. Sosa-Castaneda
Elena R. Martinez                                             Miguel Gerardo Vega Fonseca
Jorge Ynchausti                                  

Stephen F. Austin State University, Rick Herzog, CPM Director

Albert E. Duffield Jr.                                         Natasha Jaime
Marc Fleming                                                     Peter B. Lamont, Jr.
Michael Andrew Flores                                  Rachel L. Rowe
Robert E. Goldsberry                                       Ingred Self
Amanda C. Wilson 

University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley, John Milford CPM Director

Jose Victor Baldovinos                                   Michael J. Elizalde
Luis Alberto Castillo                                         Elsa M. Galvan
Susana DeLuna                                                  Peter Geddes
Robert A McGinnis 

Texas State University Round Rock/San Marcos, Miha Vindis & Sue Breland, Directors

Cheryl Marthiljohni                                Christopher W. Altott
Marco Padilla                                           David L. Jordan
Vanessa Ramirez                                      Rachel Scarborough

For additional information about the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service or the Texas CPM Program, please contact Dr. Howard R. Balanoff, Director of the Hobby Center for Public Service at hb02@txstate.edu and/or Dr. Miha Vindis, Director of the Texas CPM Program at mvindis@txstate.edu

By Howard Balanoff

The Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program conducted the largest graduation in its 25-year history on Friday June 16, 2023.  The graduation was conducted in the Capitol Auditorium at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas.  A reception for the graduates and their guests was held in the Legislative Conference Room of the Capitol.

Dr. Miha Vindis, Director of the Texas CPM Program welcomed the graduates and their guests and introduced Ms. Amy Ledbetter Parham the Chief Executive Officer of Habitat for Humanity who delivered the graduation speech and praised the CPM graduates for their commitment to public service.

The Texas CPM Program is a consortium of Texas Universities that operates under the umbrella of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service. The universities listed below participated in the June 16, 2023, CPM Graduation. Also listed are the number of June 2023 graduates from each university. 

University                                                                                 Number of Graduates

Texas State University (Arlington, TX Program)                     28
Texas Tech                                                                                    25
University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley                                     30
Stephen F. Austin State University                                             3
Texas A&M International University                                         15
The University of Houston                                                         24

Total                                                                                             125

The CPM Directors that participated in the June 2023 graduation from Texas State University are Dr. Miha Vindis, Ms. Sue Breland, Dr. Howard Balanoff, Ms. Marilyn Balanoff and James Earp. The Director of the CPM Program at the University of Texas at Pan American is John Milford. The Director of the University of Houston CPM Program are Ms. Renee Cross, Ms. Chelsea O’hara and Ms. Emily Janowski.                              

For additional information about the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service or the Texas CPM Program, please contact Dr. Howard R. Balanoff, Director of the Hobby Center for Public Service at hb02@txstate.edu and/or Dr. Miha Vindis, Director of the Texas CPM Program at mvindis@txstate.edu