Interview with Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Harrison Keller

Background

Today on the Innovating Together Podcast, we interview Dr. Harrison Keller.  Dr. Keller previously worked as Deputy to the president for Strategy and Policy and as a faculty member at UT Austin. Earlier in his career, he was heavily involved in the Legislature at the Texas Capitol. As Texas Commissioner of Higher Education, he leads the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the state agency that coordinates across multiple University systems, fifty different community colleges, and private higher education institutions throughout Texas.  Dr. Keller sees the agency's mission to serve as a resource, partner, and advocate for students and institutions. He spends much of his time working with chancellors, presidents, the Texas Governor, the Legislature, chambers of commerce, and employers. Most recently, Dr. Keller led development of a new higher education strategic plan for the state, which is called Building a Talent Strong Texas.

When Bridget asked Dr. Keller what skills, he was surprised he has leaned on in his current role, Dr. Keller responded with, “Besides wit and self-deprecating humor, the most surprising thing would be that I found my dissertation was even more useful than I ever expected. My education is in philosophy and specialized in moral and political philosophy. I wrote my dissertation on respect for persons. I think drawing on those years of serious study in philosophy was great training for the kind of work I get to do every day as Commissioner.”

Aligning with workforce needs

Dr. Keller discusses some of the fundamental workforce needs everyone can get behind. One specific example he talked about was the difficulty that employers are currently having when it comes to finding the talent they require in an employee. After COVID when the Texas economy came roaring back, there are more jobs than pre-pandemic, “but the jobs look different. Almost all the new jobs require education beyond a high school diploma.” Many displaced workers have found that additional training is required just to get a similar job in the same industry. Strengthening work-force education will be essential for Texas to be competitive in the future.  Dr. Keller said they will  be working with employers and institutions to get a sense of what employers are looking for and what drives the variance in earnings in different disciplines. “We want to make sure credentials have value as reflected in wage premiums. We are listening to and paying attention to the signals from the job market about what translates into value for individual students.”

Career Advice

Dr. Keller often gives upcoming leaders the following advice. “Don’t get too focused on obtaining a specific position. Think about the kind of problems that you’re compelled to work on, and whether different kinds of career opportunities give you a platform to do that kind of work in the world.”  He also shared, “As a leader, your most important job is to build an excellent team.” There are three qualities he looks for when it comes to his team members. First, he looks for people who are competent and get things done. Second, he looks for people who fit into the team dynamic. Third, he looks for people who have ambition for the work, who are constantly thinking about how the work can be better.

Book Recommendations

Michael D. Watkins, “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting up to Speed Faster and Smarter” about “accelerating your learning” when transitioning into a new role.

Jay Lorsch and Thomas J. Tierney’s “Aligning the Stars: How to Succeed when Professionals Drive Results” on building high performing teams.