Marble Falls city councilor named director of Texas Tech-Highland Lakes
Texas Tech University has picked Celia Merrill as the new director of its Highland Lakes and Fredericksburg campuses. Staff and courtesy photos
Texas Tech University has named Marble Falls City Council member Celia Merrill as the new director of the university’s campuses in Marble Falls and Fredericksburg.
She starts Monday, June 15, and will lead TTU at Highland Lakes in Marble Falls and TTU at Fredericksburg.
Merrill previously worked for Texas Tech as an adjunct professor and brings a background in higher education, consulting, and community leadership to the role. She has taught technical communications for Texas Tech University and English for Central Texas College, which also has a campus in Marble Falls.
“I love starting programs and I love taking programs to the next level, and so I think Texas Tech is an excellent resource to our area that is underutilized,” Merrill said. “I want to see more local students taking advantage of the opportunity that it provides to get a tier one institution degree without leaving the area, and I want to see a more diverse set of programs for people here. I want our businesses to feel like it’s a resource to them as well.”
A resident of Marble Falls since 2012, Merrill has served as the academic chair for humanities at Faith Academy of Marble Falls as well as taught dual credit English classes at the private Christian school. She also worked with Gail Davalos of Mickey West Career Assets, chairing a region-wide initiative that brought more than $200,000 in workforce training grants to the area.
“Obviously, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about Marble Falls and to work within this community,” Merrill said in a statement. “But I have much to learn about Fredericksburg and Gillespie County, and I look forward to getting to know that community’s leaders, businesses, and schools.”
Merrill will manage staff at both the Highland Lakes and Fredericksburg locations.
“I’m really excited. This is the kind of work that I’ve done previously, but not here in Marble Falls,” she said. “So I’m excited to be able to work in this kind of collaborative way with Marble Falls and Fredericksburg.”