DALLAS — Texas A&M University vice president of student affairs Joe Weber will head the Texas Department of Transportation, the agency announced April 4.
Gov. Rick Perry, a Texas A&M classmate and longtime friend of Weber's, recommended the retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general to the post left vacant by the departing Phil Wilson.
Wilson, the first non-engineer to head TxDOT, moved to the top post of the Lower Colorado River Authority. TxDOT chief financial officer James Bass has been acting director of the agency since January.
"As TxDOT continues its transformation in becoming a best-in-class agency, Gen. Weber is the right fit for this department," said Commissioner Jeff Moseley, who led the search efforts on behalf of the commission.
The commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation and authorizes all of the state's transportation bonds.
The TTC received about 150 applications for the executive director position, including one from John Barton, TxDOT's deputy executive director, officials said. Last month, the TTC interviewed the top four applicants in executive session.
With $5 billion of highway revenue fund bonds and $6 billion of general obligation bonds outstanding, the TTC is Texas' largest debt issuer. In February, the commission issued $1.2 billion of revenue bonds.
Through a conduit issuer, the Grand Parkway Transportation Corp., the TTC issued $2.9 billion for the Grand Parkway in 2013, the largest deal of the year.
The TTC carries the state's triple-A ratings from all three ratings agencies on its general obligation bonds.
Before joining A&M, Weber taught at the United States Naval Academy. In addition to his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M, he earned a master's degree from the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.
