by Alexis Hixson
With the start of the Fall 2023 semester, Dr. Maria Escobar-Lemmon has assumed her new position as executive associate dean at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government & Public Service. She replaces Dr. Frank B. Ashley III, who, after six years in the position, is now the acting dean of the Bush School. As executive associate dean, she will oversee strategic planning, faculty affairs, student affairs, program development, diversity, assessment, communications and external relations, student services and extended education programs.
Escobar-Lemmon has more than 28 years of experience in education. She received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her doctorate in political science from the University of Arizona. Escobar-Lemmon has worked at Texas A&M since 2000, where she served as an assistant professor, associate professor and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Liberal Arts before moving to the Bush School as associate dean for research and graduate education.
“My favorite thing about working at the Bush School is the people I get a chance to interact with on a regular basis. I’m also deeply inspired by all the research taking place at the Bush School. There are people here who, through their research, their teaching, and their service are deeply committed to making our state and our world a better place. It’s exciting to be a part of that,” Escobar-Lemmon said.
Escobar-Lemmon’s published research has considered the decentralization of fiscal and administrative responsibility from national to local governments in Latin America, the inclusion of women in presidential cabinets, and most recently, the increases in women on high courts around the world. Her most recent book, the result of a National Science Foundation grant, Reimagining the Judiciary: Women’s Representation on High Courts Worldwide, was published by Oxford University Press. She has taught undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on Latin American politics and legislatures, comparative politics, globalization and democracy, introductory state and local politics, and federalism and decentralization. This semester, Escobar-Lemmon will be returning to the classroom as a new BUSH 101 section instructor, a class offered to incoming first-year students.
Escobar-Lemmon is highly regarded by her colleagues. Acting Dean of the Bush School, Dr. Frank B. Ashley III, said, “I think that she is perfect for the position of executive associate dean here at the Bush School. I’m very happy that she decided to do it. Now that I’m the acting dean, I know that I have a very good second who will be an advocate for everything that we do at the Bush School.”
