Tom Luce

Tom Luce received his undergraduate and law degrees from SMU where he has been honored as a Distinguished Alumni. As founder and managing partner of Hughes and Luce law firm, he led multibillion mergers and litigation and was selected at various points as one of the best attorneys at local, state, and national levels. 

His public service included gubernatorial and legislative, including Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court pro tempore, Sunset Commission, CPRIT, Texas Commission on Judiciary, Chief of Staff of the Select Committee on Public Education, and Superconducting Super Collider. Nationally, he was appointed as Assistant Secretary of Education by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and appointed to The Library of Congress Board.

Tom founded Texas 2036 to address the impact of the state’s estimated population growth of 10 million by 2036. Tom has founded and lead numerous other nonprofits, including the Texas Business and Education Coalition, Just for the Kids, Data Quality Campaign, the National Center for Educational Accountability, the National Math and Science Initiative, and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.

Now, as CEO of Biotech Initiatives of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, he is focused on developing the Texas life science ecosystem.

He has authored two books on improving public education and has taught at Harvard’s Kennedy School, UT’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, SMU, and UT Dallas.

Tom has been married to his wife, Pam, for more than 60 years. They have three children and seven grandsons.