One Era Ends and Another Begins
TACT has benefited from the knowledge and talents of Chuck Hempstead, TACT’s lobbyist and Executive Director the last 25 years. He has valiantly defended Texas faculty retirement accounts, higher education funding, academic freedom, tenure and many other issues. Hempstead says, “Working with TACT has been the highlight of my career.” Chuck’s contribution to TACT has greatly impacted Texas higher education and we are forever grateful.
Upon Chuck Hempstead’s retirement, Texas faculty and administrators are looking at a legislative session filled with promises to challenge tenure, academic freedom and funding. TACT has contracted with Beaman Floyd, a consultant and lobbyist with more than 30 years of experience in public affairs, to be TACT’s lobbyist. Mr. Floyd currently represents the Texas Association of Community College Teachers and has written articles for AAUP, so he is well versed in higher education issues our Texas faculty and administrators face. He owns his own lobby firm, founded in 1997, and has worked on behalf of a variety of clients, among them property and casualty insurance companies and trade associations, public education associations, parents’ rights groups, local government subdivisions, higher education groups, and religious groups.
Mr. Floyd has been highly involved in several major policy issues in Texas, including property and casualty insurance reform, catastrophe policy, workers’ compensation reform, healthcare, public school finance, higher education policy, state retirement policy and reform, environmental initiatives, and religious liberty issues. He is also a regular guest lecturer to college faculty groups, in college classrooms, policy forums, and other political and educational settings.
Prior to working in Texas, Mr. Floyd served on the legislative staff of the Louisiana House of Representatives with the Legal Division, which included the Civil Law, Criminal Justice, and Judiciary committees. He also worked with Louisiana Public Television. Floyd is a veteran of the United States Army where he served as an infantryman.
Mr. Floyd earned his B.A. with a double major in History and Russian Studies from Louisiana State University. He completed the Honors Core Interdisciplinary Studies program and was selected to participate in the History Doctoral Proseminar program sponsored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. He earned an M.A. in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Ethics and Church History at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
The board members of TACT are proud of what the organization has accomplished legislatively in the past and look forward to continuing to be the defender of Texas higher education.
