• Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
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Industry Experience

  • Ernest Aliseda ’88 has been named Associate Vice President (AVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen (HECM), effective August 15, 2025.

    Judge Aliseda brings more than three decades of distinguished experience in higher education governance, law, public service and military leadership to Texas A&M. He is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, a retired State District Judge, and currently serves as the General Counsel for DHR Health, one of the largest physician-owned hospitals in the nation. He also currently serves as a professor at the University of Houston School of Medicine and previously served as a Regent for The University of Texas System from 2013 to 2019. 

    Judge Aliseda was raised in the Rio Grande Valley and has devoted his entire career to public service across region. He has received appointments from every Texas Governor — from George W. Bush to Rick Perry to Greg Abbott — reflecting a consistent record of trust and commitment to public service in Texas. In March, Governor Abbott appointed Judge Aliseda to the OneStar National Service Commission, which promotes volunteerism in Texas and oversees the administration of the AmeriCorps programs for the state. He also serves as a Flotilla Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and a board member of Senator Ted Cruz’s U.S. Military Academy Selection Board. 

    Judge Aliseda is also a proud Aggie and member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 1988. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center and a Master of Laws in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.