Week #1, September 14 – 18, 2025 - Galveston
Week #2, October 20 – 23, 2025 - Lubbock
Week #3, November 17 – 20, 2025 - San Antonio
The Governor’s Executive Development Program leads top executives in Texas state agencies and universities in organizational strategy, infrastructure management, resource management, and personal effectiveness through a three-week intensive educational program over three months. The GEDP is designed for those with executive-level positions and responsibility for charting the strategic direction of their organizations.
Who Should Attend
Top executives in Texas state agencies and universities. Attendees must be nominated and will be selected by the Office of the Governor.
Delivery
Training is in person.
Tuition
Tuition is $6850. Tuition includes all program-related costs, assessment instruments, instructional materials, most breakfasts and lunches and some networking events. It does NOT include lodging, per diem, or travel costs.
Instructors
The instructors are University professors involved in research and teaching in management and organizational effectiveness and experienced practitioners from government and the private sector.
History
After the Governor’s Center for Management Development was successfully established in 1980 to train first- and mid-level state agency managers, the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives jointly appointed the Executive Development Council to develop a course for top executives in Texas state government. GEDP held its charter class in 1985 and will conduct Class 43 in 2025. To date, there are more than 2,000 graduates of the GEDP, representing more than 100 Texas state agencies.
Nominations
Requests for nominations will be sent by the Governor's Office to each state agency and university chief executive officers on Monday, June 2, 2025. The class is selected from this pool of nominations.
To ensure consideration for this class, please email Letters of Nomination to: gcmd@austin.utexas.edu
To nominate an employee, please provide the nominee’s name, title, address, phone number and email address and a summary of why your nominee would be a good candidate for this program. Nominations must also include a copy of the agency’s organizational chart. Nominations are due by Friday, August 1, 2025. Participants will be notified of their acceptance by August 19, 2025.
For more information on the nomination process, please call us at 512-475-8100 or email gcmd@austin.utexas.edu.
Eligibility
The Governor's Executive Development Program is designed for agency executives with the responsibility for charting the strategic direction of their organizations. This is a time-intensive program. The best candidates are those that want to dedicate the time and effort and have an interest in enhancing their leadership capacity.
The general criteria for eligibility are based on agency employee population.
Agencies:
- 1-100 employees: Executive Director, Commissioner, Board Chairs and Board Members
- 101-1000 employees: Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Board Chairs and Board Members
- 1001-plus employees: Top three tiers of management, Board Chairs and Board Members
University System:
Presidents, Chancellors, Regents, Vice-Presidents, Vice-Chancellors, and Deans with substantial management responsibility.
Program Objectives/Outcomes
The GEDP curriculum is organized around four key areas:
1) Organizational Strategy (values, vision, mission, and strategic planning)
2) Infrastructure Management (structure, systems and processes that support strategies)
3) Resource Management (resource management practices that support strategies)
4) Personal Effectiveness (self-awareness, purpose, and self-management)
Within these four areas, participants will be able to develop and enhance the following specific executive competencies:
- Acquire and understand the parameters of the executive view and the process of human resource management.
- Be able to formulate and implement strategic and operational plans.
- Understand the problems involved and be able to use the processes of organizational and interpersonal communication.
- Become aware of environmental and industry changes and the potential directions of future change.
- Formulate strategies for management and employee development.
- Link with other agency and university executives to effectively implement programs requiring increasing inter-organizational cooperation.
- Identify and access information vital to successfully solving the critical problems of today.
Teaching and Learning
Executive development is most effective when closely linked with on-the-job issues and challenges. Teaching methods include case studies, experiential exercises, lectures, and discussions. In addition, each GEDP participant, with input from the agency executive director or board chair, is expected to develop a Leadership Plan for applying the new ideas, concepts, and behaviors to his or her own agency's specific issues and challenges.
A confidential, multi-rater feedback process is also utilized to identify both strengths and developmental areas in specific executive behaviors. The results of this assessment are used by each participant to design a personal development plan that allows each to manage his or her ongoing executive development.
Program Schedule
The three-week executive program is conducted once each year. The dates for Fall 2025 are:
Week #1, September 14 – 18, 2025 - Galveston
Week #2, October 20 – 23, 2025 - Lubbock
Week #3, November 17 – 20, 2025 - San Antonio
Attendance
Participants are expected to attend the program in its entirety.