Governor names UTSA Professor Lloyd Potter state demographer

Lloyd Potter, UTSA professor and Texas state demographer

By Tim Brownlee
Assistant Director of Public Affairs

(May 10, 2010)--Governor Rick Perry has named UTSA Professor Lloyd Potter state demographer for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor. Potter will serve as director of the Texas State Data Center (the state demographer's office) housed at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

With a high-profile Latino population, experts say San Antonio is an excellent location for the Texas State Data Center because the city's demographics are predictive of the national demographic trend in coming decades. The center distributes census information for the state as well as Texas population estimates and projections, and information from federal, state and other government sources.

Potter is director of the UTSA Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research, professor of demography and interim chair of the Department of Demography and Organization Studies. His work focuses on understanding and communicating demographic processes in Texas, training doctoral-level applied demographers in public policy and health, and conducting demographic research on public policy and health-related topics.

"UTSA is proud to be the home of the Texas state demographer -- the third from our university," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "The governor chose an outstanding researcher who will provide high-quality information and analysis to business and community leaders. With our first doctoral student in applied demography graduating this month, we are excited that Dr. Potter will continue to provide educational opportunities for our graduate students."

"There are about 25 million reasons, among quite a few others, to be proud of Texas. Our people are our greatest asset," said Potter. "As the Texas state demographer, I am thankful to have the opportunity to support state and local policy makers in their efforts to improve the lives of our people by providing them with objective information about the composition, characteristics and distribution of the people of our state."

Potter holds a Ph.D. in demography and sociology from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of public health degree from Emory University, an M.S. degree in education from University of Houston at Clear Lake and a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University,

Before coming to UTSA, he served as director of the National Suicide Prevention Resource Center funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration while working at the Education Development Center Inc. (EDC) in Newton, Mass. At EDC, he was director of the Children's Safety Network funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Previously, Potter managed youth violence and suicide prevention efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

For more information, contact the Office of the Governor at 512-463-2000.