Global Perspectives with Tom Luce

About Tom Luce

Luce, founder and chairman of Texas 2036, is a Texas attorney known for his public service and social entrepreneurship.

He was a founder and managing partner of Dallas law firm Hughes and Luce, where his career centered on corporate law and commercial litigation. He was lead attorney on multibillion mergers and litigation, and was selected as one of the best attorneys in Dallas and the U.S. At Texas 2036, he heads a nonprofit organization that seeks through data and research to ensure the state is the best place to live and do business through its bicentennial in 2036.

His public service in Texas was distinguished by gubernatorial and legislative appointments to major state positions, including chief justice of the Supreme Court pro tempore and member of the Sunset Commission, Superconducting Super Collider Commission and Select Committee on Public Education, among others. On the national level, he was appointed assistant secretary of education by President George W. Bush and also appointed to the Library of Congress board.

In addition to Texas 2036, Luce has founded and led numerous other nonprofits dedicated to serving the needs of others, including the Texas Business and Education Coalition, the National Center for Educational Accountability and the National Math and Science Initiative.

Luce has authored two books on improving public education and has taught at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Dallas.

He received his undergraduate and law degrees from SMU.