Distinguished Alumni
Ken Armbrister
Awarded 1989
SENATOR KEN ARMBRISTER, received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1971. Ken Armbrister served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives before being elected to the Texas Senate in 1986. He has been a member of the Senate Finance, State Affairs, Natural Resources, Nominations, Intergovernmental Relations, Agriculture, and Economic Development committees and the Senate Administration Technology Subcommittee. He is the immediate past President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate, and he served as Governor For A Day on September 14, 1996. He currently serves as chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, and in addition is a member of the Legislative Budget Board, Legislative Audit Committee, Council on Competitive Government, Research and Oversight Council on Workers Compensation, University Interscholastic League Advisory Council, Department of Information Resources, Edwards Aquifer Oversight Panel, and the Sunset Advisory Commission.
Senator Armbrister is a former police captain with 14 years of law enforcement experience and over 10 years of service as the director for the Victoria Regional Police Academy. Before being elected to the Legislature, he served as vice-president of the Victoria School Board. Armbrister has been named as one of the Ten Best Legislators by Texas Monthly, one of the Top Ten Legislative Crime-Fighters, and has been listed as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America. Other honors include the Texas State Chamber of Commerce Legislative Leadership Award, and the Texas Wildlife Association Award for wildlife resources legislation. The Armbrister family resides in Victoria.