Distinguished Alumni
Wayne Scott
Awarded 2000
Scott earned his bachelor of business administration degree in finance in 1973. He has almost 30 years of experience in corrections, beginning his career as correctional officer I at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1972 while a student at SHSU. He rose through the ranks, taking a brief hiatus to work in the private sector before returning to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice almost 20 years ago. He was named executive director of TDCJ in January 1996.
Among his honors are the Texas Corrections Association President's Gavel Award and the Texas Public Employees Association State Agency Administrator of the Year Award. Under his direction, TDCJ recently was presented an award by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in recognition of the Non-profit Housing Partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
Scott has also led TDCJ to develop programs that have received national recognition. In 1998, the American Correctional Association presented Scott with four Awards of Excellence and one Honorable Mention for "Best Practices: Excellence in Corrections." The Awards of Excellence were presented for TDCJ's Partnership in Community Service with Habitat for Humanity, for its Computerized Maintenance Management System, for the Edmundo Mireles Criminal Justice Training Academy which is the nation's largest facility for correctional employees, and for the Correctional Managed Health Care partnership with two state universities. An Honorable Mention went to the agency's Post Trauma Staff Support Program.
He serves as vice chair of the Standards Committee of the American Correctional Association, chairman of the Legislative and Legal Issues Committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, and chair of the Training and Certification Committee of the Texas Corrections Association. He is also professionally affiliated with the Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council, the Southern States Correctional Association, and the Texas Public Employees Association. He is a current or past board member of the Community Service Credit Union, SHSU College of Business Administration Advisory Board, Texas Prison Museum, and Walker County Chamber of Commerce.
Under Scott's leadership, a cooperative effort between TDCJ and the local communities in which units are located has developed. The TDCJ community work program provides over 183,000 man-hours of work each month to community work projects. With Scott's support, TDCJ has also partnered with food banks across the state. In Fiscal Year 1999, approximately 2.6 million pounds of vegetables benefited the food banks in Texas. The produce grown by the offenders is distributed by the food banks to more than 500 non-profit organizations around the state.
Scott and his wife, Andrea, have two children, Mika Scott-Spears and Angela.