Charles R. Courtney, former president and CEO of the Texas Retailers Association, has been named associate director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation. The Annette Strauss Institute, a research unit within the College of Communication, strives to create more voters and better citizens by researching the ways in which civic participation and community understanding are undermined or sustained, and by developing educational outreach programs for increasing democratic understanding among citizens. Some of those programs include the Campaign for Young Voters, Student Voices Project, New Politics Forum, Speak Up! Speak Out! and Tex Elects.
