1940-2026

Tom Luce
Founder and Chairman Emeritus

Tom Luce’s life was one of family, professional accomplishments, public service and social entrepreneurship. 

Tom was the founding and managing partner of the Hughes & Luce LLP law firm, which supported the founding, growth and expansion of many leading companies in Dallas and across the state. He was the lead attorney on multibillion-dollar mergers and litigation and was selected at various points in his career as one of the best attorneys in Dallas and the United States. 

His public service in Texas was distinguished by gubernatorial and legislative appointments to major state positions including chief justice pro tempore of the Supreme Court of Texas as well as citizen member of both the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The Supreme Court of Texas appointed him to the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency where he chaired the Judicial Selection Task Force. He additionally served as chief of staff to the 1984 Texas Select Committee on Public Education and delegate to the Education Commission of the States. He also chaired the Texas National Research Laboratory Commission. 

On the national level, he was appointed as assistant education secretary for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development by President George W. Bush and was appointed to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board by the U.S. Senate.

In addition to Texas 2036, Tom founded and led numerous other nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the needs of others including the Texas Business and Education Coalition, Communities Just for the Kids, the Data Quality Campaign, the National Center for Educational Accountability, the National Math and Science Initiative and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. He also served as CEO and Director of Biotech Initiatives for Lyda Hill Philanthropies. 

He 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 at Austin, Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Tom was married to his wife, Pam, for more than 60 years. They have three children and seven grandsons.

He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Southern Methodist University where he was honored as a Distinguished Alumni and was the recipient of the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award.