Gov. Greg Abbott made seven appointments to his Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs. Lisa Hembry of Dallas and Ali Zakaria of Sugar Land were named to terms to expire on Feb. 1, 2017. Veronica Vargas Stidvent of Austin, Juan Ayala of New Braunfels and Bryan Daniel of Georgetown were named to terms to expire Feb. 1, 2019. Abbott also announced the appointment of Ruth Ruggero Hughs of Austin and Steven Nguyen of Irving as the council’s chair and vice chair, respectively.

Abbott made nine appointments to the Texas Board of Respiratory Care. Latana T. Jackson-Woods of Cedar Hill, Shad J. Pellizzari of Cedar Park and Sonia K. Sanderson of Beaumont were named to terms to expire Feb. 1, 2017. Debra E. Patrick of Tomball, James M. “Jim” Stocks of Tyler and Joe Ann Clack of Missouri City were named to terms to expire Feb. 1, 2019. Timothy R. “Tim” Chappell of Plano, Sam Gregory “Gregg” Marshall of New Braunfels and Kandace D. “Kandi” Pool of San Angelo were named to terms to expire Feb. 1, 2021. Abbott also named Clack as the board’s presiding officer.

Abbott appointed Nancy Blackwell of Spring to the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority for a term to expire Aug. 31, 2017.

The Institute for Policy Innovation, the Dallas-based think tank that advocates for limited government and free markets, announced on Monday that it has added former Dallas County Republican Chairman Wade Emmert as a research fellow.

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation announced on Wednesday that it has named David B. Jones as its new chief executive officer. He succeeds Frederick D. McClure who left after four years for a position in the provost’s office at Texas A&M University.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation announced on Monday that William H. Kuntz Jr., who’s served as the agency’s executive director for the past 16 years, plans to step down Aug. 31.

Larry McGinnis is stepping down June 30 from K&L Gates LLP where he is a member of the public policy and law group in the firm’s Austin office.

Deaths: John Lindsey, 93, one of Texas A&M University’s most prominent donors. He and his late wife Sara donated money to fund three faculty chairs and nine scholarships, and gave $3 million to the university's first comprehensive fundraising campaign. He also helped create the Texas A&M University Press, and helped convince President George H.W. Bush to build his library in College Station.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, K&L Gates, Veronica Vargas Stidvent have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.