Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will interview acclaimed actor and Texas native Dennis Quaid for the fifth installment of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. April 9 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom on campus. The event, sponsored by SFA’s Rusche College of Business, is free and open to the public. Tickets, which are required for entry, are available at the Charles Bright Visitor Center in downtown Nacogdoches or on campus at the Baker Pattillo Student Center information desk and the McGee Business Building, Room 137.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will interview acclaimed actor and Texas native Dennis Quaid for the fifth installment of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. April 9 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom on campus. The event, sponsored by SFA’s Rusche College of Business, is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for entry.
“It is an incredible honor to have the lieutenant governor involved in this great event,” said Dr. Jason Reese, interim dean of the Rusche College of Business. “His experience and insight will be invaluable to connecting film entrepreneurship in Texas to our students and our region. I look forward to the dynamic conversation between Dennis Quaid and Lt. Gov. Patrick.”
Using his legislative and media experience, Patrick collaborated with Quaid to support the passage of Senate Bill 22 during the 89th Texas Legislature in spring 2025. The legislation dramatically increased funding for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, allocating $300 million every two years to attract major film and television productions to the Lone Star State.
In April 2025, Patrick noted that an audit of 2023 and 2024 productions in Texas, including movies, TV shows and commercials, showed that for every dollar spent on incentives for the film industry, nearly $5 was generated for the Texas economy.
“That is an incredible nearly 500% return on the state’s incentive package,” Patrick said. “The incentive money is only spent on expenses incurred in Texas and goes to the Texas residents hired to do the many jobs on a film set, including carpenters, painters, electricians, truck drivers and more.”
For this year’s event, Patrick will interview Quaid about his advocacy for Texas film and television industry incentives as well as his firsthand insights into the intersection of entertainment and economic development.
Patrick was first elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 2014 and then re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He is running for a fourth term this year. Before serving in his current role, Patrick was twice elected to the Texas Senate in 2006 and 2010, representing part of Harris County. He spent over 40 years in the media industry as a television anchor, conservative talk show host and successful radio station owner, putting a then-unknown Rush Limbaugh on the air in Houston in 1988.
Heavily involved in his community, Patrick has raised over $20 million for children with disabilities. He wrote a Christian best-seller, “The Second Most Important Book You Will Ever Read,” and produced the awarding-winning Christian film, “The Heart of Texas.”
Patrick and his wife, Jan, a former teacher, recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. They have two children, Ryan, a former state prosecutor, judge and U.S. attorney; and daughter Shane, a speech therapist and registered nurse. They also have eight grandchildren.
Tickets for the event are available at the Charles Bright Visitor Center in downtown Nacogdoches or on campus at the Baker Pattillo Student Center information desk and the McGee Business Building, Room 137.
Tickets for the 6 p.m. private reception are sold out.
For more information about the lecture series, visit sfasu.edu/rusche.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 40 academic facilities, 11 residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering over 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.
By University Marketing Communications
