Roosevelt Nivens

Superintendent, Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Texas)

Dr. Roosevelt Nivens has served as Superintendent since 2021, leading one of the fastest-growing school districts in Texas with nearly 49,000 students across 58 campuses. Under his leadership, the district passed a historic $1.5 billion bond and continues to exceed academic expectations.

He was recently named the 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year. Additionally, the Lamar CISD Board of Trustees earned the prestigious 2025 H-E-B Excellence in Education Award for its outstanding governance. He also currently serves as the Vice President of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), a role to which he was elected in 2024.

A proud lifelong educator of 30 years, Dr. Nivens began his career as a teacher in Dallas ISD and has served in roles from assistant principal to superintendent. He holds degrees from Liberty University and Texas A&M-Commerce, and has trained at Harvard’s Executive Leadership Institute.

He was named the 2019 Region 10 Superintendent of the Year and the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year for NABSE. In 2022, Dr. Nivens was honored to be named the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) Latino Serving Superintendent of the Year.

He’s passionate about ensuring that students have choices and opportunities, and he deeply believes in the power of speaking life into others, shaped in part by his journey, which began with a teacher who believed in him when he was a struggling student.

He is married to Karla Nivens, and they have two adult children, Naomi and Roosevelt III.

Roosevelt Nivens