UT System names Jay Hartzell as sole finalist for president of UT Austin

The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Wednesday voted to name interim UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell as the sole finalist in the search for a permanent leader of the flagship institution.

Hartzell has served as interim president since June 1, following the departure of Gregory L. Fenves for Emory University in Atlanta. UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife praised Hartzell’s leadership over the past several months and his handling of the university’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“His work has been outstanding in these critical times that we're facing,” Eltife said Wednesday in a meeting with the board. “We have heard positive comments from members of the university community, and the public about his effectiveness in his role.”

Hartzell received a doctorate in finance from the university in the late 1990s and later returned as an instructor at the McCombs School of Business. In 2014, he was named dean of the school. As interim president, Hartzell receives a salary of $795,000. Fenves in 2019 was paid $1.09 million, according to data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Regents on Wednesday voted to create a search committee to permanently fill Fenves’ empty seat using an alternative process that advances Hartzell’s name in the search. Eltife will appoint a special committee that will evaluate Hartzell and provide the board with advice on his candidacy.

The Board of Regents typically conducts a national search and appoints a presidential search advisory committee to select a president of an institution, but the board also can invoke a special rule that allows for an alternative presidential selection process. The rule allows the regents’ chairman to appoint a committee to offer advice and evaluation on the sole finalist. Eltife plans to name the committee soon.

“These are unprecedented times for everyone, and it’s certainly true for higher education,” Eltife said in a statement. “As one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious and complex universities, UT Austin needs strong continuity, stability and innovation from its senior leadership, especially as UT provides education in a variety of in-person and remote ways to 50,000 students.”

The university has said for months that it plans to offer a mix of online, in-person and hybrid courses. On Tuesday, officials said preliminary registration numbers show more than three-quarters of class registrations for the fall will be online. About 45% to 50% of students are taking a fully online course load, officials said.

According to system rules, the committee will consist of at least one regent, two presidents from the system, the executive vice chancellor for academic or health affairs, three faculty members from the institution, a dean, one student from the institution, the president of the university’s alumni association, one non-faculty employee of the institution, and at least two representatives of the institution’s “external constituency.”

“Leading the University of Texas as interim president has been an incredible honor, and I am equally honored to be named the sole finalist to lead this great university into the future,” Hartzell said in a statement. “I look forward to serving my alma mater any way I can as we seek to overcome today’s challenges.”