Jay Hartzell didn’t set out to leave the University of Texas’ flagship campus for a smaller private college near downtown Dallas. But after SMU board members began aggressively recruiting him for their soon-to-be-vacant president job,

DALLAS — University of Texas President Jay Hartzell will become SMU’s next president. SMU’s Board of Trustees approved Hartzell’s hire Tuesday and he will become SMU’s next president effective June 1, 2025.

Following an extensive national search, the SMU Board of Trustees named Jay Hartzell the 11th SMU president, effective June 1, 2025.

The Southern Methodist University Board of Trustees is expected to approve Jay Hartzell’s hiring Tuesday morning.

The University of Texas will now begin a search for a new president. On Tuesday, university president Jay Hartzell announced that he would be stepping down fro

Hartzell leaves UT-Austin after four years of tense political battles and legislative efforts to implement a more conservative vision of public higher ed.

University of Texas President Jay Hartzell is leaving UT to become the next president of Southern Methodist University, the private university announced Tuesday.