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Wow!

this is a massive hire. Hartzell coming over from Texas.

BOOM!

I hear he's universally revered as a university president, who's also an athletics-friendly mega fundraiser.

He is a very very solid President. Very well respected and cares greatly about athletics. I'm in shock they were able to lure him away from Texas. Unreal

Jay Hartzell from UT.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/educati ... xt-leader/

Talking to a friend who is deeply invested in UT and UT athletics. He says:

• This is a "home-run hire" by SMU — "you guys are serious about changing your national profile." There are big donors who will come out of the woodwork, and corporate donors SMU has never had before.
• Apparently some UT heavy hitters are "very disappointed" that SMU swiped Hartzell
• Former head of UT's McCombs School of Business
• "Herculean" fundraiser
• Firmly believes that big-time athletics make a university better across the board (had a significant role in hiring Steve Sarkisian)
• Will prioritize boosting SMU's visibility in Dallas. Didn't have to do that with Austin in UT, but apparently included "how does this look to Austin" in lots of conversations.
• Will be visible — will be out on campus, at events, in media, etc.

From dallasnews.com (no paywall, at least for now):

UT President Jay Hartzell stepping down to be SMU’s next leader
University of Texas President Jay Hartzell will leave Austin for Dallas, swapping leadership of a major public institution for a private one.
By Talia Richman and Marcela Rodrigues
Staff Writers

SMU is hiring University of Texas President Jay Hartzell as its next leader, a major shakeup in higher education that will open a vacuum at one of the state’s most influential public institutions.

The Southern Methodist University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name Hartzell its next president, university officials announced Tuesday morning. He will take over June 1.

“I am honored to serve as the next president of an exceptional institution like SMU in one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing cities in the nation, and excited to see how I can make the greatest impact as a leader,” Hartzell said in a statement.

SMU’s longtime president R. Gerald Turner said in August he was stepping down after 30 years, a tenure during which he restored the university’s football program with a membership to the Atlantic Coast Conference and secured the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

Hartzell’s decision to leave UT and its nearly 54,000 students for SMU is a coup for the private campus of roughly 12,000 students. UT is celebrated as the state’s flagship, offering a range of prestigious academic programs, including engineering and computer science. SMU is sought after for its business school and entrepreneurship programs.

SMU trustees praised Hartzell’s commitment to diverse academic disciplines and intercollegiate athletics, as well as his deep understanding of the role universities play in boosting the economy.

Throughout more than four years at the helm in Austin, Hartzell oversaw growth in graduation rates, research dollars and philanthropy.

“With Dr. Hartzell taking the reins, I am confident that SMU will continue building on a generation of remarkable success,” Turner said in a statement. He will transition this summer to the role of president emeritus.

To read this article in its entirety, CLICK HERE.

He also is credited with helping Texas escape the Big 12 and fast-tracking the school's inclusion in the SEC, all while being raked over the coals by Texas lawmakers.

Dallas News headline reads "...Stepping Down..."
I'd prefer "Stepping Up"

Since joining the ACC, SMU continues to be very aggressive in all phases of its mission, including academics, athletics, fund raising, and building on its national reputation.

Our Board of Trustees is to be commended on its major hire and coup. To paraphrase the late Daniel Burnham, the American architect and urban planner who envisioned the future design of Chicago and its magnificent lakefront ...

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized."

SMU will emerge with greater visibility, resources, and desirability to be associated with for future faculty, students, business leaders, and researchers.

Pony Up!

The current Board of Directors has hit another home run.
SMU is not afraid to show itself and be bold. Dallas bold.
Business
Opportunities
Live in
Dallas.
It is a great time to be a Mustang!

I also like that he supports UT's mission or economic opportunity. Pushing towards need blind admissions would be a highly advantageous move for SMU. I don't think Wake Forest, Tulane or Miami are need blind.

Not possible to raise the overall academic profile of the University
without proping up Engineering and the hard Sciences. No AAU status
otherwise. Hope this guy realizes the necessity.

tristatecoog wrote:I also like that he supports UT's mission or economic opportunity. Pushing towards need blind admissions would be a highly advantageous move for SMU. I don't think Wake Forest, Tulane or Miami are need blind.

Very important SMU accomplishes this in the near future.

Question:

To achieve AAU status, do we need a Medical School or something comparable?

A medical school is highly advantageous. MIT, Notre Dame and Princeton do not. Maybe other AAUs.

I believe Hartzell knows the power of engineering, STEM and business as well as the tenet of economic opportunity within a slowly growing student body.