UT System names Jim Davis as UT-Austin’s interim president

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In a surprise move Wednesday, the University of Texas System’s leadership has named Jim Davis, the University of Texas at Austin’s chief operating officer, as the interim president of the flagship university.

Davis will begin serving in the new role immediately. The move ended UT-Austin president Jay Hartzell’s tenure a few months earlier than originally anticipated.

Hartzell had said he planned to leave the university at the end of the academic year to become the next president of Southern Methodist University, a smaller, prestigious private research university in Dallas. In a letter to the campus community, Hartzell said he would help with the transition and return to the faculty until May 31.

“Jim has been a fantastic strategic partner and counselor, and a key part of our leadership team since before I became President,” Hartzell wrote. “Given his history as the son of a UT professor, a graduate of UT, and now a senior executive, it is no surprise that he approaches all decisions with the best interests of the University in mind.”

Chancellor James Milliken said at a board of regents meeting Wednesday afternoon that he was impressed with Davis' ability to “understand the most complex issues and pursue innovative solutions.”

“My colleagues and I have been working closely with him on some of the biggest issues facing the university for years and we look forward to, as the chairman suggested, making significant progress during his interim presidency,” Milliken said. The chancellor has the authority to name an interim president.

Davis, who does not have any teaching experience, has been a fixture in the university since 2018 when former UT-Austin President Greg Fenves hired him as vice president of legal affairs.

“I am grateful for the leadership and support of Chairman Eltife, the Board of Regents and Chancellor Milliken, and I am honored by this opportunity to further serve our university,” Davis said in a press release announcing the change. After the board meeting, Davis declined to comment to the media and a communications staffer said he had previous engagements to attend.

Hartzell promoted Davis to senior vice president and chief operating officer in 2023, expanding Davis’ authority in the president’s office. In that role, he oversaw campus operations and services, university housing and dining and UT-Austin’s business strategies in areas like real estate and intellectual property.

Hartzell said at the time that Davis led the legal work to develop the Moody Center, an arena that hosts concerts, basketball games and other events; the Innovation Tower, an 14-story office building for startups and established companies that want to collaborate with the university; and UT-Austin’s entry into the Southeastern Conference.

“This board also wants to take this opportunity and time with interim President Davis to address large scale issues like infrastructure and deferred maintenance in the demands and enhancement of operational financial efficiencies so that we can make sure that all dollars spent are going to support our students and our faculty,” said Board Chair Kevin Eltife as the board announced the change.

Pauline Strong, president of the American Association of University Professors' UT-Austin chapter, said that the school's faculty hope for a collaborative relationship with Davis and “will be extremely interested in his views on current challenges to higher education in the areas of research funding, academic freedom, shared governance, and tenure.”

Prior to joining the university, Davis worked as a deputy attorney general for civil litigation under Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly four years.

He long has had ties to the Forty Acres. He is a UT-Austin graduate, and his father, Robert Davis, is a former chair of the radio, television and film department.

Davis attended Harvard Law School. His first job after law school was as a briefing attorney for former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when he served on the Texas Supreme Court. Then, he worked in private practice for 14 years at the Locke Lord law firm. Before attending UT-Austin, Davis served in the U.S. Navy for four years as a cryptologist stationed in Scotland.

In a 2023 letter, Davis expressed support for the university's response to domestic violence charges against then-basketball coach Chris Beard. The charges were ultimately dropped but Beard was still fired. Davis said athletic director Chris Del Conte “exercised thoughtful restraint to allow time for additional material facts to emerge” before acting.

“It is a mistake to view a manager’s support for an employee as a statement of belief in criminal guilt or innocence,” Davis wrote. “It is his actual behavior that we consider, not whether some acts also constitute a crime. Whether or not the District Attorney ultimately charges Mr. Beard is not determinative of whether he engaged in conduct unbecoming a head coach at our university.”

It’s unclear if the UT System plans to conduct a national search for a permanent president. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the board of regents appointed Hartzell, then dean of the McCombs Business School, as interim president when Fenves left to lead Emory University in Atlanta in 2020. Hartzell was named permanent president a few months later.

At the time, the board of regents named Hartzell as permanent president without a national search by invoking a system rule that allows for an alternative presidential selection process.

Hartzell’s tenure was marred with tense political battles on campus and colored by Texas lawmakers’ efforts to implement a more conservative vision of public higher education. During Hartzell’s time as president, conservative lawmakers passed a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion offices; attempted to end faculty tenure and limit what can be taught in college classrooms; and railed against “woke” faculty whom they believe are trying to indoctrinate students.

Under Hartzell, UT-Austin became more academically selective. Last year, the school limited automatic admission to only those Texas high school students who graduate in the top 5% of their class. All other public universities in the state automatically accept Texas high school students in the top 10% of their class.

The four-year graduation rate increased to nearly 75% last year. This fall, the university had the second-largest freshman class ever with a total student body of more than 53,000. Under Hartzell’s leadership, the university has tried to increase affordable housing for students, including graduate students who often have fewer campus-run housing options. The school also raised $1 billion to support students, part of a massive $6 billion campaign. He also oversaw the university and system effort to get UT-Austin into the Southeastern Conference.

Hartzell's salary as president was around $1.4 million annually. The UT system could not immediately confirm what Davis' salary will be as interim president.

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