University of Texas Austin President Jay Hartzell is leaving his position to become the next president of Southern Methodist University. He begin that position on June 1.

Hartzell became president at UT-Austin in 2020. In 2022, he launched a 10-year strategic plan to make it the world's highest-impact public research university. Starting this summe

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