Former UT Austin President Jay Hartzell reflected on successes and setbacks he experienced during his tenure in an exit interview at the LBJ School of Public Affairs Monday. The conversation was conducted by Evan Smith, LBJ School professor and Texas Tribune co-founder.
Hartzell, who served as president from mid-2020 through February, initially announced in January he would step down from his post at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year to serve as the next president of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
“This opportunity is going to be fun,” Hartzell said. “It aligns more with what in the long run I’ll be happier doing.”
But Hartzell’s term was cut short in February when it was announced Jim Davis, previously the University’s Chief Operating Officer, would replace him as interim president. Hartzell has since returned to a faculty position with the university.
Hartzell acknowledged mistakes his administration made during his presidency, including the pro-Palestinian protests that occurred last April and lead to the arrest of over 100.
Hartzell said he could have done a better job communicating with faculty during the protests, after which over 600 faculty members signed a letter of no confidence in Hartzell, stating the then-president put students in danger during a peaceful sit-in.
Hartzell added he felt his administration dealt with these protests better compared to how similar events were handled at Columbia University and the University of California-Los Angeles.
Following these protests, UT was ranked among the worst colleges in the nation in regards to how it protects free speech. Hartzell said that he does not feel rankings like this are fair to the university, but did not expand on why.
“There are people who thought our approach to the protests was very anti (free) speech or academic freedom,” Hartzell siad. “I’ve been trying to encourage more speech on campus because we’re not perceived as a good free speech campus.”
He said the university has since made efforts to improve its standing in regards to freedom of speech, such as driving more attention to free speech week in the fall.
Hartzell added he is proud of the record number of applications the university has seen over his five-year tenure. The university received over 90,000 freshman admissions applications for the fall 2025 term, up nearly 18,000 from previous years.
He also pointed to the record high amounts of funding invested into research and philanthropy while he was president.
“We are in many ways leaning into and benefiting Austin and Texas, arguably as much or more than ever,” Hartzell said.
When asked about his compliance towards the direction of the state legislature, Hartzell maintained that he did what was best for the university.
He specifically mentioned his compliance in ending UT’s mask mandates in mid-2021, as well as with Texas’ Senate Bill 17, which banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public universities.
“They wanted me to go self-immolate, and say, I’m going to have a mask order and then get fired the next day and they would find another president,” Hartzell said. “In the long-run interest of the university, I have to follow SB 17. It became clear that we really had to take a hard look at what was left and eliminate some programs and some jobs for the long-run efficiency of the university.”
Hartzell said regardless of how the UT community perceives him, he hopes they can separate his actions as a university official from him as a person.
“I got praise I probably didn’t deserve. I (also) got yelled at and my garage painted,” Hartzell said. “I don’t think I deserved that as a person either, but it’s my job.”
