UT President Jay Hartzell discussed the university’s upcoming year of energy, the acquisition of “elite talent” and the university’s approach to student success during the fifth annual State of the University Address Wednesday.
“We are in a special moment in time,” Hartzell said. “It’s a great time to be a Longhorn. … I get it’s always a great time. This is an even better than great time.”
Hartzell took to the Hogg Memorial Auditorium stage for his nearly hour-long speech. He was introduced by UT Faculty Council Chair Stella Flores who discussed his time as a professor and praised his roles as an advocate for student success and as an “economic innovation president.”
Hartzell announced that 2025 would be UT’s “Year of Energy” following 2024 being the “Year of AI.” The designation is meant to encourage inter-departmental collaboration across schools and disciplines. The “Year of Energy” is meant to focus on UT’s ability to lead solutions addressing the need for cleaner energy at a cheaper price point, which Hartzell said is a central concern for Texans.
“I would argue there’s no university in a better position to address that set of problems as UT,” Hartzell said. “I think of us as the energy university. I’m not sure the rest of the world always gets that, so I think we can do more to tell that story.”
Hartzell said a new position is being created to coordinate and identify gaps in the vast amount of programs UT offers its students and to make these programs more accessible to students. The position will be held by current John Brumley Venture Labs Director and McCombs School of Business associate professor Mellie Price.
“One of the great things about a broad and diverse decentralized campus is innovation happens, but one of the hard things about that is students often struggle with how to find it all,” Hartzell said.
He also discussed the university’s efforts to improve students’ experience and well-being outside the classroom. These initiatives included the expansion of housing options through new construction, improving safety through programs like the West Campus Ambassadors and an added emphasis on mental health support.
The university has also made progress in keeping tuition costs low for students, Hartzell said. He cited initiatives such as UT for Me and the Forty Acres Scholars Program that he said have helped decrease net tuition prices.
“We also have to worry about things that I would characterize as our foundational needs,” Hartzell said. “What are the basic things that we must provide for our students, for them to be successful?”
Hartzell briefly touched on Texas’ growing demand, citing Monday’s announcement that the automatic admission rate for Texas residents would be lowered from the top 6% to the top 5%. He compared the growth of Texas high schools in the past five years, which he said was 6.3%, to the growth of UT automatic admission applications in the same amount of time, which he said grew 11.3%.
“It’s not just that Texas is growing, which it is, but more and more of those very top students want to be here, and that’s a great problem to face,” Hartzell said. “It’s a problem that we now are wrestling with, but it’s part of the story of our student body and the interest that they take in wanting to be here.”
Hartzell looked to the future, continually referencing his intent to recruit elite faculty and staff to the university.
“I want to focus on the goal of attracting more elite talent,” Hartzell said. “That, I think, needs to be a continued priority.”
