Jay Hartzell Confirmed As UT-Austin President

AUSTIN, TX — Jay Hartzell will be confirmed as the new president of the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, officials announced.

Hartzell has served as interim president since the June 30 departure of Gregory L. Fenves, who stepped down after accepting the president's role at Emory University in Atlanta.

"Today is obviously a special day for me," Hartzell, a UT-Austin alumnus, said in an afternoon media briefing via ZOOM. "As a Longhorng graduate who went away and came back, I never thought this day would come. It was never on my radar, but here we are. I'm happy to be in this seat."

During the presentation, Hartzell lauded the school's academic reputation, noting its geographical location in a city to which companies and new residents relocate at a brisk pace given its economic dynamics.

It's a destination city for talent," he said of the capital city. "People want to be here. Companies want to come and individuals want to come. Our students ourselves are fantastic. We're also known culturally as a good group to work with. For all those reasons, i think it's a great time to be a Longhorn."

Reporters took the time to ask Hartzell on pressing matters tied to the campus, from coronavirus to diversity to coronavirus.

Coronavirus

The school finds itself far from its stated goal of testing 5,000 UT-Austin community members for respiratory illness amid an ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus, Hartzell acknowledged. Consequently, ongoing efforts to amplify testing are ongoing across the campus, the newly named president said.

"We've been taling a lot of how we can ramp up our testing," he said. "We continue to go out and find ways and work largely with the student body to take advantage of our testing sites."In tandem to such outreach efforts, school officials have moved testing sites onto location on West Campus and dormitories to facilitate student testing, he said. "We are optimistic as we continue to make this push and efforts at understanding that those efforts will go up."

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Hartzell added that there are no plans to suspend students found to be non-compliant with guidelines issued by health officials — the wearing of protective face coverings, adherence to physical distancing suggestions, and the like. "I don't see us going down that path," he said. Instead, he said a focus will be placed on student outreach, while leavin it up to city officials to ensure compliance. "There are more positive way to approach this issue in our community."

Cultural diversity

One reporter asked about efforts to diversify the campus to correct historical inequities, and issue that has long been a concern but heightened over the summer amid current events affecting minorities, he suggested. "We feel learning outcomes are better if we bring students from a diverse background, skills, gender, you name it," Hartzell said. "That is a focus of ours, and something we continue to work on."

Related story: Four-Year Graduation Rate Tops 70 Percent At UT-Austin

Hartzell pointed to new data released this week showing record graduation levels among Black and Latino students as evidence of progress.

Football

University officials have worked to strike an equilibrium of offering in-person football games while practicing safety guidelines aimed at blunting the spread of illness. "We will continue to tweak and learn," Hartzell offered, referring to assessing acceptable capacity levels and efforts to heighten testing for the virus. "We may have to adjust," he added, offering no details.

Related story: 95 UT-Austin Students Test COVID-19 Positive After Football Game

School officials last week revealed nearly 100 students tested positive for the virus from among the 1,198 who attended the Sept. 12 football game against UT-El Paso.

State-mandated budget cuts

In May, the governor mandated across-the-board budget cuts of 5 percent at state-financed institutions. "That's one of the new joys of becoming the new, permanent president," Hartzell joked. In light of the call for reductions, Hartzell said efforts will be made to convey to legislators "...on what makes UT-Austin excellent" to understand the school's importance, he said.

Related story: Texas Directs State Agencies, Colleges To Slash Budgets

Calls for state-mandated cuts were made as a way to help emerge from economic stagnation spurred by the coronavirus. To that end, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen today sent a letter directing state agencies and institutions of higher education to each submit a plan identifying savings that will reduce respective general and general revenue related appropriations by 5 percent for the 2020-2021 biennium.

School fight song

Controversy recently arose over the "Eyes of Texas" school song given its past use in minstrel shows, another issue to which Hartzell responded. A campus group has sought to rewrite the lyrics rather than banish the song outright.

Related stories:

• UT-Austin Athletes Seek To Shed Minstrel-Era Fight Song
• UT-Austin Says It Will Keep 'Eyes Of Texas' As School Song

Hartzell spoke to the complexity of the issue exacerbating an easy solution, but telegraphed a potential fix could be unveiled next week. "This is not going to be easy in terms of immediacy," he said in referencing a possible workaround. "I hope to communicate with campus next week. My hope is to then talk about how the song can be unifying."

In wrapping up, Hartzell reiterated gratitude on his appointment: "It's a real honor to serve as the university's 30th president," Hartzell said to those participating in the ZOOM-faciliated conference. "Thanks again, and hook 'em."