Life is Full of Ironies: University of Texas president Jay Hartzell departing for SMU

Friends:


Life is full of ironies. Fortunate for President Jay Hartzell, he will, in effect, not only be shielded from anti-DEI politics in his new role as Southern Methodist University (SMU) President, but he will be a supporter of the university's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. From SMU's website:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At SMU, we strive to embrace diversity in its multiplicity. By thoughtfully combining ground-up initiatives with robust governance, we continuously seek to promote an inclusive community, where all individuals, regardless of who they are, can pursue excellence on their own terms. Through close consultation with students and employees, we have developed a range of policies, processes and facilities to promote equitable and inclusive practices on our campus.

Belonging

SMU is a place for study, work and belonging. Through various programmes and initiatives, we are nurturing an inclusive culture, where our employees and students feel valued for who they are and excited about who they can become and what they can achieve with us. 

This is great for SMU that based on this page to its DEI office, there is a public-facing expression of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, it is not so great for UT and other public institutions (e.g., see my Texas Observer article posted to this blog). This includes the Dallas area in places like the University of North Texas (UNT) Denton that is currently under attack, having to still deal with the wreckage that anti-DEI legislation (Senate Bill 17) has wrought. 

All of this shows, among other things, how a vote of no confidence by a university's faculty—atop protests, opinion pieces, press coverage, advocacy, testifying in committee, writing policy briefs, etc.—matters.

As faculty, we must now insist on a national search to replace him so that we can recover some of our voice and standing as faculty by being part of the process.

I further recommend that we advocate for the passage this next legislative session of two bills. 

First, is Texas State Representative John Bucy's Senate-Bill-17-repeal bill, House Bill 393, which, if passed, will eliminate all language in Texas' code (Section 51.3525) that eliminates diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, initiatives, so-called "loyalty oaths," and DEI contractors. Whether more can be done to protect DEI once re-established is an open question.

Second, let's lend our support to Texas State Representative Christina Morales' Ethnic Studies House Bill 178 (HB 178). She has been a consistent champion for Ethnic Studies at the legislature.

I sincerely wish President Hartzell well at SMU and hope that he can now use his leverage in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in our state. Contrary to SB 17, I would most certainly hope that he resoundingly disagrees with the false justification for anti-DEI legislation that it's "polarizing and work[s] against the goal of inclusion," using SMU as an example.

If it works for SMU, it can work well for UT-Austin and Texas universities statewide.

-Angela Valenzuela

University of Texas president Jay Hartzell departing for SMU

Illustration: Axios Visuals

University of Texas president Jay Hartzell announced Tuesday that he's leaving to helm Southern Methodist University in Dallas at the end of the semester.

Why it matters: Hartzell, who became president in April 2020, will be a lame duck just as the state's flagship university will play defense at the Texas Legislature.

• Expanding on the 2023 law to outlaw diversity initiatives on campus, Texas lawmakers are now threatening to stamp out what they call "DEI-related curriculum."
• Meanwhile, UT named its new provost — essentially the second-in-command — only days ago, leaving the leadership team in flux.

What they're saying: "When students ask for advice, I typically respond thematically: Follow your passions, take some chances, stretch outside your comfort zone, and think of how you would like to make an impact," Hartzell wrote in his announcement.

• "Today, I am writing to let you know that I am following my own advice," he wrote.

Follow the money: Hartzell is likely to get a pay bump.

• Hartzell's salary is roughly $1.4 million. As of 2016, per the most recent data available, SMU's president made at least $3.3 million.

Between the lines: Hartzell was blamed by some faculty and students for the arrests of at least 130 people on campus after he partnered with state and local police to quell pro-Palestinian protests last spring.

• An April letter signed by hundreds of faculty members accused Hartzell of having "needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger" by calling police to campus, adding that he "has violated our trust."
• The letter also said Hartzell "capitulated to political pressure" in shutting down a university division related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the wake of that 2023 law.

Yes, but: Hartzell had appeared to weather the polarizing year with the support of the UT System Board of Regents and Texas Republicans.

• Under Hartzell's stewardship, UT embarked on an effort to build institutes and centers that cater to conservatives.

Flashback: He faced other crises in his tenure.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, some university staff argued he should be doing more to protect them by establishing stricter testing and masking protocols. On Tuesday, he pointed to the way he navigated COVID as a highlight of his presidency.
• In 2020, in the wake of social unrest following the murder of George Floyd, Hartzell announced that "The Eyes of Texas" would remain the school song, despite its racist origins. The issue pitted wealthy donors against upset students.

The other side: During his tenure, UT achieved record highs in applications, enrollment, graduation rates, research expenditures and donations.

• He also oversaw a partnership that will bring an MD Anderson Cancer Center hospital to Austin; expanded student housing options; undertook the construction of two new academic buildings; and kicked off a renovation of the UT Tower.

What's next: Hartzell, who has served on the Texas faculty since 2001 and previously served as dean of UT's business school, starts his new job June 1.

• "I am honored to serve as the next president of an exceptional institution like SMU in one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing cities in the nation, and excited to see how I can make the greatest impact as a leader," Hartzell said in a statement.

The bottom line: He's going from a world-class research institution of nearly 54,000 students to a private school of roughly 12,000 students — but he will be insulated from the politics that follow around the leader of a school like UT.

Ok, so were UT cuts more aimed at gaining politicians' trust more than SB17 compliance? That's what's suggested here. As expressed by Jennifer Ebbeler, I, too, am concerned of an endless dynamic of appeasing the legislature. What comes next? I hate to ask.

-Angela Valenzuela

UT-Austin program cuts come with attempts to regain politicians' trust after DEI law, president says

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 22: Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on February 22,

2024 in Austin, Texas. President Joe Biden has announced another $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness,

adding to a total of $138 billion forgiven. That announcement comes despite a Supreme Court Ruling that

blocked relief for student loan debt last June. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

April 15, 2024

Samantha Ketterer | Houston Chronicle

A University of Texas at Austin shakeup that led to the layoffs of 49 employees — many of whom were previously reassigned from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion positions — was partly driven by a desire to protect the long-term outlook of the institution as conservatives have increasingly lost trust in higher education, President Jay Hartzell told faculty Monday.  

Hartzell’s statements at a meeting of university’s Faculty Council became the most detailed explanation provided since UT-Austin shuttered a rebranded version of its diversity office and advocates sounded the alarm about the consequently closed programs and job losses. 

Read more: Lawmaker behind Texas DEI ban expects universities to still strive for 'diverse outcomes'

The decisions were not made to comply further with Senate Bill 17, which bans diversity hiring programs, DEI training and DEI offices in public higher education, Hartzell said. He believed that the university came into compliance with the bill by its Jan. 1 deadline — although a number of complaints have made clear that some people think otherwise, he said — but he decided to close some programs in the rebranded office as an effort to eliminate job redundancies. Another factor was a recognition that UT as a flagship is subject to more scrutiny than other Texas institutions and needed to prove to lawmakers that it is a good steward of state resources. 

“Ultimately, my role is to worry about the long-run future of the university — thinking about not only what had to happen by Jan. 1 but as this plays out over the coming months and years, how am I doing what I can to mitigate what I believe and many others believe are real and imminent risks?” Hartzell said.

“Those are risks,” he said, “that if left unchecked, could affect the very basic way we run the university.”

SB17 led to major changes at universities across the state, with UT-Austin among several that reorganized its diversity offices to toss a focus on minority populations and serve all students. The announcement earlier this month to close the rebranded Division of Campus and Community Engagement and relocate some of its programs then came as a surprise — as did the following revelations about the firings and some program closures, including the Women’s Community Center.

Hartzell clarified Monday that several factors led to the program closures. In addition to the changing climate surrounding a mistrust of higher education, the original adjustments stemming from SB17 caused some redundancies across the university as programs became more general, the president said. 

Administrators looked for programs overlapping with others at UT and opted to discontinue those programs, he said. The result was a smaller division with more autonomous programs that could be moved elsewhere.

In all, 49 positions were eliminated and eight associate or assistant deans will be returned to their full faculty positions, Hartzell said. Those who were fired will be paid through July 5 but will also receive special consideration for any open positions for which they’re qualified. The president took responsibility for the decision, which he made in consultation with his leadership team, he said.

“That is something that we clearly don’t take lightly,” Hartzell said. “I hate that it affected people. It’s something our whole leadership team worked on and fretted over.”

The changes this month came as many students and faculty in the UT community already feared overcompliance with the law.

Hartzell pointed Monday to several signals of high levels of scrutiny. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican and the author of the ban, had warned state university officials that simply renaming DEI offices and job titles was not enough to comply with SB17. Hearings will occur in May where high-ranking officials in the state’s university systems will explain how they have implemented the law. And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick last week issued a charge for the continued monitoring of the ban.  

The state will conduct an audit every four years to ensure universities' compliance, carrying ramifications on state funding for those in violation, said Andrea Sheridan, deputy to the president for governmental affairs and initiatives. 

Some people have been “spending their days” looking for ways the university has not been in compliance, Hartzell added. There have been some honest mistakes, he said, and some where those filing the complaints got it wrong. 

“I’m sure it’s not over,” Hartzell said.

HIGHER ED: UT-Austin firings anger students, advocates as lawmakers call for enforcement of DEI ban

Changes to the public perception of higher education have changed starkly in recent years. About 50% of people self-identifying as Democrats say in public surveys that they trust the field, and fewer than 20% of people self-identifying as Republicans say the same, the university president said, citing data shared at an Association of American Universities conference. 

The UT System Board of Regents has also instructed the university of its desire for UT-Austin to act in ways that restores and raises public confidence in the institution, Hartzell said.

“We’re all working on trying to help people understand how great we are, but we’re in a setting where there’s a lot of concern about higher education, the role that we play in society,” he said.

One associate professor expressed relief that the changes to the community engagement division didn’t stem from compliance to SB17. But the overarching issues are still problematic, especially if they ever lead to attacks on what faculty members can teach, she said.

“It’s deeply concerning however to hear that they do relate to concerns about the long-term stability of the university and particularly the support of our Legislature for what we do on campus,” Jennifer Ebbeler said. “It seems like there’s a potential for a dynamic here in which we are continually trying to appease the Legislature.”

Hartzell answered that he’s an optimist, although he understands the worry that universities are a “moving target.”

“Part of what we do, people don’t fully understand,” he said. “What’s all on the top research universities as a community is to help the country see why we’re here.”

April 15, 2024

Samantha Ketterer

REPORTER Samantha Ketterer is a Houston Chronicle reporter covering higher education. She can be reached at samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com