Rising to the Challenge

The former dean and McCombs alum is UT Austin’s new president

Jay Hartzell, who spent nearly half of his life at the McCombs School of Business, was named the university’s 30th president in September during a time of unprecedented challenges. Hartzell is only the second McCombs dean to become UT Austin president.

“In a year that has brought us a pandemic and a host of other issues, I believe we have something to be excited about — that Jay Hartzell, a lifelong Longhorn and a world-class academic scholar, will be leading the Forty Acres,” said Kevin Eltife, BBA ’81, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents.

Kansas-born and Oklahoma-raised, Hartzell in 1998 received a McCombs Ph.D. in finance. He then joined the faculty of New York University’s Stern School of Business before returning to McCombs in 2001. He held various leadership jobs, including leading the Real Estate Finance and Investment Center.

Named dean in 2016, he helped establish the Master of Science in Finance degree, created the undergraduate real estate certificate program, introduced the Canfield Business Honors Program, created partnerships with other UT schools and colleges, and opened Robert B. Rowling Hall.

The day he was named president, Hartzell told the campus community, “We need to use this moment — however strange and unfamiliar — to seek new opportunities and start envisioning a future at UT that builds on our wonderful traditions and all the things that set us apart.”

This article appeared in the winter 2020 issue of McCombs magazine. Click on the link to see the full issue.