Mills Ending Term as Dean in 2026

Award-winning educator and top-ranked scholar to return to faculty after a one-year sabbatical

Dean Lillian Mills, who has led the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin since 2020, will conclude her six-year term as dean at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. She will take a sabbatical for the 2026-27 academic year and then return to teach and do research in the Department of Accounting.

  “Leading this exceptional community of 700 faculty and staff members and 7,000 students has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Mills said at the school’s annual faculty and staff retreat on Aug. 14 when she announced her decision. “Through every challenge, we’ve built something remarkable together: a culture of respect, collaboration, and gratitude.”

A national search for a new dean, led by UT Austin Executive Vice President and Provost William Imboden, will launch this fall. During the search, day-to-day operations will remain uninterrupted. Decisions with significant long-term implications will be made in consultation with the provost’s office to ensure continuity.

An award-winning educator, top-ranked scholar, and former chair of the Department of Accounting, Mills became dean at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully steered the school through the transition to online learning and back. At the same time, she guided growth in programming innovations, enrollment, facilities, fundraising, and national reputation.

“Some deans pace themselves for the long term, but I preferred sprinting at full speed,” Mills said.

Highlights of her tenure include:

• World-class faculty and research: Faculty members earned No. 10 global research ranking from the Financial Times and pushed forward on crucial areas such as AI, entrepreneurship, sports analytics, and sustainability.

• Top-tier programs: McCombs is continually ranked as one of the premier U.S. business schools, with more top 10 undergraduate business specialties than any other school in the U.S. Graduate and undergraduate accounting programs have held No. 1 rankings for nearly two decades.

• Record-breaking fundraising: With Mills, it has eclipsed all McCombs records. She has raised money to endow critical facilities, scholarships, and programs, securing naming gifts for the Rosenthal Department of Management, the Hildebrand MBA program, the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Langston Wealth Management Center. McCombs’ What Starts Here campaign has surpassed its $575 million goal, raising nearly $660 million by August 2025.

• Mulva Hall: The $425 million, 17-story future hub for McCombs’ undergraduate community, faculty offices, and research centers is scheduled to open in 2028.

• Aesthetic vision: Mills has championed creating visually rich learning spaces and fostering community spirit. Thanks to the generosity of Barbara and Alan Dreeben, newly commissioned art will grace Mulva Hall as part of UT’s Landmarks program, while art installations will enhance Rowling Hall through the vision of Carolyn and Preston Butcher.

In an email to faculty, staff, students, and alumni announcing her decision, Mills highlighted cooperation and collaboration as distinct Longhorn strengths that she has worked hard to bolster as dean. She pointed to a study group formed this year by students competing for prestigious Morgan Stanley internships. The students worked together to prepare, realizing that they were stronger together than apart. The result was extraordinary: Ten of the 12 received and accepted Morgan Stanley offers, while the remaining two secured other prestigious positions — a success that showcased their collaborative approach.

“That is the Texas McCombs spirit,” Mills said. “We believe that by lifting each other up, we do not just succeed individually; we change the world for the better.”