UT names James Davis, senior vice president and former deputy AG, as interim president
The University of Texas board of regents on Wednesday named James Davis, UT's senior vice president and chief operating officer who previously served as a deputy attorney general under Ken Paxton, as the flagship university's interim president effectively immediately. Jay Hartzell, who has served as UT's president since 2020, announced in January he was leaving this summer to become Southern Methodist University's leader. Hartzell announced his departure months after 600 UT faculty members signed a letter of no confidence in him over the institution's handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus and the termination of dozens of former diversity, equity and inclusion staff members after the state enacted a DEI-ban in higher education.
Davis, who does not have experience teaching, according to his university biography, has a bachelor's degree from UT and a law degree from Harvard University.
As senior vice president, Davis oversees the teams that oversee real estate, housing, university infrastructure and business services. Student housing projects have increased in recent year — a hallmark of both Davis and Hartzell's work to increase campus accessibility and affordability.
He previously served as vice president of legal affairs and business strategies at UT until Hartzell promoted him in 2023. Before that, he worked as deputy attorney general for civil litigation under Attorney General Ken Paxton from 2015 to 2018. He also worked as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of a Texas and worked for 14 years in private practice.
UT has not had a president selected without a teaching history in 126 years, when William Lambdin Prather, who previously chaired the UT System Board after serving as city attorney in Waco and president of the state bar association, was named acting president in 1899 and the institution's third president in 1900. Prather is the only president in the institution's history who had never taught prior to taking the chief position and is known for popularizing the "Eyes of Texas are upon you" saying and promoting that "the university should serve the state," according to the American-Statesman's review of the 30 past presidents.
The interim appointment comes at a time the university is at its peak competitiveness, with its highest number of applicants this year, and has made enormous strides in research, athletics and school rankings, gaining national prominence.UT regents will form a national search committee with multiple university stakeholders, including faculty and students, to pick a permanent replacement, per system policy.This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: University of Texas names James Davis as interim president
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