UT System Chancellor J.B. Milliken leaving for top job at University of California; new head named
University of Texas System Chancellor J.B. Milliken is stepping down at the end of this month to lead the University of California, the West Coast institution's Board of Regents announced Friday afternoon.
Milliken, who has served as the UT System's chancellor since 2018, will be succeeded by John Zerwas, a physician who serves as the system's executive vice chancellor for health affairs and is a former seven-term state representative, UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife announced Friday.
"As a top UT System executive, Dr. Zerwas has worked with regents over the five past years on initiatives that not only are strengthening the capabilities of the system's vast health enterprise but also implementing new partnerships between UT's academic universities and health institutions to broaden educational, research, clinical, and operational opportunities across the entire board," Eltife said in a news release. "We continue to have the benefit of Dr. Zerwas' long and distinguished service in the Texas Legislature as a higher education advocate and budget expert. It has served our UT institutions well."
During his tenure in the Texas Legislature, Zerwas, who will become the UT System's acting chancellor beginning June 1, served as chairman of the House Appropriations and Higher Education Committees as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.
Milliken is set to become president of the University of California on Aug. 1 and will earn a board-approved annual salary of $1.475 million. He will succeed President Michael V. Drake, who has served as the institution's leader since 2020 and announced he will step down in July 2025.
'The University of California is universally regarded as the preeminent public research university in the world, and I am deeply honored to have an opportunity to join the many talented faculty, staff, and campus leaders in their vital work. It is more important than ever that we expand the education, research, health care, and public service for which UC is so widely admired and which has benefited so many Californians,' Milliken said in a University of California news release.
Milliken's departure leaves another leadership position open in the UT System. The University of Texas at Austin alone has had eight major leadership changes from January 2024 to January 2025.
'Chancellor Milliken's strong track record of collaborative leadership, his ability to listen, and his talent for building consensus serve him well as we enter a time of great change in higher education,' said Steven W. Cheung, M.D., chair of the Faculty Academic Senate. 'In Milliken, we have found a highly respected leader who shares our highest aspirations for UC. I am confident that he will build on the University's tradition of academic excellence, shared governance, indomitable resilience, and exceptional talent to ensure its continued positive impact on society and the world.'
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: University of Texas System Chancellor J.B. Milliken leaving to lead UC
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