Fall / Winter 2025 | Texas Leader

What makes this role exciting for you?
The University of Texas at Austin has a special ability to change lives. It has certainly changed mine. I am the son of Longhorns, my wife, Teresa, and I are alumni, and we are the proud parents of a staff member and a current student. Being part of this campus and serving our University for the past seven years in different capacities has been my greatest professional joy. I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to do more in this new role to help UT Austin continue to change lives.

What are you most looking forward to achieving in this role?
We can be the most impactful university of any kind. We will lead the way in discovering the frontiers of science and technology while at the same time honing wisdom, judgment and discernment through arts and humanities. We will transform health through a patient-centered and technology-enabled hospital of the future at the UT Medical Center alongside the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center. And we will carry on the traditions of excellence that create the best student experiences at UT Austin. We are at a moment in time where UT Austin is poised to be its very best.

This issue of Texas Leader emphasizes UT’s global impact and international study abroad opportunities for our students. Why are these efforts important, both on campus and beyond?
Like me, the vast majority of our students are Texans. When they study abroad, they learn more about the world, and the world learns more about us. I lived abroad in Scotland while serving in the U.S. Navy and I studied abroad in Guanajuato, Mexico while I was an undergrad. Some jokingly say I studied abroad for law school when I attended Harvard.

Those times abroad, when we experience different cultures and languages, open our minds to new perspectives. Later sharing that experience with others back home makes our campus and classrooms more interesting and enlightening. More personally, spending some time in another country builds a sense of independence, adventure and discovery that enhances our lives long after graduation. Plus, when we go abroad as students or alumni, we reflect the power and impact of a UT education. No matter where we are in the world, Longhorns know how to make an impression.

The University of Texas at Austin
Ed and Carolyn Hyman Presidential Leadership Chair