As regents prepare to replace the top leader, faculty ask to be involved in the process and students say they hope a new leader will prioritize them.

The Southern Methodist University Board of Trustees is expected to approve Jay Hartzell’s hiring Tuesday morning.

Hartzell leaves UT-Austin after four years of tense political battles and legislative efforts to implement a more conservative vision of public higher ed.

DALLAS — University of Texas President Jay Hartzell will become SMU’s next president. SMU’s Board of Trustees approved Hartzell’s hire Tuesday and he will become SMU’s next president effective June 1, 2025.

Jay Hartzell didn’t set out to leave the University of Texas’ flagship campus for a smaller private college near downtown Dallas. But after SMU board members began aggressively recruiting him for their soon-to-be-vacant president job,

Following an extensive national search, the SMU Board of Trustees named Jay Hartzell the 11th SMU president, effective June 1, 2025.