University of Texas Austin President Jay Hartzell is leaving his position to become the next president of Southern Methodist University. He begin that position on June 1.

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

Hartzell became president at UT-Austin in 2020. In 2022, he launched a 10-year strategic plan to make it the world's highest-impact public research university. Starting this summe