Interims Named Sole Finalists To Head Up U. Of Texas System, UT-Austin

The University of Texas System Board of Regents has named John M. Zerwas as the sole finalist for the chancellorship of the University of Texas System and James E. Davis as the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Texas at Austin.

Zerwas and Davis currently are serving in those two roles as interim leaders. Each man received unanimous support to be the sole finalists for their respective positions by the regents at a meeting on Monday.

John M. Zervas as UT System Chancellor

Zerwas, a physician by training, had been the UT System’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, joining the university in that capacity in October 2019. In that position, he oversaw the five UT System health institutions. He was named the UT System’s chancellor ad interim, following the departure of J.B. Milliken in May to become president of the University of California.

Prior to joining the UT System, Zervas served seven legislative terms in the Texas House of Representatives, including eleven years on the House Appropriations Committee, (three as Chairman) and six as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. He was also a prior Chair of the House Committee on Higher Education in Texas.

In a news release, UT Board of Regents’ Chairman Kevin P. Eltife praised Zerwas for “an impeccable record in higher education, healthcare, and policy.” “The regents and all UT presidents respect Dr. Zerwas and trust his sound judgment and thoughtful leadership,” added Eltife.

The board will consider final action to approve Zerwas as chancellor at its mid-August Board of Regents meeting in Austin, after the state’s mandated 21-day period for finalists elapses.

Zerwas said he was “humbled and honored to be considered as chancellor of the UT System, and I am profoundly grateful to Chairman Eltife and each regent for conveying their trust in me,” adding that he was eager to work “in this new capacity to maximize UT’s fullest potential in education, discovery, and healthcare.”

Jim Davis as UT Austin President

Jim Davis has been serving as the Interim President of The University of Texas at Austin, replacing former president Jay Hartzell, who announced in January that he was leaving the university to become the president of Southern Methodist University.

Prior to being named interim president, Davis was UT Austin’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Legal Affairs and Business Strategies.

After completing his BA in history from UT Austin, Davis, whose father was a professor at the university, earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Texas. He practiced law as a partner in the Austin office of Locke Lord and later served as a Texas Deputy Attorney General, under Texas AG Ken Paxton.

Eltife praised Davis’s leadership, noting that the regents had worked directly with him “over the past seven years on some of the largest and most transformational and complex initiatives ever undertaken by UT Austin. His understanding of almost every facet of UT Austin’s opportunities and challenges is remarkable, and his versatility in being able to navigate them, all the way from conception to successful execution, has served UT very well.”

The board’s final action to approve Davis is also subject to the 21-day waiting period. According to the regents’ announcement, Eltife will appoint a committee composed of faculty, staff, student, alumni and community representatives, along with two UT presidents. That committee will then offer the regents advice and an evaluation on Davis, consistent with a review that would usually be provided by a presidential search advisory committee.

Texas higher education has seen its share of political intrigue and shake-ups in university leadership recently. Earlier this year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 37 into law. That statute, strongly supported by conservative legislators in the state, significantly strengthens the power of university governing boards and central administrators in a number of areas, including the hiring of university personnel.

Although that law does not go into effect until September 1, it appears the regents are honoring its spirit already, bypassing the traditional search process and turning to men well-known in Texas Republican circles for two of the state’s most powerful higher education jobs.