Regents select UT chancellor
Veteran higher-education leader is sole finalist for post
AUSTIN — University of Texas System regents selected James B. Milliken, who recently resigned as chancellor of the City University of New York, as the lone finalist to lead the largest network of universities in the state, with more than 230,000 students.
Milliken, 61, led the CUNY system from 2014 until May and previously served as president of the University of Nebraska.
“The University of Texas System is clearly among the leading university systems in the country, and it has great potential to do even more to serve the needs and ambitions of Texas and the world,” Milliken said in a statement. “I am hon-
ored to be the finalist for the position of chancellor of this remarkable institution, and I would welcome the opportunity to play a lead role in advancing this system of outstanding universities in the 21st century.”
Early on, there was speculation that the regents were considering high-profile candidates including Rex Tillerson, President Donald Trump’s former secretary of state and former CEO of Exxon Mobil; and veteran educator Margaret Spellings, former secretary of education in President George W. Bush’s administration and current president of the University of North Carolina.
Instead, regents opted for a less publicly-known but experienced education administrator with national credentials.
Dealing with legislators
Milliken’s selection comes as the UT regents are trying to cultivate a strong relationship with the Texas Legislature. The system endured a strained relationship with lawmakers who criticized the former chancellor for spending money on initiatives not related to academics, including $215 million to buy land for a campus in Houston without a concrete plan for it.
“His experiences in higher education leadership are deep and broad, and he has very effectively guided university systems that have many of the characteristics and strategic aspirations embedded throughout UT’s academic and health institutions,” said Sara Martinez Tucker, chair of the regents board, in a statement.
Milliken was not made available for comment Saturday. He and “a few” other candidates met with the UT regents Saturday morning in Austin, according to Randa Safady, a spokeswoman for the UT system, but she would not release their names or say how many were interviewed.
Milliken was not present when the board voted to name him as the lone finalist.
In the months leading up to Saturday’s announcement, there was some talk that the regents were considering Tillerson and Spellings, two people with deep ties to Texas and with political experience. There was also speculation that energy executive James Hackett of Houston was in consideration. But those names were never confirmed, and the UT system did not release a short list of candidates.
Milliken, a lawyer by training, has worked in higher education for decades. He led the CUNY system, the largest public urban university system in the country with more than 500,000 students and 45,000 faculty and staff, for four years before leaving earlier this year. Milliken announced he had throat cancer in 2017, and he cited “additional health challenges” when he announced in November that he would be stepping down at the end of the 2017-18 academic year.
In an open letter dated Nov. 21 published on the CUNY website, Milliken stated that he had received several months of radiation and chemotherapy and that his prognosis “remains very good.”
“I expect to be active and working for many more years, but there is no denying that the last nine months have been draining physically and emotionally,” he wrote.
For his new job, he has assured the UT regents that he has “a clean bill of health,” Safady said. She added that Milliken shared a statement from his doctors with the regents saying that his cancer was “cured as of last summer.” All other medical issues have also been addressed, Safady said.
Texas’ Commissioner of Higher Education, Raymund Paredes, said it’s important that the new UT chancellor have strong academic experience and also be able to foster a good relationship with state lawmakers.
“Developing a strong and credible relationship with the legislature is key,” Paredes said. “I also don’t think anybody’s felt that there is a strong vision for the whole system. There’s got to be a good strategy for the system as a whole, how we educate the changing population of Texas.”
The UT system, one of the nation’s largest higher education systems, has 14 institutions, including UTAustin, the state’s flagship university, and several medical schools.
The system employs more than 20,000 faculty members. But regents and past chancellors have had differing visions for the system’s future.
Spelling out mission
Some board members believe the system should expand by creating new campuses and research centers. Others disagree, saying the system needs to pare back spending and focus on supporting its established institutions.
A regents panel is evaluating the system’s mission, but executing that vision will fall to Milliken.
Milliken’s selection comes nearly three months after Chancellor William McRaven retired in May. McRaven’s tenure at UT was marred by tensions with state leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, after the system purchased the land for a new campus in Houston. McRaven said his decision to resign was to focus on his health.
McRaven was a former Navy admiral who is best known for overseeing the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
The search for McRaven’s replacement began soon after he announced he would resign in December.
Milliken will now enter a 21-day wait period during which he will negotiate his salary. The UT regents will convene a special meeting to confirm his appointment. That meeting has not been scheduled.