Dear faculty and staff colleagues,

Fall is always a special time on the Forty Acres, as our students and the energy they bring return to campus. As the new school year approaches, people frequently ask me as president, “How’s it going?”

Given that we are coming off a tough year for higher education nationally, I think they expect me to respond with a tone that fits that broad, pessimistic narrative. While I appreciate the challenges we face and am grateful for the resilience of our community, I would argue that this fall is shaping up to be unusually special — and I wanted to share with you some of the key reasons I am so optimistic about where we are heading as a university.

Those reasons for optimism come from the core of what we do: We teach and learn, we research and create knowledge, we compete and win, and we do all of that with the help of the best alumni and supporters of any university. Taking those four dimensions separately, here is some evidence to help answer that question:

  • Student demand to be part of The University of Texas at Austin is at an all-time high, with over 73,000 applications to be part of the class that is starting this fall. Given this demand, it is not surprising that our student body is the strongest it has ever been, with excellence, talent and leadership stretching across all parts of campus.
  • Our research mission is thriving, and the investments we are making are historically significant and promising. For examples, one can look at the fields supported by grants. Our research expenditures crossed $1B for the first time last year, and the state of Texas, National Science Foundation and DARPA have made combined investments of approximately $2B toward our efforts in computing and semiconductors.
  • In terms of winning and competing, we had several faculty members inducted this year into the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, plus a Pulitzer Prize! Of course, there is also Texas Athletics. Our incredible student-athletes, coaches, staff and athletic leadership just brought home the third Directors’ Cup in four years, fueled by two national championships and 15 conference championships. Plus, 37 Longhorn coaches and athletes recently competed in the Paris Olympics, and our medal haul reminds me of the tourism slogan, “Texas. It’s like a whole other country.”
  • To make this all happen, we have called upon more than 500,000 living Longhorn alumni and an incredible set of supporters. They have rallied to help, and we had perhaps the best fundraising year in the University’s history in 2023, with more than $830M raised. Our capital campaign has passed $5.1B toward our goal of $6B, and we became the first university in the state to raise $1B for students through a philanthropic campaign. We have a real shot at concluding the campaign with the greatest total support ever for a public university.

Our outlook is bright. I expect the demand to be part of our student body to grow further, in part because we are launching new honors programs in robotics and civics, and the LBJ School’s first-ever undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Public Policy. In terms of research, we will see greater impact in health care and life sciences, powered by our strengths in computing, engineering and robotics. We have reached our lofty research stature without a mature medical school, and as Dell Medical School continues to flourish, our impact will grow exponentially.

This is how I answer, “How’s it going?” And, I didn’t even talk about what is happening in the vibrant, fun and still-weird city of Austin or across the great state of Texas. I wouldn’t trade cities or states with anybody..

All of you are part of this special place, and I wanted to remind you all that this is a special time for UT. We may face some more challenges this fall, but we will get through them, together..

Thank you for all you do for us and for our students. I hope to see you on the Forty Acres soon. In the meantime, Hook ’em!.

Jay Hartzell
President