Dear UT community,

I am writing to inform you that Sharon Wood will be leaving her position as Executive Vice President and Provost and returning to the faculty of the Cockrell School of Engineering, effective Aug. 31.

Sharon has been an extraordinary leader, mentor and partner during a period of widespread academic excellence. As our chief academic officer, she has built relationships of trust and mutual respect with faculty members in all colleges, schools and units. She has also positioned UT to lead on some of the most promising opportunities and vexing challenges facing our society, and she has inspired exceptionally talented students, faculty and staff to come to the Forty Acres. I am profoundly grateful for Sharon’s leadership, friendship and vast portfolio of accomplishments, which include:

  • Hiring 11 new deans who are leading our colleges and schools with excellence.
  • Launching impactful programming for undergraduates, such as Take the World by the Horns and cost-saving initiatives related to tuition, summer courses and course materials.
  • Helping build and develop the School of Civic Leadership after its establishment as UT’s newest school.
  • Helping advance the Texas Institute for Electronics and positioning it to receive historically significant funding.
  • Launching the AI Cluster Hire initiative, which will bring more world-class faculty members to the Forty Acres in the years ahead.
  • Expanding the reach and impact of the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors.
  • Launching the Office of Faculty Development, which is providing innovative career-development opportunities for both tenure-track and professional-track faculty.
  • Establishing the Academic Affairs portfolio to strengthen campuswide support for teaching and learning, including investing in new technologies,
  • Expanding the Graduate School portfolio to bring greater emphasis to postdoctoral studies on campus.
  • Undertaking these and other key initiatives through the Change Starts Here strategic plan, which she helped develop and launch.

Before I appointed her Executive Vice President and Provost in July 2021, Sharon served as dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering for seven years. Prior to her appointment as dean, she served as the chair of the Cockrell School’s Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering for five years, and for one year, she was director of the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Sharon is recognized internationally for her work on the earthquake response of reinforced concrete structures. She joined the Cockrell School faculty in 1996 and holds the Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering #14. In each role, she helped make Cockrell one of the most acclaimed engineering schools in the world.

Sharon’s impact is highly visible throughout campus and beyond, and will be felt for years to come — in the caliber of our students, the prestige of our faculty’s research, and the achievements of our alumni. Her leadership has amplified the benefit that Longhorns bring to society. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have worked with, and learned from, Sharon during such an exciting time.

Our paths first crossed when I was a center director and Sharon was a department chair. From that first meeting to our time together as deans, and then, as president and provost, I have found Sharon to have a rare combination of talent, intelligence, honesty, integrity and a love for the University. She has made a lasting difference on me in many ways, and I know she has also made countless differences for thousands of students, faculty and staff.

Please join me in thanking Sharon for her many contributions to our teaching and research mission, her impactful leadership, and her outstanding service to all Longhorns.

We will make an announcement regarding an interim Provost later today.

Sincerely yours,
Jay Hartzell
President