March 26, 2020
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to let you know that Executive Vice President and Provost Maurie McInnis will be leaving The University of Texas at Austin near the end of this semester to become president of Stony Brook University, one of the premier research universities in the State University of New York System.
Dr. McInnis has been an outstanding academic leader in her four years as provost and will be equally successful in her new role as president of SUNY Stony Brook. During just the past three weeks at UT, she has worked tirelessly to lead our emergency efforts to move all spring semester courses online. She will continue to lead this crucial transition through May 15. After consultations during the next few weeks, I will appoint an interim provost who will start May 15 and serve until a permanent provost is selected.
Since coming to UT from the University of Virginia in 2016, Dr. McInnis has been an extraordinary advocate for faculty excellence — supporting professional growth at every rank, recruiting top faculty members from across the nation and strengthening the university’s commitment to diversity and equity in faculty hiring and advancement. She expanded the faculty investment initiative, introduced a substantial cluster hiring initiative and recruited seven outstanding deans. Dr. McInnis also broadened interdisciplinary collaboration in education and research across the entire university — one of her most significant accomplishments.
Dr. McInnis played a vital role as the university created new financial aid opportunities for middle- and low-income students, expanded outreach to prospective students of all backgrounds and focused on increasing upward mobility. Dr. McInnis also led the introduction of more experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students and worked to improve support for graduate students, making significant progress that we will continue to build on.
Maurie’s accomplishments at UT reflect her deep commitment to the mission of public research universities — both the success of our students and the impact of our research on society. When I recruited Maurie four years ago, I knew that she was a special leader with incredible potential. My expectations were high — and she exceeded them. She improved our university in many important ways, and I am grateful for her dedication.
With the spread of COVID-19 on all of our minds and affecting the university, I know that this is a difficult time to make an announcement such as this. Maurie’s leadership has been remarkable — throughout her time at UT and also in recent weeks as we have adjusted to this public health crisis. So, as most in our community work from home, I encourage you to reach out to Maurie and join me in thanking her for her exemplary service to The University of Texas.
Sincerely,
Gregory L. Fenves
President