University of Texas President Gregory L. Fenves will leave UT this summer to serve as the next president of Emory University in Atlanta.

The Emory Board of Trustees voted early Tuesday to name Fenves as the university’s next president. He will remain at UT through June 30 and start in Atlanta on Aug. 1.

In a Tuesday email to the university community, Fenves said the decision to leave UT after 12 years, including his five years as president, was made prior the coronavirus pandemic that has disrupted much of the university’s operations.

"The timing of this news in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is not what I had expected or wanted," Fenves said. "Our dedicated faculty and staff have striven to make the spring 2020 semester meaningful for our students. I want you to understand that I remain singularly focused on continuing that work, completing the semester and getting our community back to normal before my presidency ends on June 30."

A high-ranking UT official on Monday night told the American-Statesman that Jay Hartzell, dean of UT’s McCombs School of Business, is a likely candidate for an interim replacement. According to the Texas open meetings register, the UT System Board of Regents will convene by phone Wednesday to discuss appropriate action relating to "appointment, employment, evaluation, compensation, assignment, and duties of presidents."

Fenves was named president of the university in April 2015, after the resignation of Bill Powers. Prior to his appointment, he had been dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering and provost. His decision to leave follows that of Executive Vice President and Provost Maurie McInnis, who announced last week she was resigning to serve as president of Stony Brook University in New York.

Emory President Claire E. Sterk announced in November she would retire from her position, effective August 2020. In January, the university’s Board of Trustees launched a formal search for the next president. Emory has an enrollment of about 15,000 and its health care system is the largest in the state of Georgia.

Bob Goddard, chair of Emory’s Board of Trustees, said its trustees are "tremendously excited" about bringing Fenves to campus.

"We wanted someone with deep experience leading a major research university and a stellar record of scholarship," Goddard said in a statement. "We also sought an inspirational leader and a person of impeccable character. Greg Fenves embodies all that we hoped to find."

In 2018, Fenves earned more than $914,000 at UT, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2017, Sterk earned nearly $1.16 million as Emory’s president.

Fenves has had a tumultuous year, with much of it focusing on the school’s handling of faculty found guilty of sexual misconduct. In the past month, Fenves also has had to handle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced all classes online and nearly shut down the campus. Fenves also dealt with the news that his wife, Carmel, and another family member had tested positive for the coronavirus, though recently said they are making good recoveries.

Supporting vulnerable students

Leonard N. Moore, UT vice president for diversity and community engagement, said Fenves’ legacy will be his efforts to improve affordability and make the university accessible to low-income and first-generation students. Fenves spent several years focused on building infrastructure to support students from diverse backgrounds, and he announced last year the school would provide free tuition to students from families with an annual income of $65,000 or less. Most recently, Fenves ushered in a partnership with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to provide $100 million of support for vulnerable students over the next 10 years.

"He wanted to make a UT education available for everybody across the state," Moore said.

During his time at UT, Fenves also received national attention for removing statues of Confederate figures from campus, a decision he was ultimately sued for. Months after his appointment, the president was in the U.S. Supreme Court, defending the university’s use of race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions. The case, Fisher v. The University of Texas, ultimately affirmed the university’s admissions practices.

Sharon Wood, dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering, has known the president for nearly 30 years, and credits him with the building of the Engineering, Education and Research Center, a massive and modern building that replaced the previously outdated and crowded spaces used by the engineering school.

"Giving us the space where students and faculty are able to collaborate, it was his foresight," she said.

Challenges during tenure

Fenves also dealt with some difficult student deaths during his tenure. In 2016, Haruka Weiser, a freshman theater and dance major, was found dead on the banks of Waller Creek near the UT Alumni Center. It was the first homicide at UT in nearly 50 years.

Then in 2017, sophomore Harrison Brown was killed after another UT student attacked him with a knife. Police later said the attacker, a pre-med student, might have been suffering from unaddressed mental health issues.

In 2018, 20-year-old Nicholas Cumberland died from injuries sustained in a car wreck. It was later revealed Cumberland, a member of the Texas Cowboys student spirit group, was returning from a gathering that involved hazing when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and rolled the vehicle, ejecting Cumberland from the backseat.

After an investigation, UT last year suspended the Texas Cowboys for six years, but Cumberland’s parents have publicly criticized Fenves for not permanently banning the group from campus.

UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said Tuesday that Fenves’ vision and leadership have made the flagship university even stronger and changed the lives of thousands of young Texans.

"On behalf of the Board of Regents and the State of Texas, I thank Greg for being a great Longhorn and true partner. He opened a new medical school, steered us through challenging times and made the Forty Acres more accessible and affordable for highly qualified Texas students," Eltife said.

UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken also had some kind words for the president, saying he had been a passionate leader and effective advocate for the university.

"As dean, provost and president, he has worked tirelessly to advance the interests of the flagship campus and to support its students, faculty and staff. Longhorn Nation will miss Greg and Carmel and their enthusiastic embrace of all things UT, and we wish them all the best in their next chapter."

Staff writer Brian Davis contributed to this report.