Dear Friends,

It has been a year since I took the helm of the University of Texas System, and I can tell you that I have enjoyed every moment of it! Having visited all of our institutions, I am more inspired than ever by our faculty, our staffs, our senior leaders, and, above all, our students.

Working with our superb faculty has been nothing short of exhilarating. They are profoundly committed to their students, they’re making important strides in their research, and they are passionate about everything they do to advance their colleges and institutions. 

The same can be said of our staff, the unsung heroes of higher education, who work incredibly hard to keep UT institutions performing at their peak. As for our presidents and their leadership teams, I would stack them up against any university system in the world – and we would win! All of you can be justly proud of our magnificent team.

But of course, my favorite group is our students. Every time I hear some commentator lament the state and direction of the nation, I want to introduce them to the students of the University of Texas System, to the men and women – of all ages, races, ethnicities, and orientations – working hard to improve their lives and the lives of those around them. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be a part of all that is occurring around the UT System.

Last year was eventful on a number of fronts. We completed the legislative session and I was very pleased with the support higher education received from Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Straus, and all the legislators. I look forward to working with these fine lawmakers in the years to come.

As you probably know, I stole Dr. David Daniel away from UT Dallas to serve as my Deputy Chancellor. I know some day I will look back on my tour as Chancellor and say this was the best decision I ever made. David has already made dramatic improvements in how we function at the System.  We hope to conclude our national search for the new UTD president soon. 

From one end of the state to the other, every one of UT’s academic and health institutions accomplished more great things in 2015 than I could do justice in this Chancellor’s Message. But let me mention just a few highlights.

At UT Austin, Greg Fenves hit the ground running as its new president and he is doing a magnificent job in tackling the tough challenges and building an even more exciting future for the university. But as always, the excitement and the progress weren’t confined to Austin in 2015 – just the opposite! UT San Antonio was recognized for having the finest cybersecurity program in the nation. UT El Paso established a new bilingual doctoral program in Pharmacy. UT Permian Basin launched an NCAA Division II football program. UT Tyler graduated its first class at its Houston Engineering Center. In the DFW Metroplex, the Center for Brain Health at UT Dallas broke ground on its new Brain Performance Institute, and students from UT Arlington took first and second places in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Geo-Institute’s 2015 national competitions.

On the southern tip of America, we officially opened UT Rio Grande Valley with an enrollment of more than 28,000 students. In both Austin and the Rio Grande Valley, great progress has been made on our two new medical schools, both of which will enhance the quality of overall medical education while also producing much-needed physicians to serve the state.

2015 saw MD Anderson Cancer Center recognized, once again, as the top cancer center in the country.  UT Southwestern launched a historic collaboration with Texas Health Resources to combine their collective strengths to better serve the health needs of the people of North Texas. UT Health Science Center-San Antonio opened a 200,000 square foot, state-of-the-art dental clinical facility. UT Medical Branch-Galveston was designated by the State of Texas as the leader in care for patients with highly contagious infectious diseases. UT Health Science Center-Tyler received accreditation to offer degree programs and, with support from the State of Texas, is expanding its training of mental health professionals. And UT Health Science Center-Houston received the largest gift in its history, from the John P. McGovern Foundation, and its medical school will forever bear the name of its founders. UTHealth also recruited two exceptional deans to lead its schools of medicine and public health. 

The list goes on and on, and none of these achievements would have been possible without the great leadership and support of our Board of Regents. I have the greatest respect for them all. While I don’t always agree with every regent on everything, I always respect and appreciate their opinions, because, at the end of the day, we all want what is best for Texas. It has been my distinct honor to have worked with all of them this past year, and I look forward to an even greater year in 2016.

Last fall, I presented my vision for the future of the UT System to the Board of Regents.  I want to recap a few of the high points. 

First, I made it clear that my time in Special Operations, particularly after 9/11, taught me the value of collaboration and communication. I commanded some of the most complex organizations in the military, conducting the nation’s highest priority missions. Without collaboration and teamwork, we could not have been successful. For the UT System to have greater success, we need to improve how we collaborate and communicate across the academic and health-related institutions. This is a top priority for me.

Next, I conveyed that we are building a process at the System whereby we will prioritize our initiatives, align our resources and measure our success. This process will ensure that we include all relevant stakeholders in the planning and constantly provide feedback to all interested parties. Where we are not meeting expectations, we will reevaluate and, if necessary, eliminate a program and realign the funding to support something more important. This process may not sound sexy, but I guarantee you, without a disciplined planning and execution process – along with constant communications up and down the organization – we will never be successful with our complex initiatives.

My vision recognizes and builds on the great work of the chancellors that came before me. From Mickey LeMaistre to Francisco Cigarroa, all of the previous system leaders have provided important roadmaps that we will continue to follow to ensure we never lose sight of the perennial issues affecting higher education.

The vision I laid out includes eight “Quantum Leaps.” These bold initiatives grew out of a strategic assessment process, in which we looked at hundreds of data points to determine where we should most sharply focus our efforts so that our institutions, and the System as a whole, can best serve Texas, the nation and the world. You can find the Quantum Leaps online, but here is a quick synopsis.

1. Texas Prospect Initiative. All the research we compiled indicated that without a strong early foundation in the basics, reading in particular, students will struggle to have success in high school and on into college.  Additionally, the strength of the secondary teacher corps and the high school counselors is essential for student achievement. We must focus higher education resources on Pre-K through 12 to ensure that the students arriving at our gates are ready to succeed.
   
   
2. The American Leadership Program. The greatest demand by employers is not individual technical expertise, but the leadership skills necessary to advance a business, improve an institution, or shape a public entity.  Consequently, over the course of the next several years we will develop and implement leadership programs for all students attending a UT System institution. Additionally, over time we will build a brick and mortar Executive Leadership Institute where our senior campus leaders, along with business executives, civic leaders and others can improve their understanding of leadership.
   
   
3. Winning the Talent War. Across the nation we are in a war for talent.  Higher education is a competitive enterprise. Great faculty want the best students, the best research facilities and competitive pay. For years the Regents have authorized the STARs program to recruit world class intellects to our campuses. The results have been dramatic. Consequently, I intend to double-down on the STARs program while at the same time start a new Rising STARs program that will concentrate on those up and coming faculty who will one day be the National Academy members and Nobel Laureates.
   
   
4. Enhancing Fairness and Opportunity. Candidly, our faculty does not look like our student body and the data show that students perform better and have a clearer vision of their future when they can see themselves in the faculty who teach them. Therefore, we are instituting a policy that will require a female or minority candidate to be considered (up to the final interview) for all senior level positions. This is only about opportunity and in no way guarantees selection for a position. Additionally, we will close the gender pay gap among our faculty in the next three to five years.
   
   
5. The UT Healthcare Enterprise. We have, without a doubt, some of the finest health related institutions in the world. However, to improve their quality and the quality of the care delivered in Texas, we need to find better ways to collaborate and share critical information. I’m pleased to see a strong willingness among our health institution presidents to make this happen, and in the next year I will have a plan that outlines our path forward.
   
   
6. Leading the Brain Health Revolution. As our population continues to age, and as we see more young men and women impacted by injuries to the head and spine, it is clear we need to lead the way in brain health. There is already incredible work ongoing throughout the System. But we must do a better job of collaborating, and we must be ready to devote more resources where we see opportunities for dramatic breakthroughs.
   
   
7. The UT Network for National Security. Having spent a lifetime in the world of national security, it is evident to me that Washington needs better advice from a more diverse talent pool. Around the UT System, we have more than 40 institutes or centers addressing some aspect of national security. We have faculty members with tremendous backgrounds and insights into the complex issues facing the nation today. Consequently, we are going to bring these resources together in a fashion that takes full advantage of our talent. New publications, national level forums, more deliberate interaction with Washington — all are in the offing.
   
   
8. UT System Expansion in Houston. As all of you know, we have served the people of Houston for over 70 years starting with UT MD Anderson.  Back in the early 1940s, UT acquired a small piece of property with the hopes that someday it would be of value to Houston and UT. That property has expanded dramatically over the years and is today the Texas Medical Center. Now we have an opportunity to benefit the people of Houston again. This month, we will announce a Houston Task Force that will look at the new property we are acquiring and make recommendations to me and the Board of Regents on how that property might best serve the interests of Houston, Texas and the nation. I am looking for bold new ideas! New ways to collaborate in the fields of medicine, energy, aerospace, business and higher education are among some of our greatest interests. I will also ensure that whatever we do respects the efforts of those already serving Houston admirably. This is an unprecedented opportunity and I look forward to working with the Task Force as we move forward with this initiative.

Finally, I want to thank you personally for what you do to support the University of Texas System and all of our institutions. Without your help none of this could happen.  We have much work ahead for us this year, and I am fired up and ready to get at it! I look forward to seeing you in the next few months. 

Take care, 

Bill McRaven

I'm always interested in your ideas and suggestions.
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