Search for next UTA president restarts after pandemic pause

The University of Texas System is restarting its search for a new president at the Arlington campus more than a year after the pandemic disrupted the process.

Vistasp Karbhari, the school’s former president, stepped down in March of last year after the university system launched an investigation into recruiting and enrollment practices at UT-Arlington.

The school appointed Teik Lim, UT-Arlington’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, as its interim president after COVID-19 paused the presidential search.

Being the largest school in North Texas and the second largest within the UT System, the next president “will be charged with keeping UT Arlington ambitiously moving forward,” UT System Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said.

UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken said he hopes the regents are able to select the next president by the end of this year.

“We have an opportunity to attract … the very best higher education leaders from across the country,” Milliken said.

The university is in a much better position than it was a year ago to begin its search as officials did not want to overwhelm the next president with the challenges of the pandemic, he added.

A committee tasked with helping the regents find the next president is chaired by Milliken and includes the University of Texas at Austin president Jay Hartzell, students, faculty, staff, alumni and external community members.

A new leader will take over the campus of about 48,000 students after the pandemic drastically disrupted education and forced many schools to suddenly shift their classes to remote learning. Now colleges are trying to plan for more in-person learning in the upcoming year.

The UT System announced it will create a website to update the campus community about the search, including a timeline of activities and an opportunity for people to privately submit candidate nominations and comments.

Karbhari, who had been president since 2013, resigned after an investigation found questionable dealings between campus administrators and a private vendor that helped the university provide an online nursing program.