AUSTIN, Texas—Teresa A. Sullivan, vice president and dean of graduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin, will be the new executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at The University of Texas System, Chancellor Mark G. Yudof announced Wednesday (Sept. 11).
Sullivan, a professor of sociology and law, has been vice president and dean of graduate studies since1995. She has been a faculty member at the university since 1981 and has held several other administrative positions, including vice provost, associate dean of graduate studies, chair of the sociology department and director of women’s studies.
“Teresa Sullivan brings to the UT System a highly distinguished record in academe as a teacher, a scholar and an administrator,” Yudof said. “She will provide dynamic and insightful leadership for the system’s nine general academic universities. These institutions are diverse in their histories, size and academic missions, but they share a common commitment to excellence and a common purpose of service to the people of Texas. Dr. Sullivan is the right person to assist each of these universities fulfill its mission.”
Larry Faulkner, president of The University of Texas at Austin, said, “Terry Sullivan has a proven record as a strong, wise leader, not only on this campus, but also in a national context. I especially prize her impeccable integrity and her fine imagination. She is a superb choice for this new appointment.”
Sullivan will be the first woman to serve as an executive vice chancellor in the UT System. Her appointment is effective Oct. 1.
Sullivan’s scholarly interests have included social demography (especially labor force and ethnic groups) and the sociology of cultural institutions, such as science, education, law and religion. She has written or co-written six books including, most recently, The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt (Yale University Press, 2000).
Sullivan’s academic honors include five awards for teaching excellence, as well as election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Philosophical Society of Texas and the Sociological Research Association. Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree at Michigan State University and master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Chicago.
The appointment of a new executive vice chancellor for academic affairs has been anticipated since late August, when Yudof announced a reorganization of the UT System administration. Sullivan succeeds Edwin R. Sharpe, who has assumed new responsibilities as vice chancellor for educational system alignment. In his new position he is responsible for the UT System K-16 program and the UT TeleCampus, the system’s Web-based distance learning program.
Searches are still under way for the positions of executive vice chancellor for health affairs, vice chancellor for governmental relations and vice chancellor for community relations.
The executive vice chancellor for academic affairs is responsible for the UT System undergraduate, graduate and research programs conducted at the system’s nine academic institutions. Through the presidents of the component institutions, the executive vice chancellor has responsibility for academic planning and programs, budgets, facilities planning and construction, and personnel (both academic and non-academic) of those components.
For more information contact: Michael Warden, The University of Texas System, 512-499-4363.
