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University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin)

Website:

utexas.edu
Type:

State-funded Research University
Formation:

1883
President:

Jim Davis
Headquarters:

110 Inner Campus Drive

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The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) is the flagship campus of the University of Texas system. As of 2019, the UT system as a whole had the second-largest endowment of any university in the United States (behind Harvard University) thanks to oil, gas, and mineral royalties from the vast tracts of land established in Texas law for the school’s funding. 1

In 2024 the school was wracked with controversy over the implementation of a Texas state law that forbid the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy in any public Texas universities. The school had tried to continue DEI policies by renaming departments and programs, but ultimately conceded after a state lawmaker issued a letter warning that UT-Austin risked being in violation of the law. 2

UT-Austin experienced disorderly protests in favor of Palestinian rights in April 2024. Police were called in to disperse demonstrators who had attempted to establish protest camps on campus. The school received criticism for its response, though the school noted that over a dozen pro-Palestinian events had taken place prior to this situation with little trouble. 3

 

Founding and History

Upon independence from Mexico, the legislature of the Republic of Texas passed legislation to create a public university system and provided various land grants for its construction and funding. However, delays and other priorities, including securing the accession of Texas to the United States, delayed the inauguration of the school until 1883, when the University of Texas at Austin, as the flagship branch of the system, was established. The school system would go on to accrue the second largest university endowment in the United States thanks to the mineral, oil, and gas wealth to be found on the various property established by the state for its funding and operations. 4   1

Financials

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the wealthiest universities in the world. As of 2019, the UT-Austin student newspaper the Daily Texan reported that the UT system as a whole held the second-largest university endowment in the US, behind only Harvard, with around $45 billion in assets. UT Austin in particular held $16,677,157,802 in assets as of its fiscal year 2024 budget.  This wealth stems in large part from the profits of Texas oil, gas, and mineral royalties from the over two million acres of land owned by the state of Texas, which under the state constitution are allocated to the UT and Texas A&M university systems. 5  6  1

For the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, the school reported $2,634,774,551 in revenue with $4,447,605,378 in expenses. 5

Ratings for Campus Climate

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which evaluates the written speech policies of colleges and universities and surveys students on campus speech climate, assigned University of Texas at Austin a “yellow light” rating, indicating the university maintains at least one policy that could be interpreted to suppress protected speech, and gave it a poor rating in terms of campus speech climate. 7

The ranking is based on official university policies that FIRE finds concerning. However, the poor speech climate rating is based off of a survey of students that FIRE conducted. One of the largest issues that contributed to the poor rating appears to have been a 2024 incident when the university called in the Texas State Police to prevent student protestors from setting up a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, which in turn led to an outcry against then-university president Jay Hartzell from students and a no confidence letter signed by 620 faculty members. Some surveyed students also reported that they believed that the school administration was hostile to Middle Eastern or pro-Palestinian students. However, one student whose comments were cited as evidence of this hostility claimed that the fact that professors and administrators did not make their personal position on the issues known made the student feel the need to self-censor, whereas another interpretation of that state of affairs is that the faculty and administration were striving to remain professional and not let their personal views bias their teaching. 8  9

Ultimately, the speech climate rating relies on the views of students who seem to believe that setting up an unauthorized protest encampment should be protected speech. At the same time, only 35 percent of students reported that it is never acceptable to block other students from attending a campus speech and only 22 percent believed it was never acceptable to shout down a speaker. These figures call into question the students’ perceptions of free speech. 8

American Council of Trustees and Alumni

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) evaluates universities based on their core curriculum in their annual “What Will They Learn” report. According to its last evaluation in 2023, UT-Austin received a B+ rating, due to its lacking foreign-language and economics requirements as part of its core curriculum. 10

ACTA has separate rating system called the Report Card on Free Expression. UT-Austin received a score of 14/20, with the most marks against it in the category for “advance leadership accountability”. 11

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

University of Texas at Austin historically maintained various offices and policies concerned with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including a Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, a Multicultural Engagement Center housing numerous student-identity organizations, and a Monarch Program supporting illegal-immigrant students. 2

However, many of these programs were ended and their staff laid off in response to a Texas state law that took effect in January of 2024. This bill prohibited public universities in the state from administering DEI programs or trainings. 2

Notably, these closures did not occur in January 2024 when the law went into effect. Instead, the university administration renamed several offices. The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was renamed to the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, for example. However, in late March 2024, then-Texas State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) issued a letter to the chancellor of the university system highlighting what he identified as merely superficial compliance with the law. After the letter was issued, the renamed offices were closed and 60 staff members laid off. 2

Pro-Palestinian Protests and Antisemitism

The aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas and Israel’s resulting military campaign in response led to a number of controversial incidents at the University of Texas at Austin. In November 2023, two teaching assistants in the School of Social Work, Parham Daghighi and Callie Kennedy, were dismissed after sending students a message that outlined mental health resources for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and that expressed support for Palestinians. The dean of the school claimed that the messages were unrelated to the course and sent without supervisory approval, which the two assistants denied. 12  13

In March 2024, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order directing public universities to update their speech policies to incorporate the definition of antisemitism used in Texas state code and directing universities to discipline groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Committee for policy violations. This garnered lawsuits and protests from within the state university system. 14  15

Shortly after this policy was announced, on April 24, 2024, UT Austin’s Palestine Solidarity Committee organized a walkout and sit-in on the South Mall, calling on the university to divest from companies linked to the Israeli military campaign. The group had signaled it intended to violate university rules against encampments, and the administration deployed police, including mounted officers and state troopers in riot gear, resulting in 57 arrests. Charges against all those arrested that day were subsequently dropped. 3

However, a few days later, on April 29, protestors again set up an encampment on the campus. Various police agencies were once again called in and the encampment was forcibly dismantled, the crowd was dispersed, and 79 people were arrested, with 45 of them not being students or otherwise affiliated with the school. 3

School officials noted that between October 2023 and the April 24 incident, 13 pro-Palestinian events had been held on campus without much issue, rejecting claims that the school was clamping down on legitimate pro-Palestinian activities. 3

The school administration was harshly criticized for breaking up the encampment, with 620 faculty members signing a letter of no confidence in school president Jay Hartzell. Hartzell would end up resigning from his position in early 2025 to take up a job as president of Southern Methodist University. 9  16

Leadership

Jim Davis has worked as the permanent president of the University of Texas at Austin since July 2025, having previously been named interim president in February 2025 following Jay Hartzell’s early departure. Davis was previously the university’s senior vice president and chief operating officer from 2023 until his promotion to the presidency. Prior to joining UT Austin in 2018 as vice president of legal affairs, Davis served as a deputy attorney general for civil litigation under Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). 17  18

References

  1. The Daily Texan Editorial Board “UT Now Has the Second Largest Endowment in the Country. What Does That Mean?” The Daily Texan, March 8, 2019. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://thedailytexan.com/2019/03/08/ut-now-has-the-second-largest-endowment-in-the-country-what-does-that-mean/
  2. Zhu, Chelsey, and Becky Fogel. “UT Austin Lays Off Around 60 Staffers to Comply with Texas DEI Ban.” KUT, April 2, 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.kut.org/education/2024-04-02/ut-austin-dei-diversity-law-sb-17
  3. Jenkins, S.E. “Protest Encampment Forcibly Dismantled, Arrests Made at UT Austin.” CBS Texas, April 30, 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/encampments-forcibly-dismantled-arrests-made-at-ut-austin/
  4. Battle, W. J. “University of Texas at Austin.” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Originally published 1976; updated January 26, 2026. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/university-of-texas-at-austin
  5. The University of Texas System, Consolidated Financial Statements for the Years Ended August 31, 2025 and 2024, and Independent Auditor’s Report (Austin: University of Texas System, 2025). Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.utsystem.edu/sites/default/files/documents/report-state/2025/consolidated-annual-financial-report-fy-2025/uts-fy25-and-fy24-audit-reportfinal121125.pdf
  6. “About the Budget.” University of Texas at Austin Budget Office. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://budget.utexas.edu/about-budget
  7. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “2025 College Free Speech Rankings Spotlight – University of Texas at Austin.” FIRE. September 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.fire.org/research-learn/2025-spotlight-university-texas-austin
  8. “2025 College Free Speech Rankings Spotlight – University of Texas at Austin.” FIRE. September 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.fire.org/research-learn/2025-spotlight-university-texas-austin
  9. Al-Shaikh, Sarah. “Over 600 UT Austin Faculty Sign Letter of No-Confidence in President Hartzell.” KXAN, May 1, 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.kxan.com/news/over-600-ut-austin-faculty-sign-letter-of-no-confidence-in-president-hartzell/
  10. “University of Texas – Austin.” What Will They Learn? American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Last evaluated October 19, 2023. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.whatwilltheylearn.com/schools/2743
  11. “University of Texas (UT)–Austin Report Card.” Campus Freedom Initiative. American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.goacta.org/campus-freedom-initiative/ut-austin-report-card/
  12. Leffingwell, Kelsey. “Message About the War in Gaza Leads to Dismissal of UT Austin Teaching Assistants.” Spectrum News, December 1, 2023. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/12/01/the-university-of-texas-at-austin-teaching-assistants-dismissed-for-offering-support-to-palestinian-students
  13. Fogel, Becky. “Students, Faculty Urge UT Austin to Reinstate TAs Removed for Comments on Violence in Gaza.” KUT, December 14, 2023. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.kut.org/education/2023-12-14/ut-austin-teaching-assistants-tas-removed-israel-palestinian-gaza-war-university-of-texas
  14. Abbott, Greg. Executive Order GA-44, “Relating to Addressing Acts of Antisemitism in Institutions of Higher Education.” State of Texas, March 27, 2024. https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-44_antisemitism_in_institutions_of_higher_ed_IMAGE_03-27-2024.pdf
  15. Ahmed, Maryam and Srivastava, Naina “Texas Pro-Palestinian Organizations Sue Greg Abbott, State Universities for Enforcement of March Executive Order.” The Daily Texan, September 13, 2024. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://thedailytexan.com/2024/09/13/texas-pro-palestinian-organizations-sue-greg-abbott-state-universities-for-enforcement-of-march-executive-order/
  16. Fogel, Becky. “UT Austin President Jay Hartzell Leaving to Lead Southern Methodist University.” KUT, January 7, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.kut.org/education/2025-01-07/ut-austin-president-jay-hartzell-leaving-to-lead-southern-methodist-university
  17. Priest, Jessica. “UT System Names John Zerwas as Chancellor, Jim Davis as UT-Austin President.” The Texas Tribune, July 21, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/21/university-texas-system-chancellor-john-zerwas-jim-davis/
  18. Fogel, Becky. “Jim Davis Named as Interim President of UT Austin.” KUT, February 19, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.kut.org/education/2025-02-19/ut-austin-interim-president-jim-davis-board-of-regents
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