The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments on if SMU can split from the United Methodist Church after the board of trustees voted to leave the church in 2019 following the church's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages and ordain clergy who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.

University of Texas Austin President Jay Hartzell is leaving his position to become the next president of Southern Methodist University. He begin that position on June 1.

University of Texas President Jay Hartzell is leaving UT to become the next president of Southern Methodist University, the private university announced Tuesday.

The job abandoned by Jay Hartzell last week requires withstanding pressure from the highest offices in the state and criticism from the student body. I say: Bring it on.

DALLAS – Southern Methodist University has named a new president. Jay Hartzell, currently president of the University of Texas at Austin, will assume the title effective June 1 after a unanimous decision by the university's board of trustees.

Hartzell’s formal installation as president of SMU is tentatively scheduled for next fall. It was immediately unclear who will lead UT-Austin in the meantime.

Read the original article here. Many were shocked Tuesday when University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell announced he’d be leaving the 53,000-student public school to lead Southern Methodist University, a growing but smaller university in Dallas.

The growth is fueling higher rents and home prices in the North Texas city that was once seen as a more affordable option to Dallas and other major cities.

CHIEF EXECUTIVES Appointments Tim Casper, executive vice president for student affairs at Madison College, has been named interim president after Jack E. Daniels III retired. David Wain Coon, former president of College of Marin, has been named acting president of San Jose City College.

Southern Methodist University told Texas Supreme Court justices Wednesday it's controlled solely by its board of trustees, not the United Methodist Church.

Plus: Gary Kelly named to the Dallas Fed's board, Coury Hospitality finds new president, Applied Digital taps next COO, and Trammell Crow Co. makes three promotions.