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Austin, Texas – Sharon Wood has been appointed executive vice president and dean of the University of Texas at Austin and will begin July 19. She is currently Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Austin.
The Dean is the Chief Academic Officer and leads efforts to deliver world-class educational experiences and produce high-impact research and scholarship. This includes academic programs and initiatives covering the university’s 18 colleges and schools, serving more than 51,000 students and supporting more than 3,000 faculty and research staff.
“As we enter an exciting new chapter at UT, I am delighted to have a strong and natural leader like Sharon for this important role. She has a deep understanding of the Longhorn community and has the right experience to help us advance our ambitious academic priorities,” said President Jay Hartzel. and its commitment to excellence, its values, and its ability to listen and understand the important perspectives of our stakeholders. She is a special leader in this regard, and I am pleased to have her appointed.”
Wood is internationally known for its research into earthquake response in reinforced concrete structures. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and previously served as president of the American Concrete Institute. She has served on the federal advisory committees for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Earthquake Risk Reduction Program, and the US Geological Survey. Wood holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia and a master’s and doctoral degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“UT is a special place, grounded in an exceptional community,” Wood said. “Since arriving on campus as a faculty member 25 years ago, I have been inspired by the collective quality, commitment, and ambition of our students, faculty, and staff, and I am honored to step into this role and work with President Hartzel to advance our great university.”
As dean, Wood cemented the Cockrell School’s reputation as a world leader in engineering education, research, and technological innovation. She helped lead efforts to build the Engineering Education and Research Center, increased annual research expenditures from $176 million to $199 million, and played a pivotal role in the collaboration to renovate the Anna Hess Gymnasium to create a multidisciplinary home for Texas Robotics. She created a new role for the school’s first-ever Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and commissioned DEI’s first plan and annual report. Wood led efforts to increase the number of undergraduates from underrepresented communities by 22% and oversaw standard graduation rates for engineering students, with four-year rates increasing by more than 80% during her tenure as dean.
President Hartzel Wood appointed in consultation with a campus committee chaired by Karen Wilcox, director of the Oden Institute for Engineering and Computational Sciences at the University of Texas and associate vice president for research.
Wood will replace Interim Vice President Dan Jaffe. Jaffe has held this position since the spring of 2020 and will return to his previous position as Vice President of Research.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Dan Jaffe for his valuable service as interim dean over the past year,” said Hartzel. “This is a difficult role to take on in the best of circumstances, and he has done it with great distinction during what is arguably the most challenging period of our lives. I simply cannot overstate how important his work is, and we owe him so much thanks.”
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