New SMU President Jay Hartzell Hits the Ground Running in Dallas

Dr. Jay Hartzell is already making plans and waves on the Hilltop, even though he has only been president of Southern Methodist University for a few days. Hartzell talked to NBC 5's Katy Blakey in an exclusive interview about how excited and hopeful he is about both the university and the city of Dallas.

"We announced the change in January, and I felt like I had Christmas presents that I had to put back under the tree," said Hartzell. "So to get here and get going is a lot of fun."

Hartzell said the move to SMU was all about chance after he stepped down as president of the University of Texas at Austin, where he had lived for 29 years. He believes that there is considerable room for growth, given that Dallas has a strong economy and SMU was recently designated as an R1 research institution.

Hartzell said, "We want people to know that this is their university in this great market." "They are welcome to work with us if they want to try something to get students involved or to become more involved with our faculty."

Hartzell's primary goal will be to attract top-notch researchers and leverage SMU's research strengths in areas critical to the Dallas community. "What are the places and chances for SMU to be world-class in terms of research?"

Applications for the fall 2025 class are already up 56%. This increase is partly due to SMU football's big season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Hartzell said, "What excited me about the job was not only the direction athletics has been going in, but also what it does for the whole campus." "We are going to compete, and it's more fun to win than to lose."

Hartzell's primary goal is to listen, learn, and connect with the Mustang group. He introduced himself on social media and promised an effective plan in the coming months.