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Gregory L. Fenves

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Gregory Fenves
21st President of Emory University
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 1, 2020
Preceded byClaire E. Sterk
29th President of the University of Texas at Austin
In office
June 3, 2015 – June 30, 2020[1]
Preceded byWilliam Powers Jr.
Succeeded byJay Hartzell (interim)
Personal details
Born (1957-03-01) March 1, 1957 (age 67)
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
Residence(s)Atlanta, Georgia
EducationCornell University (BS)
University of California, Berkeley (MSE, PhD)
ProfessionStructural Engineer, Academic
WebsiteOffice of the President

Gregory Louis Fenves is a structural engineer, professor and college administrator who is the twenty-first president of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. For his research and teaching, Fenves was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014, the highest recognition for an engineer in the United States.[2]

Education and career

Fenves was educated at Cornell University where he received a bachelor's degree (BS) in engineering with distinction in 1979 and was a member of the Quill and Dagger society.[3] He went on to earn a master's degree (MSE) in 1980 and a PhD in 1984 from the University of California, Berkeley.

He began his career as an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UT Austin from 1984 to 1987. He was on the faculty of UC Berkeley for more than 20 years and served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering from 2002 to 2007.

He is an internationally recognized structural engineer and led the development of one of the most widely used open-source software platforms in the civil engineering profession. He was one of the pioneers in developing wireless sensor networks for assessing the structural health of buildings, bridges and infrastructure and has focused his research on the simulation of structures subjected to earthquakes.

In 2008, he was appointed as the eighth dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin and served in that capacity for five years. From 2013 to 2015, he was appointed to the role as executive vice president and provost of UT Austin.  Fenves then served as the twenty-ninth president of UT Austin from June 2015 to June 2020.

On April 7, 2020, it was announced that Fenves would become the twenty-first president of Emory University, a position he assumed on August 1, 2020.[4]

The University of Texas at Austin

In 2015, his administration successfully defended UT Austin's admissions practices before the US Supreme Court.[5] The landmark ruling in the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case enabled UT Austin to continue using race as a factor in its admissions process.[5]

Fenves was instrumental in the founding of UT Austin's Dell Medical School — the first medical school in nearly 50 years to be built from the ground up at a top-tier research university — which opened in 2016 [6] and graduated its inaugural class of physicians in 2020.[7]

In 2017 Fenves received the "Guardian of the Human Spirit" award from Holocaust Museum Houston.[8] In 2018, he received the "Hope for Humanity" award from the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance.[9] During the acceptance speeches for both awards, Fenves discussed his family's history of loss and survival during the holocaust.

In 2018, UT Austin posted the highest four-year graduation rates in the university's history, 69.8%, an increase of over 17 percentage points since 2012.[10]

In 2018, Fenves introduced the Texas Advance Commitment to increase affordability by providing assured financial aid for low- and middle-income UT Austin students.[11] In 2019, the UT System Board of Regents approved additional funding from the Permanent University Fund,[12] which now ensures full tuition coverage at The University of Texas at Austin for in-state students with need from families earning up to $65,000 per year and some guaranteed support for those from families earning up to $125,000 per year. In 2020, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation made a historic gift of $100 million to expand resources and support for all Pell Grant eligible students at UT Austin.[13]

In October 2019, students protested outside the provost's office, calling for more transparency and accountability when the university responds to alleged sexual misconduct violations.[14] A month later, in a letter to the UT community, the university said it would hire “outside experts” to support efforts to address the issue.[15] UT Austin subsequently formed a working group and hired an external law firm, Husch Blackwell, to review the university's sexual misconduct policies and its efforts to prevent and respond to allegations of sex discrimination. The firm concluded the first phase of its review and delivered recommendations, which Fenves accepted in March. Husch Blackwell continued its review and in July provided the university with additional recommendations.[16][17][18]

Fenves conceived of a unique public-private partnership, which led to the construction of UT Austin's new basketball arena and events venue — now known as Moody Center, because of a $130 million gift from the Moody Foundation — which is expected to open in 2022.[19]

On March 13, 2020, Fenves announced that his wife Carmel had contracted SARS-CoV-2 after a trip to New York City. In an open letter to UT Austin staff, faculty, and students, Fenves stated his wife began exhibiting flu-like symptoms after their trip, during which they attended several events with alumni and students, and was tested positive for COVID-19. Both Fenves, his wife, and an additional family member are in self-isolation, and the president has advised community members to follow CDC preventative measures against the spread of the virus.[20]

Two days later, Fenves tested negative for coronavirus.

News outlets reported 3 weeks later, on April 7, 2020, that Fenves would be leaving the University of Texas at Austin to become the President of Emory University, succeeding outgoing President Claire E. Sterk.[21][22]

Personal life

Fenves' father's family are Jewish, and multiple members of his father's side are Holocaust survivors, including his father, sister, some cousins, and his grandfather.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Leaving UT This Summer".
  2. ^ "Four UT Austin Engineers Elected to National Academy". Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  3. ^ UT presidential finalist Gregory Fenves praised on campus, but some regents are skeptical
  4. ^ "Emory Board of Trustees names Gregory L. Fenves as 21st president". news.emory.edu. April 7, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Liptak, Adam (June 23, 2016). "Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action Program at University of Texas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Flores, Nancy. "Dell Medical School reflects on first 5 years, sets new goals". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Andu, Naomi (May 22, 2020). "After an "anticlimactic" virtual goodbye, Dell Medical School's inaugural class heads to the front lines of the pandemic". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "President Fenves Honored by Holocaust Museum Houston". The Alcalde. November 3, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  9. ^ "Dallas Holocaust Museum to Honor University of Texas at Austin President Gregory L. Fenves at Hope for Humanity Dinner". The Dallas Weekly. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "UT-Austin's four-year graduation rate reaches all-time high, despite failing 2012 goal - The Daily Texan". www.dailytexanonline.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Jankowski, Philip. "Attend UT for free? After Tuesday vote, 21% of undergrads could". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  12. ^ Friedman, Zack. "University Of Texas Announces Tuition-Free College Program". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  13. ^ "How UT, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation are collaborating to support students of Texas". UT News. May 1, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "UT students protest over professors' reported sexual misconduct allegations". KXAN Austin. October 25, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Korte, Lara. "UT to hire outside experts to analyze sexual misconduct procedures". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  16. ^ "Sexual Misconduct". UT News. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  17. ^ "Changing Sexual Misconduct Policies at UT Austin". Office of the President. March 2, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "Husch Blackwell Update - July 8 | Misconduct Working Group | The University of Texas at Austin". misconductworkinggroup.utexas.edu. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Barden, Melanie (December 3, 2019). "UT breaks ground on new basketball arena, the Moody Center". KEYE. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  20. ^ Knight, Drew. "University of Texas president's wife tests positive for coronavirus". KVUE. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  21. ^ Najmabadi, Shannon (April 7, 2020). "UT-Austin President Greg Fenves leaving Texas flagship for Emory University, source says". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  22. ^ Emory University Announcement
  23. ^ "UT’s Fenves tells new U.S. citizens of his family’s Holocaust history." Haurwitz, Ralph K. M. Statesman. www.statesman.com Published June 30, 2017. Accessed September 10, 2020.
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