Gregory L. Fenves

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 opened in late 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]