Jay Hartzell

Jay Hartzell is a professor of Finance within the Business & Economics faculty at The University of Texas at Austin's Red McCombs School of Business, where he holds the Trammell Crow Regents Professorship. He earned a B.S. in business administration and economics from Trinity University and a Ph.D. in finance from UT Austin in 1998. Following a period teaching at New York University's Stern School of Business, Hartzell joined the UT Austin faculty in 2001 as an assistant professor of finance. He advanced to executive director of the McCombs School's Real Estate Finance and Investment Center in 2007, chaired the Department of Finance from 2011 to 2014—during which he established the one-year Master of Science in Finance degree and the Undergraduate Real Estate Certificate Program—served as senior associate dean for academic affairs, and became dean of the McCombs School of Business in February 2016, holding the Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership and Lois and Richard Folger Dean’s Leadership Chair. In April 2020, he was appointed interim president of UT Austin, followed by his confirmation as the 30th president from 2020 to 2025.

Hartzell's scholarship centers on real estate finance, corporate finance, and corporate governance. Notable publications include "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation" (2003), "Why Do Firms Hold So Much Cash? A Tax-Based Explanation" (2007), "Active Institutional Shareholders and Costs of Monitoring: Evidence from Executive Compensation" (2005), "What's in It for Me? CEOs Whose Firms Are Acquired" (2004), and "The Impact of CEO Turnover on Equity Volatility" (2005). Recognized twice by students as an Outstanding Core Instructor in the MBA program, he also holds the Ed and Carolyn Hyman Presidential Leadership Chair. As dean, Hartzell launched the Goff Real Estate Labs, elevated the Canfield Business Honors program, opened Rowling Hall as the MBA program home, forged partnerships with units including Dell Medical School, College of Fine Arts, College of Liberal Arts, College of Natural Sciences, and Moody College of Communication, and created the Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion position along with the McCombs Diversity and Inclusion Committee. His leadership advanced business education and interdisciplinary collaboration at UT Austin.

Professional Email: jay.hartzell@mccombs.utexas.edu