I’m writing to let you know about the retirement of one of our most dedicated and passionate Mavericks, Vice President of Human Resources Jean Hood. A member of the UTA community since 2007, Jean has been a very important part of the leadership team that worked to bring incredibly talented faculty and staff to UTA during a span of time in which the University more than doubled in student enrollment and achieved status as a Carnegie R-1 research institution, Hispanic-Serving Institution, and future Texas Tier One university.

Jean has been a constant advocate for our employees, a pillar of wisdom, a tremendous leader for our university, and a trusted adviser to many. She will be greatly missed.

In looking back on her career at UTA, Jean shared the following:

“At UTA we transform the lives of people and families in this community. The students at UTA are the future of our country, and helping to shape those minds to create a better world means everything to me. The diversity of the student population is what brought me here; transforming lives in our community is what has kept me here for so many years. I’m immensely proud of the impact this university continues to have on our students and their families.

“It’s been an honor to work with so many excellent people who’ve committed themselves to raising up this university. I know that, together, the amazing faculty and staff at UTA will continue to make a tremendous impact for this community, state, and the world.”

Before Jean’s retirement in the fall semester, she will help the University begin the formation of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and assist in the reorganization of the Office of Human Resources. The reorganization will move the Office of Human Resources into the Division of the Chief Financial Officer. To accomplish this reorganization, the University will hire a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) to lead the newly reorganized group, reporting to Vice President Kelly Davis. A national search for a new CHRO will be announced in the coming days.

UTA’s highly committed faculty and staff have been and will continue to be central to the success of our students, the innovation and impact of our research, and the vibrancy of our university. This reorganization will better leverage the resources and capabilities within the division—including business and payroll services, university analytics, information technology, and information security—to build higher levels of service for UTA’s talented faculty and staff.  

I look forward to working with each of you as we continue to move our community forward, together.