After serving in the military for 37 years–in which he was commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command–publishing a book, and leading the University of Texas System as chancellor, William McRaven will retire May 31.
“I very much enjoyed my time in the military. I have loved being chancellor of the University of Texas System. It’s been a fabulous job,” McRaven told The Rider in a telephone interview. “I’ve been honored to do it and blessed to have this opportunity, but now I want to find out what’s my next passion in life.”
McRaven hopes he will figure out his next plan, but he will not completely stop working.
“I will be teaching at UT Austin in the [2019] Spring semester … just part time, but I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “… But I don’t have any [official] plans for the next six or seven months.”
Now, McRaven will focus on figuring out what else he will do in retirement.
“I think very highly of him,” President Guy Bailey said of the soon-to-be retiree. “He is a man of great integrity, of great vision, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.”
McRaven has numerous other accomplishments, including being runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, winning the Distinguished Service Award from the FBI Agents Association and the Ambassador Richard M. Helms Award from the Central Intelligence Agency Officers Memorial Foundation. He also wrote “Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice.”
The chancellor is a retired four-star Navy admiral who planned and orchestrated the operation that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden, according to a UT System news release.
McRaven, who received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication in 1977, later graduated with a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1991 and became chancellor in January 2015.
“[The UT System board of regents] told me that they were looking to establish this new University of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley,” McRaven said.
He accepted the position for two main reasons.
“I’m a San Antonio boy, a South Texas boy, and I am also a big believer in the underrepresented minorities, in improving diversity, giving people opportunities. I saw it in the military,” McRaven said. “The great thing about the military is no matter what your race, color, or creed, or gender, or orientation is, we are going to give you the opportunity, and you have an opportunity to succeed and do good things. I saw establishing … UTRGV as an opportunity to do that.”
Bailey said students and their success, along with being treated equally, are two standards that the chancellor focused on implementing.
“Every time I think of him, I think of those two [standards],” Bailey said. “He focused on students, and fair and equitable treatment.”
Bailey said he believes McRaven’s legacy will be his focus and insistence on equality for all students.
“It was a real pleasure working for him, and I wish him well in the future,” Bailey said.
The chancellor said one part of his job he will miss is working with his colleagues.
“[McRaven] always advocated on behalf of UTRGV and our students,” said Veronica Gonzales, vice president for the Office of the VP Governmental and Community Relations. “Whether they were medical students, or chess players, or DREAMERS, or astrophysics majors, or future educators, you name it, he was always going to bat for the university, and so, we’re going to miss him. We’re going to miss him deeply, and we are eternally grateful to him.”
Gonzales said she believes the UT System was fortunate to have McRaven as the chancellor.
“I think his legacy is going to be that he is instrumental in moving the … he called it the Quantum Leaps concept, forward,” she said. “And they were designed to outline initiatives that would provide for the very best in higher education, research and health care over the next several decades.”
McRaven expects a bright future for UT System universities.
The chancellor still has several goals he would like to accomplish and hopes the UT System will gain management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The UT System is currently one of the bidders that submitted a formal request to the Department of Energy. McRaven said an announcement of who will be granted management of Los Alamos will be made in about two weeks.
McRaven said he is working to continue accomplishing the goals on his list. He also advised faculty and staff to never lose sight of why they are here.
“We’re here to educate the young men and women of the state of Texas and to take care of patients,” McRaven said. “Never lose sight of the fact that it’s about student success, getting the students through college, and giving them a quality education.”
Research, McRaven said, is also important so students may help advance all areas in a fashion that will help create a better country.
