The UT System Board of Regents chairman announced Friday that former state Rep. John Zerwas, the System’s current executive vice chancellor for health affairs, will become acting chancellor effective June 1.
The board’s decision will replace current Chancellor J.B. Milliken, who has served in the position since 2018. The University of California Board of Regents announced on Friday he would become the next president of the University of California System. Zerwas is set to become the chancellor, who serves as chief executive of the UT System and oversees its 14 schools and over 256,000 students, according to the UT System’s press release.
“We are fortunate to have had Chancellor Milliken at the helm of the UT System for almost seven years,” said Kevin P. Eltife, UT System Board of Regents chairman, in the announcement. “The board and I are grateful for our close and very productive relationship with him, and we are proud of what we accomplished together. He has led the UT System admirably and innovatively.”
Since 2019, Zerwas has led the Health Affairs office, which oversees the five UT medical institutions, including UT Austin’s Dell Medical School, and a budget of approximately $19.2 billion. Zerwas received his doctorate in medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in 1980.
Zerwas, who served as Appropriations Committee chairman, one of the most powerful legislative positions in the Texas House of Representatives because of its influence on the state budget, joins prominent university officials from the Texas political sphere, including Eltife, a former state senator, and interim UT President Jim Davis.
“As a top UT System executive, Dr. Zerwas has worked with regents over the five past years on initiatives that not only are strengthening the capabilities of the system’s vast health enterprise but also implementing new partnerships between UT’s academic universities and health institutions to broaden educational, research, clinical, and operational opportunities across the entire board,” Eltife said. “We continue to have the benefit of Dr. Zerwas’ long and distinguished service in the Texas Legislature as a higher education advocate and budget expert.”
The Board has not announced if it intends to do a national search for Milliken’s permanent replacement and was not available for comment at the time of publication.
