Jackson confirmed as UNT System chancellor

[Harry]

17:33 EDT Thursday

Jackson confirmed as UNT System chancellor

Former Texas legislator and Dallas County Judge Lee Jackson has been confirmed by the University of North Texas System's board of regents as the school's new chancellor.

Jackson will begin working in the UNT System offices in the Gateway Center on the UNT Denton campus Aug. 21. However, he will not be vested until Sept. 1, the day after current Chancellor Alfred Hurley officially steps down.

Jackson, who will resign from his county duties next month, will be the UNT System's third chancellor.

The UNT regents, acting as a search selection committee, selected Jackson from a diverse pool of candidates recommended by an advisory committee comprising students, faculty and staff of the system's institutions and community representatives.

"He is a pacesetter who has worked to develop solutions for some of our region's most pressing challenges," said UNT Regents Chair Bobby Ray. "He will build on the momentum of 20 years of great leadership established by Dr. Hurley."

As UNT System chancellor, Jackson will promote the system's institutions -- the University of North Texas at Denton, the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, the UNT System Center at Dallas and the future University of North Texas at Dallas -- by building external relationships while overseeing the chief executive officer duties for each institution. In addition, he will focus on statewide and nationwide issues and their effects on the UNT System.

"While it's too early for me to discuss or assess any specific changes, I do see five broad priorities that I will use as guidelines to help set the tone for the development of the full potential of this young and growing system," Jackson said.

Those priorities include developing the potential of the UNT System; helping create a more visible identity for the system; promoting diversity through the system; strengthening the financial base at all system institutions; and improving quality of the programs, teaching and research at the three system institutions.

Regents named Jackson as the sole finalist for the chancellor post in early July. The confirmation satisfies the Texas legal requirement for an interim period of at least 21 days between the selection of a finalist and the naming of a new chancellor.

Hurley in January announced his plans to step down after 22 years with the university and the UNT System. He was university president and system chancellor from 1982 until 2000, and he became the system's first full-time chancellor in October 2000.

Jackson has served as Dallas County judge, the county's chief elected official, since 1987, and represented Dallas County in the Texas House of Representatives from 1976 to 1986. He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a master's of public administration from Southern Methodist University.

Web site: http://www.unt.edu.