Dr. David E. Daniel

Dr. David E. Daniel

The UT Dallas community is invited to bid farewell to President David E. Daniel during a reception Tuesday honoring his decade of leadership at the University. 

Students, faculty and staff, as well as alumni and community members, will have the opportunity to thank Daniel for his service and wish him well at his new position in the UT System in Austin. The event will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union's Galaxy Rooms

The reception will include short remarks from Daniel, Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, executive vice president and provost, and Susan Rogers, vice president for university advancement

UT System Chancellor William H. McRaven announced in May that Daniel would take on the new role of deputy chancellor and chief operating officer. As the second-highest ranking administrator in the UT System, Daniel will assist McRaven in the implementation of the System’s major goals and will handle a number of the daily operational aspects of the organization. 

He begins his new post July 1. 

McRaven appointed Wildenthal to serve as interim president of UT Dallas beginning July 1. The UT System will conduct a national search to select the University’s next president.

Daniel served as the fourth president of UT Dallas. During his tenure, the University increased enrollment 60 percent. In that same period, four-year graduation rates grew from 30 percent to 53 percent, and six-year rates went from 56 percent to 76 percent. UT Dallas’ tenure and tenure-track faculty has grown from 350 to 536. 

Reception Honoring
President David E. Daniel

When: 2-3:30 p.m. Tuesday; remarks will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Galaxy Rooms, second floor of the Student Union

The average SAT score of incoming freshmen at UT Dallas remains among the highest at any Texas public university. In the past 10 years, UT Dallas added 50 academic programs and boasts a current enrollment of 285 National Merit Scholars. 

Under Daniel’s leadership, UT Dallas has tripled its research expenditures, initiated or completed $1 billion worth of construction of new buildings and infrastructure, and raised more than $360 million in private funds. 

Daniel received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and served on the faculty at UT Austin from 1980 to 1996. In 1996, he moved to the University of Illinois, finishing his service as dean of the College of Engineering before coming to the helm of UT Dallas in 2005.