Breadcrumbs

Main page content

UT System’s fairness and opportunity policy to be highlighted at Texas Women in Higher Education Conference

AUSTIN—The University of Texas System’s efforts to ensure pay equity and leadership diversity will be the subject of a panel discussion at the Texas Women in Higher Education Conference in San Marcos on April 4.  

The “Translating Top-Level Commitment to Enhancing Fairness and Opportunity into Real Progress” panel will discuss implementation of the “Enhancing Fairness and Opportunity Quantum Leap,” the System’s initiative to hire leaders who reflect the changing look of Texas and to assure gender pay equity for faculty across the UT System.

The panel will also discuss the Chancellor’s Network for Women’s Leadership, whose purpose is to enable the creation and sustainment of an organizational climate and culture across every institution and within System Administration that is positive for women, supports equal achievement for women professionals, and assists in development of the next generation of women leaders.

Similar to the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, UT System has adopted a policy to ensure qualified women and members of underrepresented groups have the opportunity to be considered by the final decision maker for every senior level position. In addition, representatives from all of the 14 UT System institutions are working together to develop guidelines and processes to identify and address any gender pay gap for faculty.

In 2015, UT System Chancellor William McRaven introduced nine “Quantum Leaps” – bold initiatives to boost the UT System’s ability to provide the best education, research and health care for the citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world.

“Change starts at the top. We need administrators, campus leaders and faculty whom women and minority students can look to as role models and mentors and who better understand the students they’re serving and where they’re from,” UT System Chancellor William H. McRaven said.

Representing the UT System on the panel will be Amy Shaw Thomas, vice chancellor for academic and health affairs; Omar Syed, associate vice chancellor and deputy general counsel; Pamela Bacon, assistant vice chancellor for academic and health affairs; and Lisa Firmin, associate provost for veteran and military affairs at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

The panel discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, beginning at 10:15 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in San Marcos. Additional conference information is available at http://www.twhe.org/events-2/state-conference/

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 228,000, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates almost two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System’s operating budget for FY 2017 is $17.9 billion, including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and many members of the National Academies – and nearly 80,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.

News Contact Information

Jenny LaCoste-Caputo: jcaputo@utsystem.edu  • 512-499-4361(direct) • 512-574-5777 (cell) 
Melanie Thompson: mthompson@utsystem.edu • 512-499-4487 (direct) • 832-724-1024 (cell)