After serving a combined 22 years as president of UT Tyler and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (UTHSCT), Kirk A. Calhoun, MD, FACP, announced today that he will retire as president of The University of Texas at Tyler effective May 31.
“Jeanette and I arrived in Tyler when I was appointed as the new president of the UT Health Science Center at Tyler at age 49, some 22 years ago,” Calhoun said. “I was especially honored to be the inaugural president of the combined UT Tyler/UTHSCT. This has been a most unusual, incredibly lengthy and joyous span of service for a public university president.”
Calhoun has led UT Tyler since the university merged with UTHSCT in 2021. He served as president of UTHSCT since 2002, making him the longest-serving active president in the UT System.
“On behalf of the Board of Regents, I express gratitude to President Calhoun for his leadership during a remarkable period of growth of our health enterprise and the union of our academic and health institutions in Tyler. We hope he’ll reflect on his long and successful tenure with great satisfaction,” said Kevin Eltife, UT System Board of Regents chair.
During his presidency, Calhoun oversaw enrollment growth, historic philanthropic giving and the launch of the first school of medicine in East Texas. A year ago, Gov. Greg Abbott and other elected officials joined Calhoun, Eltife and UT System leaders to break ground on the $308 million UT Tyler Medical Education Building, set to open in 2025.
“Dr. Calhoun’s long commitment to the UT Health Tyler, UT Tyler, and the region will be felt for many years to come. Improving health and the human condition and educating and training generations of students has been his life’s work. We applaud his many impactful contributions,” said J.B. Milliken, UT System chancellor.
Collaboration and increasing educational opportunity have been hallmarks of Calhoun’s tenure leading UT Tyler. The university expanded academic programs, forged partnerships with community colleges and industry, grew scholarship offerings, and developed a strategic plan for the combined health and academic enterprise. UT Tyler also received decennial reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and advanced to R2 Carnegie Classification, Doctoral University with High Research Activity, reflecting the university’s growing emphasis on research.
In 2018, Calhoun implemented the merger of assets from UTHSCT, Ardent Health Services and the East Texas Medical Center to create the UT Health East Texas hospital system. He now serves as chair of the UT Health East Texas Board of Directors. This newly formed health system owns and operates 10 hospitals, more than 80 clinics, emergency transport services, home health and other health enterprises.
He served on the board and is immediate past chair of the American Association of Medical Colleges board of directors. Calhoun served two terms as board chair of America’s Essential Hospitals and two terms on the Texas Statewide Department of Health Services Council. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Teaching Hospitals of Texas.
Throughout his career, Calhoun has received numerous awards, including induction to the prestigious Doctor Luke Society. He and his wife were named the T.B. Butler Citizens of the Year in 2021, honoring their achievements and contributions to Tyler. Calhoun was the 2023 recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District IV E. Joseph Savoie Chief Executive Leadership Award.
The process for the selection of UT Tyler’s new president, including the appointment of a committee to advise Milliken and the Board of Regents, will be led by Eltife, a Tyler native whose extensive knowledge and decades-long leadership role with UTHSCT and UT Tyler have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in state and regents’ support to the university.
“There are many important initiatives at our Tyler campuses, and my colleagues and I will work to name a successor to President Calhoun who will build upon the work underway,” Eltife noted.
UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.
(From a UT Tyler news release.)
