RICHARDSON, Texas — The University of Texas at Dallas became the latest university in North Texas to announce a leadership change Monday when university president Dr. Richard Benson announced he’s stepping down.
The UT-System Board of Regents will soon launch a search for Benson’s successor, expected to be concluded by the end of the 2025 academic year.
Benson, the fifth president of UT Dallas, has served in the role for eight years. Before becoming president of the university in 2016, he’d most recently served as dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech and head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
“Reflecting on all that has been accomplished over the last eight years, and all that has been set in motion, I feel that this is a good time to pass the leadership of UT Dallas to a new president, and I am grateful that Chancellor J.B. Milliken has accepted my decision,” Benson wrote in a letter shared Monday. “Although my time as president draws to a close, I will continue to be a proud member of the UT Dallas faculty, and I hope that there may yet be other ways for me to contribute to the life of this university.”
Benson said he’ll make himself available to the university’s next president if called upon.
During Benson’s tenure, UT Dallas has worked to create a cultural district with the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, which is expected to have a ribbon cutting later this year and acquired the Crow Museum of Asian Art and its collection in 2019. More recently, Benson oversaw the university’s response to protests on campus over the war in Gaza.
Benson holds a bachelor of science and engineering degree in aerospace and mechanical science from Princeton University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
The University of Texas at Dallas joins SMU in searching for a new president after its president of 30 years, R. Gerald Turner, announced last week that he’s stepping down. A new president took office at the University of North Texas earlier this month and UNT Dallas is searching for a new president after Bob Mong announced his retirement earlier this year.
