Sharphorn named UT System vice chancellor and general counsel

AUSTIN – Dan Sharphorn, a longtime attorney with extensive experience in higher education leadership and law, has been named vice chancellor and general counsel to The University of Texas System, effective June 16.

Sharphorn joined the UT System in 2007 as associate vice chancellor and deputy general counsel and has been serving as ad interim vice chancellor and general counsel for the past year.

“Over the past year, Dan Sharphorn has demonstrated a collaborative and respectful leadership style that has gained the trust and confidence of his peers and others throughout the UT System,” Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D. said. “He has successfully advanced several important priorities during an exceedingly busy time.”

Sharphorn played a central role in the development and implementation of expanded conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policies and also led the review of policies and procedures to help address and prevent sexual harassment and sexual assault on UT System campuses. He also has provided critical legal guidance on the separation of UT Brownsville and Texas Southmost College as well as the establishment of UT Rio Grande Valley and its medical school, Cigarroa said, citing just a few of Sharphorn’s numerous outstanding accomplishments.

Prior to joining the UT System, Sharphorn served in the vice president and general counsel’s office at the University of Michigan for 25 years, with his last appointment as associate vice president and deputy general counsel. He began his career in higher education as an instructor with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He received his bachelor’s degree from West Point, and he served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and at the Pentagon. He also holds a law degree and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking 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 nine academic universities, six health institutions and a fall 2013 enrollment of more than 213,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public universities in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $14.6 billion (FY 2014) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 90,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.