CHANCELLOR LEE F. JACKSON

Lee Jackson has served as Chancellor of the University of North Texas System since 2002, following a 30-year career in state and local government.

He is the chief executive officer of the UNT System, an organization with 8,500 employees, over 40,000 students at four primary teaching locations, and an annual operating budget of $1.2 billion.

The Chancellor reports to a 10-member Board of Regents, appointed by the Governor of Texas, and is responsible for the development of System initiatives, administrative and policy direction, strategic planning, and oversight of the UNTS campuses: 

University of North Texas (Denton), UNT Health Science Center (Fort Worth) and UNT Dallas. 

Chancellor Jackson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Citizens Council and the Dallas Regional Chamber, where he chairs the University CEO Council.  At the national level, he serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of System Heads (NASH).  He is past chairman of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities (ATCU) and the Texas Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors (CPUPC).  

Under his leadership as Chancellor, the University of North Texas System has:

• Increased its student enrollment to 43,380 as of Fall 2016
• Increased the number of degrees granted annually from 5,306 in 2002 to 9,243 in 2015
• Achieved recognition for UNT as one of Texas’ Emerging Research Universities
• Started new professional programs in engineering, law, pharmacy and medicine
• Expanded the programs and prominence of the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth with new clinical and teaching partnerships
• Created a new university, UNT Dallas, that exceeded the 3,000 student mark in 2016
• Acquired property in downtown Dallas to house System Administration, the UNT Dallas College of Law, UNT Art on Main, and other teaching programs
• Achieved the highest designation of research-intensive universities from the Carnegie Endowment for UNT
• Started a new teaching center, UNT New College in Frisco

Chancellor Jackson was born in Austin, Texas.  He attended Dallas public schools, received his B.A. in Political Science from Duke University, and his Masters of Public Administration from SMU. 

He is married to Margaret Jackson and has four children and three grandchildren.