Members of a University of Texas search committee want fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to return to his alma mater as its next chancellor, according to sources close to the selection process.
No official decisions or offers have been made concerning bringing Tillerson on, reports The Wall Street Journal, but several members of the committee are making a "hard push" for Tillerson, an alumnus and Texas native.
Current Chancellor William McRaven, a former Navy SEAL and four-star admiral, plans to retire in May because of health reasons. If selected as chancellor, Tillerson would be the leader of a university system that enrolls more than 230,000 students, has an $18 billion annual budget and employs more than 100,000 people.
Tillerson left his position as CEO of Exxon/Mobil to take on the job of secretary of state, meaning he'd bring experience from the helm of one of Texas' most famous companies. He's also a 1975 University of Texas graduate, where his activities included serving as a band section leader.
However, he's not a shoe-in, as there are some with the university who want the new chancellor to have experience in the academic world, or for the advisory board to hire a woman or minority candidate.
If Tillerson is picked, he'd be in charge of fourteen institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the nation’s foremost cancer research hospitals.
“When he was the CEO at ExxonMobil he worked his way up the hierarchy and he made the final decision,” said Southern Missouri University political science professor Cal Jillison, while questioning if Tillerson has the skills needed of a chancellor, where he'll be required to mediate with state lawmakers and professionals at TMU.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.