Biography

Taylor Eighmy is the 6th president of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). In addition to serving as university president, Eighmy holds faculty appointments in the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the College of Sciences’ Department of Integrative Biology.

Eighmy is passionate about the critical role that research universities play in creating and applying knowledge to improve the world. He believes deeply in higher education as a great opportunity provider, especially when grounded in student success. Once more, he is a vigorous advocate for experiential learning—including undergraduate research—as foundational to such success.

Since arriving at UTSA, Eighmy has made great strides toward linking educational attainment to San Antonio's economic development. Under his leadership, UTSA is producing more graduates than ever before, driving job creation and the city's growing knowledge economy. He is nationally recognized for advancing top research universities through strategic government-university-industry collaborations, public-private partnerships and community engagement. These principles are at the heart of his conviction that UTSA is “the university of the future in the city of the future.”

Prior to arriving at UTSA in September 2017, Eighmy served as the chief research officer at three top public flagship universities: the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Texas Tech University (TTU), and most recently, at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). At UNH, he worked closely with Dartmouth College and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center to establish a National Institute of Health-funded $14.5 million INBRE institute for biomedical research excellence. Funding for this effort has been renewed. At TTU, he collaborated with the TTU Health Sciences Center to establish the Texas Tech Neuroimaging Institute. He also led efforts with the University of Oklahoma to secure the $25 million South Central Climate Science Center from the U.S. Geological Survey; funding for this initiative has been renewed. At UTK, Eighmy and colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory directed efforts that resulted in the University of Tennessee’s selection to lead the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, a $259 million public-private partnership supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Funding for this initiative has also been renewed.

Nationally, Eighmy serves on the executive committee of the board of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) Coalition of Urban Serving Universities. Eighmy also chairs the APLU Commission on International Initiatives and represents the Commission on the APLU Board of Directors. He serves on the executive committee of the board of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities. He serves on the executive and audit committees on the board of the American Athletic Conference. He is a member of the President's Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and the Pew Charitable Trusts Presidents’ and Chancellors’ Council on Public Impact Research. Finally, he serves on the Council of the National Academies' Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and is a member on the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.

In Texas and more locally, he serves on the board and executive committee of greater:SATX. He also serves on the boards of Tech Bloc San Antonio, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio Medical Foundation, World Affairs Council of San Antonio and the Tobin Center for Performing Arts Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Advisory Council for the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County and serves as an Advisory Trustee of the Southwest Research Institute. In 2024 he joined the Civic Leadership Team for the 16th Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

Previously, he has served on the boards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission of Colleges (SACSCOC), Texas International Education Consortium, Conference USA, UP Partnership, Collaborative Composites Solutions Corp (as founder), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), ORAU Foundation, Southeastern Universities Research Associates, East Tennessee Economic Development Council, Cherokee Farm Development Corporation, UT Research Foundation, National Wind Resource Center (as founder), National Institute for Renewable Energy, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Science Spectrum and Louise H. Underwood Center for the Arts.

Education
Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering - University of New Hampshire
M.S. in Civil Engineering - University of New Hampshire
B.S. in Biology - Tufts University

Distinctions

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
• Diplomate, American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists

Research Interests
Element speciation, environmental chemistry of leaching behavior, spectroscopic surface analysis, applied geochemistry, reactive barriers, reactive transport modeling, environmental microbiology, biofouling, biofilms, sustainability, carbon sequestration, carbon cycling, and recycled materials.

• Google Scholar Profile
• ResearchGate Profile
• ORCID ID

Personal
President Eighmy and his wife Peggy Eighmy have one daughter, Hannah, a pediatric nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, and are the proudest of grandparents to Maeve Elizabeth. They enjoy fly fishing, biking, pickleball, cooking and playing with their dogs Finbarr and Fiona.

Updated July 2024