Heather Shipley, PhD
Heather Shipley, PhD, serves as Provost and Senior Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas at San Antonio. As the university’s chief academic officer, she leads nine colleges, nine academic support divisions and four cross-functional teams that span the academic enterprise. She also holds the endowed Peter T. Flawn Chair and a faculty appointment as Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Committed to Student Success
Shipley is deeply committed to student success, faculty excellence, and building innovative academic structures that respond to community and workforce needs. She has led transformative, university-wide initiatives that have elevated UT San Antonio’s national profile, including securing its designation as a Carnegie R1 research university and earning recognition as a Carnegie Opportunity College and University — affirming UT San Antonio’s role as a national model for driving student success and social mobility. She also played a key leadership role in guiding the university through a successful reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
One of her most notable accomplishments is the establishment of University College, which she launched from the ground up as a multidisciplinary academic incubator. Under her leadership, the college became a catalyst for program innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Shipley also re-envisioned and continues to lead the UT San Antonio’s Clustered and Connected Hiring Program, designed to recruit mid-career and senior faculty to advance interdisciplinary research and institutional priorities.
As UT San Antonio expands its footprint in San Antonio’s urban core, Shipley is guiding the academic vision behind this growth. She is currently leading the development of the new College of AI, Cyber and Computing that together with the other university programs downtown are shaping a vibrant academic and innovation ecosystem in San Antonio’s core. Her leadership has helped establish UT San Antonio as a key regional partner in workforce development and talent pipeline creation.
Prior to UT San Antonio
Prior to her current role, Shipley served as a faculty member and department chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UT San Antonio and held various leadership roles within the university’s academic enterprise. She is a nationally respected environmental engineer, with her research focusing on advanced water treatment technologies, particularly in the removal of harmful contaminants from drinking water.
Serving Nationally and Locally
Nationally, Shipley serves on the Presidents and Chancellors Council on Public Impact Research in collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts and is a member of the HSRU Provosts and Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs Affinity Group. She serves on the executive committee of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Council on Academic Affairs, where she contributes to national conversations on student success, institutional transformation, and academic leadership. She is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the American Society of Engineering Education.
In San Antonio, she serves on the Board of Directors of UP Partnership and is an Advisory Trustee of the San Antonio Medical Foundation, where she contributes to citywide strategies supporting youth opportunity and public health.
Education
- PhD in Environmental Engineering – Rice University
- MS in Environmental Engineering – Rice University
- BS in Chemistry – Baylor University
Distinctions
- Executive Committee Member, APLU Council on Academic Affairs
- Former Chair, SACSCOC Reaffirmation Leadership Team at UT San Antonio
- Leader, Clustered and Connected Hiring Initiative
- Founding Dean, University College at UT San Antonio
- Recipient, San Antonio Business Journal Women’s Leadership Award
- Member, UT San Antonio’s Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars
- Recipient, San Antonio Business Journal 40 under 40 Award
- Recipient, University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award
Research Interests
Water treatment processes, removal of heavy metals from drinking water, adsorption technologies, sustainability, environmental chemistry, and STEM education.
Personal
Provost Shipley and her husband David live in San Antonio with their two children. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, outdoor activities and cooking.