by Beverley Golden
On February 13, Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun announced that he will retire as president of The University of Texas at Tyler, effective May 31, after serving a combined 22 years as the leader of The University of Texas at Tyler and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.
“My wife Jeanette and I arrived in Tyler when I was appointed as the new president of the UT Health Science Center at Tyler at age 49, some 22 years ago,” Calhoun said. “I was especially honored to be the inaugural president of the combined UT Tyler/UTHSCT. This has been a most unusual, incredibly lengthy, and joyous span of service for a public university president.”
Calhoun has led UT Tyler since the university merged with UTHSCT in 2021. He served as president of UTHSCT since 2002, making him the longest-serving active president in the UT System.
“Kirk was the right person at the right time to lead the Health Science Center and most recently UT Tyler. He saw the possibilities and built a team that could develop the plan and implement it. Our healthcare community will be forever changed due to his impact,” said Barbara Bass, former City of Tyler mayor and chair of the university’s Regional Development Board.
The UT System Board of Regents formalized the leadership of a unified UT Tyler in December 2020 with the appointment of Calhoun as president. He took office January 4, 2021.
“On behalf of the Board of Regents, I express gratitude to President Calhoun for his leadership during a remarkable period of growth of our health enterprise and the union of our academic and health institutions in Tyler. We hope he’ll reflect on his long and successful tenure with great satisfaction,” said Kevin P. Eltife, UT System Board of Regents chairman.
During his presidency at UT Tyler, the university has experienced record enrollment growth, historic philanthropic giving, and the launch of the first school of medicine in East Texas.
“Kirk has an optimistic vision for the future that is contagious, and people believe in his ability to deliver,” said Bob Garrett, president and CEO of Fair Oil Company. “Indeed, his vision for the medical school and advanced residency training has been delivered.”
In January 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other elected officials joined Calhoun, Eltife and fellow regents, and UT System leaders to break ground on the $308 million UT Tyler Medical Education Building, set to open in 2025, as home to UT Tyler’s School of Medicine. “Chairman Eltife and I always worked incredibly well together, and it was essential to have his support and influence for the medical school and medical education building,” said Calhoun.
“Dr. Calhoun’s long commitment to UT Health Tyler, UT Tyler, and the region will be felt for many years to come. Improving health and the human condition and educating and training generations of students has been his life’s work. We applaud his many impactful contributions,” said J.B. Milliken, UT System Chancellor.
Collaboration and increasing educational opportunity have been hallmarks of Calhoun’s tenure leading UT Tyler. The university expanded academic programs, forged partnerships with community colleges and industry, grew student scholarship offerings, and developed a strategic plan for the combined health and academic enterprise, titled “Rise as One.”
“He has been instrumental in achieving greater wins for our communities through his steadfast commitment to partnerships, especially with Tyler Junior College,” said Dr. Juan Mejia, Tyler Junior College president.
Both presidents stand committed to a strategic collaboration between the two institutions of higher learning.
“My wife Meela and I will always treasure the friendship with Jeanette and Kirk,” he added.
Dr. Jeanette Deas Calhoun has played an integral role in his success. They are every bit a team that supports and encourages one another, and serving the community is very much a family endeavor. She earned her PhD in higher education administration from Florida State University with an emphasis in leadership. Her professional experience includes student development, student scholarships, social service, needs assessment, grants, fundraising, and organization and management. She currently serves as the executive director and CEO of the East Texas Cares Resource Center in Tyler.
Under Calhoun’s leadership, UT Tyler also received re-accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and substantially moved up in Carnegie Classification, becoming a Doctoral University with High Research Activity, reflecting the university’s significant growth in research.
While Calhoun served as UTHSCT president, the university grew substantially.
“I have often said that Kirk doesn’t know what he can’t do,” said Garrett. “He penetrated barrier after barrier, implemented bold programs and persisted year after year, rebuilding UTHSCT into the powerhouse success it is today.”
As UTHSCT president in 2018, he led the merger of assets from UTHSCT, Ardent Health Services and the East Texas Medical Center to create UT Health East Texas ($1.3B in revenue) hospital system in East Texas. Calhoun now serves as chair of the UT Health East Texas Board of Directors, and this newly formed health system owns and operates 10 hospitals, more than 80 clinics, emergency transport services, home health, and other health enterprises.
“Dr. Calhoun has been a catalyst for transforming the Tyler/Smith County economic base. Because of his vision we are now a regional center for healthcare and education and, as a result, the fastest growing, most diverse economy in East Texas,” said Tom Mullins, president of TG Mullins Consulting and former president and CEO of Tyler Economic Development Council.
Calhoun is a nationally recognized healthcare and medical education leader. He served on the board and is immediate past chair of the American Association of Medical Colleges Board of Directors (2012-2023). As chair, in 2021, he actively facilitated the acquisition of the Association of Academic Health Centers by the AAMC. He is on the executive committee and is the past chair of the AAMC Council of Teaching Hospitals.
Calhoun was on the AAMC board (2005-2012) and is one of only two individuals to be asked and to serve two terms as board chair of America’s Essential Hospitals, formally the National Association of Public Hospitals. He also served two terms on the DSHS Council (the Texas State Board of Health), and he currently serves on the executive committee of the Teaching Hospitals of Texas.
“Kirk’s unparalleled dedication and contributions to the medical and educational fields have earned him numerous accolades,” said James I. Perkins, Citizens 1st Bank president and chairman of the board. “Each one of these awards symbolize his profound impact professionally throughout the East Texas area. My wife Margaret and I and many thousands have benefitted substantially to have Kirk and Jeanette as good friends during their 22-year period in Tyler.”
Calhoun was inducted into the prestigious Doctor Luke Society in 2021. He and Jeanette were awarded the T.B. Butler Citizens of the Year Award in 2020, honoring both their contributions and achievements. Calhoun was the 2023 recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District IV E. Joseph Savoie Chief Executive Leadership Award.
“Kirk has channeled his life’s experiences and personal characteristics into a beautiful story of enduring success. The people of this community and all of East Texas will owe him a great deal of gratitude for generations to come,” Garrett said.
Calhoun earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Illinois Chicago and an MD degree from the University of Kansas. Following residency at Northwestern University, he completed a fellowship in Clinical Nephrology, Hypertension and Metabolism at the University of Chicago. He then had a successful career as the managing partner of a private physician group and pursued his passion in academic medicine. After senior leadership positions at the University of Missouri Kansas City and at UTMB HealthCare Systems, he then became simultaneously the senior vice president at Parkland Hospital and associate dean for clinical affairs at UT Southwestern.
The process for the selection of UT Tyler’s new president, including the appointment of a committee to advise Milliken and the Board of Regents, will be led by Eltife, whose extensive knowledge and decades-long leadership role with UTHSCT and UT Tyler have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in state and regents’ support to the university.
“There are many important initiatives at our Tyler campuses, and my colleagues and I will work to name a successor to President Calhoun who will build upon the work underway,” added Eltife.
The Calhouns are looking to this next chapter with anticipation for new endeavors.
“We plan to take a little time off to rest and to contemplate new opportunities,” Calhoun said. “Jeanette and I will spend more time with both our wonderful children, Kenneth and Kara, who are quite successful on their own. We have a new granddaughter, Cameron, to enjoy and shower with affection. We will reach out to family members and old friends for inspiration and will enjoy nurturing many new and lifelong friendships. Jeanette will have her own thoughts on much that we will do, and as we have done since we met many years ago, we will support one another.”
Calhoun’s future will be driven by two prime motives that have consistently guided his life – the pursuit of innovative ideas in business, education, and healthcare, and using his tenacity, eagerness, and profound passion to work with others to accomplish collaborative success.
“I have been blessed to have countless and very meaningful relationships with academic, healthcare, corporate, and government leaders,” said Calhoun. “In leaving their roles to move on to their next opportunities, they shared two regrets with me. They wished they would have accomplished even more than they initially set out to do, and they missed the people who were kind enough to help them do the job they loved so much. I share those exact sentiments and many others too numerous to declare.
“I thank God for these 22 years and ask for his good graces as we all go forward. I thank the Tyler community, our elected state and local leadership, and my friends and colleagues for the support and friendship you have gifted to me. You have not seen the last of me.”