Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., was appointed the 10th chancellor of The University of Texas System by the UT System Board of Regents on Jan. 9, 2009. He began his service as the UT System’s chief administrative officer on Feb. 2, 2009. As chancellor, Dr. Cigarroa oversees one of the largest public systems of higher education in the nation, with nine universities and six health institutions, an annual operating budget of $11.5 billion (FY 2009), including $2.5 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources, and more than 194,000 students and 84,000 employees. Dr. Cigarroa also serves as vice chairman for policy on the Board of Directors of The University of Texas Investment Management Co. (UTIMCO).
A nationally renowned pediatric and transplant surgeon, Dr. Cigarroa served as president of the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio from 2000 until his appointment as chancellor.
A native of Laredo, Dr. Cigarroa earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale in 1979 and received his medical degree with highest honors from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 1983. He has completed 12 years of postgraduate training. He was chief resident at Harvard’s teaching hospital, Massachusetts General in Boston, and completed a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
In 1995, he joined the UT Health Science Center faculty in San Antonio. Dr. Cigarroa was on the surgical team that in 1997 split a donor liver for transplant into two recipients; it was the first operation of its type in Texas. In 2000, he headed the team that performed South Texas’ first successful pediatric small bowel transplant.
Immediately prior to his appointment as president, he served as director of pediatric surgery. He serves on the medical staffs of University Hospital, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Downtown, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital-Medical Center and the Baptist Health System, and as a consultant at Methodist Children's Hospital.
Dr. Cigarroa is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery and a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and has received a certificate in pediatric surgery from the American Board of Surgery. He is an accomplished researcher who has published scientific papers on principles of surgery in infants and children. His many professional affiliations include the American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association and Bexar County Medical Society. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.
In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed him to serve as a member of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science. He also serves as a member of the Secretary’s Council on Public Health Preparedness, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness.
Dr. Cigarroa is an accomplished guitarist in classical and flamenco music. He and his wife, Graciela, an attorney, have two grown daughters, Maria Cristina and Barbara Carisa. The Cigarroas live at Bauer House in Austin, the official residence of the UT System chancellor.
email: chancellor@utsystem.edu
