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Chancellor’s Technology Commercialization Advisory Cabinet Meeting

AUSTIN – The first meeting of The Chancellor’s Technology Commercialization Advisory Cabinet took place April 25, 2012 in Austin. University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa appointed fourteen individuals from industry to serve on the cabinet which was created to help boost the UT System mission to enhance the success of translating the remarkable discoveries from System institutions to the benefit of society. The expertise, perspectives and recommendations of these industry leaders will undoubtedly help UT advance its technology commercialization activities.

The cabinet will meet twice a year alternating between Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio in order to review current System technology transfer opportunities, identify approaches and advise on planning, as well as consider obstacles and opportunities. Taking lessons from best practices in technology transfer across the United States, including industry, the cabinet will help define what success means and what matters to UT System. Technology transfer involves a diverse set of stakeholders and issues including faculty research, legal contracting, patentability and marketability of technologies, business development, the investment community and finance.

Distinguished industry leaders serving on the cabinet are:

  • David G. Booth, Chairman and Co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors
  • Clint W. Bybee, Co-founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners
  • Ernest H. Cockrell, chairman of Cockrell Interests, Inc. and president and director of The Cockrell Foundation
  • Jonathan J. Fleming, Managing General Partner of Oxford Bioscience Partners
  • Thomas J. Meredith, co-founder and general partner of Meritage Capital, LP
  • James J. Mulva, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ConocoPhillips
  • Ron Nixon, co-founding principal at The Catalyst Group, Inc.
  • Robert B. Rowling, owner and chairman of TRT Holdings, Inc.
  • Dr. Joseph C. Salamone, co-founder of Polymer Technology Corporation
  • Charles W. Tate, Chairman and Founding Partner of Capital Royalty
  • Ralph B. Thomas, senior vice president, portfolio manager and member of the Investment Committee at Fayez Sarofim & Co.
  • John D. Thornton, general partner at Austin Ventures
  • Rex W. Tillerson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil

In addition, selected institutional leaders will also serve as ambassadors to the cabinet. They will interact with the cabinet, the Chancellor and UT System staff to provide insight into activities at the institutional level. Ronald DePinho, M.D., president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Gregory L. Fenves, dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, made presentations at the first meeting of the cabinet.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, the University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities and six health science centers. Preliminary student enrollment exceeded 215,000 in the 2011 academic year. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates nearly three-fourths of the state's health care professionals annually. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.1 billion (FY 2012) including $2.3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With roughly 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.

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