Texas A&M system chancellor John Sharp has announced he will retire, effective June 30, 2025. Sharp sent an e-mail stating in part that “soon it will be time for this Chancellor to disappear around the bend. I will move to Austin to spend more time with my daughter Victoria, son Spencer, and Diana’s and my grandchildren.” Sharp also said “While I am retiring from this job, I will find ways to continue to serve the great state I love.” He also said “I will never retire from work, and I look forward to telling you next year about the next phase of Diana’s and my life work. One thing is for certain, I will never be too busy or too old to help Texas A&M and the A&M System.” Sharp began his run as the A&M system’s longest serving chancellor in September 2011. The 1972 A&M graduate served as student body president. He later served in the Texas House the Texas Senate, the Texas Railroad Commission, and two terms as state comptroller. Statement from John Sharp: Colleagues and friends, I notified the Board of Regents several weeks ago that this coming year will be my final year as Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. My retirement will be effective June 30, 2025. By then, I will have served almost 14 years in this position. Leading this grand enterprise has been one of the great privileges of my life, a challenge, and an honor. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to all of you who have shown confidence in me and contributed to our collective endeavor. Together we have lifted the Texas A&M System to historic heights. I thank the 21 regents who I have faithfully served, and I thank those past and present who have served with me: the presidents of 11 universities, the CEOs of eight state agencies, the members of my executive committee; our students, faculty, and staff. I thank our supporters at the Chancellor’s Century Council and in the Texas Legislature; Governors Greg Abbott and Rick Perry; Lt. Governors Dan Patrick and David Dewhurst; Texas Speakers Joe Straus, Dennis Bonnen, and Dade Phelan; and members of the Texas Congressional delegation. With your assistance, we have become one of the genuinely great university systems in the world. We have increased enrollment more than 25 percent during a time when too many people are questioning the value of a college education. We added a law school that has risen faster in the national rankings than any other in history. We consolidated the state’s disaster response and recovery by adding the Texas Division of Emergency Management as our 8th state agency. We increased our National Academy memberships five-fold, and our research expenditures now exceed $1 billion a year. And the past 13 years have seen a historic building boom with $11.4 billion for 306 projects. Texas A&M University, in particular, has become the school of choice, with one of the biggest student enrollments in the nation. Texas A&M is no longer anybody’s little brother. Despite the remarkable things we have accomplished, I am proudest of the fact that our culture, our traditions, and the patriotic fervor of our students remain intact. We reflect the great traditions and culture of the state of Texas. Best of all, the next 12 months have the potential to be the most remarkable year of all. The System is a movable feast of innovation at Texas A&M-RELLIS, the new Fort Worth campus, the McAllen Teaching Center, the Port in Brownsville, the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and elsewhere. Stay tuned. There is more innovation in the works as we continuously strive to serve Texas and the nation. Whatever I have accomplished, I owe much to the love of my family and friends. I thank you for the outpouring of support when Charlotte passed in 2020. I also thank you for extending your friendship to Diana, who has been steadfast in her support of me and the Texas A&M System. While the road goes on forever and the party never ends, soon it will be time for this Chancellor to disappear around the bend. I will move to Austin to spend more time with my daughter Victoria, son Spencer, and Diana’s and my grandchildren. While I am retiring from this job, I will find ways to continue to serve the great state I love. I will never retire from work, and I look forward to telling you next year about the next phase of Diana’s and my life work. One thing is for certain, I will never be too busy or too old to help Texas A&M and the A&M System. I have been blessed with more years as Chancellor than I had imagined back in 2011. I feel like, together, we have accomplished remarkable things and built momentum for future generations. We are blessed to have our best set of university presidents and agency CEOs ever. We are blessed to have a Board of Regents committed to thoughtfully choosing our next chancellor, and I offer them my steadfast support. As always, I thank you for your support. News release from the Texas A&M system: Porter Garner jokes that he is not sure John Sharp ever sleeps. “It’s not uncommon to get a text from John late at night, or at four in the morning,” said Garner, longtime president of The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University. “He has some new idea or concept he’d like to discuss. Ultimately, it is about A&M, to benefit our students, our former students our university.” “He’s the best chancellor we’ve ever had,” Garner added. “No chancellor in history has ever advanced Texas A&M and the Texas A&M University System like John Sharp has.” Garner is among the Texans praising the era of the longest serving chancellor in the history of the Texas A&M System. Sharp announced Monday that he will retire as chancellor in 12 months. “Texas is grateful for Chancellor John Sharp’s unwavering […]
