In May 2025, James B. Milliken was named president of the University of California, one of the most prestigious and comprehensive public university systems in the world. With over thirty years of leadership in public higher education, Milliken brings deep experience to the role, having previously served as chancellor of the University of Texas System, where he oversaw fourteen academic and health institutions, including seven medical schools and five Carnegie R1 research universities. Under his leadership, the UT System enrolled more than 256,000 students, employed over 160,000 faculty and staff, and exceeded $4.3 billion in annual research expenditures—ranking No. 1 in Texas and No. 2 in the nation in federal research expenditures among public university systems.
At UT, Milliken led major initiatives to meet the needs of a rapidly growing and diversifying population, expanding training, education, and research in high-demand fields such as information technology, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, public health, and medicine.
A nationally recognized voice in higher education, Milliken is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the boards of the American Council on Education and the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, among others.
Prior to his time at UT, Milliken was chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY), president of the University of Nebraska, and senior vice president at the University of North Carolina. Before entering higher education, he practiced law on Wall Street.
