UT Arlington interim president accepts job leading college in New Jersey
The University of Texas at Arlington’s interim president, Teik C. Lim, has been named as the president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, according to a news release from the institution.
Lim, who has led UT Arlington since spring 2020, will be the NJIT’s ninth president.
He has stood in as UTA president for nearly two years after former president Vistasp Karbhari resigned amid allegations of misconduct, bullying and retaliation. The search for Karbhari’s successor was placed on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lim said Wednesday in an email to the UTA community he will remain affiliated with the university until the end of June and that his role as interim president will continue, “hopefully until the new permanent president of UTA arrives.”
NJIT Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Cohen said Lim was selected from “an exceptionally talented pool of candidates.”
“He has a clear understanding of what NJIT is about, who we serve, and what we need to do to continue the upward trajectory of this great university,” he said in the release. “I and the entire board enthusiastically welcome Dr. Lim to NJIT and are excited to work with him in the years ahead.”
Lim was unanimously approved by the NJIT board as the institute’s ninth president Wednesday, according to the release.
University of Texas System Chancellor James B. Milliken shared his approval at the decision in a statement Wednesday.
“I applaud the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Board of Trustees for its appointment today of Dr. Teik C. Lim as the university’s next president,” Milliken wrote. “Teik’s leadership and numerous accomplishments as the interim president, provost and chief academic officer, and mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at UT Arlington will align well with the mission of NJIT.”
Lim’s hiring comes as the University of Texas system board is poised to meet Friday about the search for the Arlington university’s next president and potentially name a finalist for the position, according to a university-wide email sent Tuesday.
Lim was previously a finalist for president of the University of Memphis in Tennessee, announced as such in November 2021, but the university chose Bill Hardgrave, who had been serving at Auburn University as the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.
Lim said in his email his time at UTA was one of the most rewarding experiences for him.
“I also believe that we, as the maverick community, collectively have positioned UTA in the strongest possible state and reputation,” Lim said in the email.
Lim served as UTA’s provost and chief academic officer from 2017 until his appointment as interim president in 2020.
“UT Arlington is a better institution because of Teik, and the Board of Regents and I are profoundly grateful for his leadership and wish him all our best in his new post,” Milliken said in his statement.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 4:21 PM.