May 6, 2020
Pronouncing Fenves
This should get you close: “Fen” rhymes with “den” and “ves” with “says.” Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUf3EXrZ-u4. He pronounces his name at 0:09
Avid Twitter user
You can follow him at @gregfenves. Source: https://twitter.com/gregfenves
First-generation American
Fenves identifies as a first-generation American, whose father and other family members, survived the Holocaust. His wife Carmel is the granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico.
Engaging students
He enjoys engaging students in informal settings. Watch his humorous “Off the Record” interview with two University of Texas-Austin students. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om_fKJ56T4o
Literary interests
Fenves is a fan of novels by Haruki Murakami. Source: https://president.utexas.edu/president-fenves
Travel abroad
He lived and worked in Kyoto, Japan, for four months. Source: https://twitter.com/gregfenves/status/1139638620007145472
Academic background and contributions
Fenves earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where he majored in engineering. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and the Quill and Dagger senior honor society and chaired the student finance commission.
He holds a master’s and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, both in civil engineering. Later in his career, he served on the faculty of the university and became an internationally renowned expert on structural engineering for earthquakes. Source: https://president.utexas.edu/president-fenves
During his tenure at UT Austin, Fenves was instrumental in the founding of UT’s Dell Medical School, the first medical school in over 50 years to be built from the ground up at a top-tier public research institution. Source: https://president.emory.edu/
He successfully defended UT’s use of race and ethnicity as a factor in the admissions process in front of the U.S. Supreme Court (Fisher v. University of Texas). Source: https://president.emory.edu/
Family
“Fenves is married to Carmel Martinez Fenves, a textile artist who participates in UT’s programs for first-generation college students. They have two adult daughters, a son-in-law and a granddaughter — all of whom live in Austin.” Source: https://president.utexas.edu/president-fenves
Emory coverage
Emory Board of Trustees names Gregory L. Fenves as 21st president
https://news.emory.edu/stories/2020/04/upress_nextpresident/index.html
Meet Emory’s next president