Moghe Marks New Era, Envisions Future Built on Impact, Partnerships at Inauguration

UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe celebrates after he concluded his inaugural address. In his address, Moghe shared his strategic vision, Roadmap 2030, which focuses on student success, academic and research convergence, and external impact.

The University of Texas at Dallas formally invested its sixth president, Dr. Prabhas V. Moghe, a renowned bioengineer, April 2 during an inauguration ceremony at the Edith O'Donnell Arts and Technology Building Lecture Hall.

In his address, Moghe shared details of his strategic vision, Roadmap 2030, organized around three pillars: student success, academic and research convergence, and external impact. He emphasized that the University, which has an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, exists to serve the community.

"Today, UT Dallas stands at an inflection point. Our challenge is not to determine whether we are successful, but to decide what will we do with that success. How will we translate growth into distinction, ambition into transformation?" said Moghe, who holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership.

UT Dallas embraces its role as an anchor institution and a catalyst for progress in North Texas, he said.

"I want UT Dallas to be a one-stop destination for industries seeking talent, ideas and partners, to future-proof industry in terms of what comes next," Moghe said. "These engines of innovation will bring our students, staff, alumni, corporate partners and entrepreneurs under one roof in ways that have not been done here before, and the Roadmap will be at the heart of how this institution that we dearly love will be reborn."

The ceremony also featured remarks from distinguished guests from the UT System and community partners; a cello performance by mechanical engineering freshman Diego Jones; singing of the national anthem by biology senior Devanshi Verma; and the formal presentation of symbolic emblems of office.

Among the attendees were UT System Regent Christina Melton Crain and UT System Chancellor John M. Zerwas. State and local elected officials also were present, along with Moghe's wife, Ameena; son, Ryhan; and daughter, Sania.

"One of UT Dallas' greatest strengths, as we just heard, is its youth," Zerwas said. "And yet this institution comes from a very long lineage - because the drive to learn and discover on display at this campus every day is a drive shared by people across the world and across generations."

Crain said that Moghe was drawn to the founders' vision for the University.

"Today we are counting on Dr. Moghe to make UT Dallas the best it can be, to honor its past by accelerating its future," Crain said. "You will always hear him say that student success remains UTD's North Star. He wants UTD to be a place that will put Dallas in the best position to lead our state's greatest opportunities and solve the most enduring challenges. We couldn't agree more."

John Olajide BS'04, founder and CEO of the Dallas-based technology company Axxess and a member of the presidential search advisory committee, also spoke at the event. Olajide, co-chair of New Dimensions: The Campaign for UT Dallas, said he is energized by Moghe's vision for UT Dallas.

"On behalf of alumni, industry partners and community leaders, I want you to know that you do not walk this path alone. We're walking with you," Olajide said. "You have our trust; you have our partnership; and you have our full support as you lead UT Dallas, a university we love so much, in its next great chapter."

In a ritual marking the formal transfer of authority, Moghe received the symbolic emblems of office, including the University Seal from Staff Council president Heather Oltmann. Student Government president Giana Abraham and Graduate Student Assembly president Devarsh Pathak presented Moghe with an honorary class ring.

Zerwas bestowed the Chain of Office and the University Mace on Moghe. Mary McDermott Cook, president of the Eugene McDermott Foundation, also participated in the ceremony.

After the ceremony, well-wishers joined Moghe at a reception at the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center.

In other inauguration week events, the Department of Bioengineering hosted the Bioengineering & Health Sciences Convergence Summit on April 1. The event brought together leaders, innovators and researchers to discuss cutting-edge technologies, transformative research and collaborative strategies to drive corporate collaboration and capital investment across North Texas.

UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe, with his wife, Ameena, daughter, Sania; and son, Ryhan.

The University also celebrated Moghe's inauguration with a donation drive to benefit Temoc's Closet and the Comet Cupboard. For every gift of six items made during the drive, which lasts through April 12, an additional $10 will be donated and split between the two organizations.

Moghe joined UT Dallas in August after serving as executive vice president for academic affairs at Rutgers University, New Jersey's flagship public university, where he provided strategic leadership over all academic and research operations across four chancellor-led campuses and 29 academic units. He succeeded Dr. Richard C. Benson, who retired after serving as UT Dallas president from 2016 to 2025.