Tedd L. Mitchell


Tedd L. Mitchell is the fifth and current Chancellor of Texas Tech University System, a $2 billion state university system with an annual enrollment of approximately 55,000 students across four separate universities throughout Texas and 15 campuses worldwide. A doctor of medicine, Mitchell is also a published author and chairman for the Board of Trustees for the Cooper Institute., a Dallas-based health and wellness system founded by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper

Early life and career

Tedd L. Mitchell was born in Columbia, Louisiana and raised in Longview, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1987 from the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he is an Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus.
Following an elective rotation at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Mitchell earned a certificate of added qualification in Sports Medicine. In 1991, he was appointed medical director at the Cooper Clinic, a role he held until being named president and chief executive officer in 2006. From 2002 to 2008, he was appointed to President George H. W. Bush’s President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. In 2007, he was named to the College Sports Medicine Board of Trustees. He also served on Texas Governor George Bush’s State Board on Aging.
Mitchell also served as a captain of the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Corps from 1998 to 1996. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Career with Texas Tech University System

In 2010, Mitchell began his career in academic administration joining the Texas Tech University System as president of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. During his tenure, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso was established in 2013, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center University Center in Lubbock was expanded, and a new 51,000 square foot Academic Classroom Building was added on the TTUHSC Odessa Campus. In 2019, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s achieved record enrollment to become the top Texas health-related academic institution based on number of health care professional graduates.
On October 25, 2018, the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents named Mitchell the fifth chancellor of the TTU system. Following the appointment, he served the dual role of TTU system chancellor and TTUHSC president for approximately one year until on Nov. 1, 2019, TTUHSC provost and chief academic officer Lori Rice-Spearman was named interim TTUHSC president.
In 2019, a delegation led by Mitchell urged the 86th Texas Legislature to approve and fund a new Texas Tech University veterinary school in Amarillo, and a new dental school at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso.

Personal Life

Mitchell is married to Dr. Janet Tornelli-Mitchell, whom he met while at medical school. They reside in Lubbock, Texas and have three grown children: Katherine; Charlie; and Chris.

Honors, affiliations, and awards