Tedd L. Mitchell

Tedd L. Mitchell (born February 24, 1962) is an American physician, academic, author, and leader in higher education and health care. He served as the fifth chancellor of the Texas Tech University System^[1][2] (2018-2025), the eighth president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (2010-2019), the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cooper Institute^[3] (2010-2024), a Dallas-based health and wellness system founded by Kenneth H. Cooper, and the president of the Cooper Clinic (2006-2010).

Mitchell was born in Columbia, Louisiana and raised in Longview, Texas. While at Longview High School, he swam competitively and held the school's 100-yard butterfly record for more than four decades (1980-2021).^[1][4] After high school graduation in 1980, 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.^[5]

He trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch (John Sealy Hospital System) and served an additional year as the Chief Medical Resident. In 2014, he was honored as a distinguished alumnus of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Mitchell served as a captain of the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Corps from 1988 to 1996.

In 1991, he joined the Cooper Clinic^[6] in Dallas, eventually earning a certificate of added qualification in Sports Medicine.^[1] He held the position of Medical Director of the Cooper Wellness Program until being named president and chief executive officer in 2006.^[1]

In 2002, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.^[7] In 2007, he was named to the American College of Sports Medicine Board of Trustees.^[1] He also served on Texas Governor George Bush’s State Board on Aging (1998 – 2002).^[1]

He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Sports Medicine.^[1]

During his time at the Cooper Clinic, Mitchell served as the Health and Wellness Editor for USA Weekend, writing over 600 articles from 1998 to 2010. He also co-authored three books: Fit to Lead, Move Yourself, and Fit to Lead 2 (one of the co-authors was his wife, Dr. Janet Tornelli-Mitchell).

In 2010, Mitchell began his career in academic administration joining the Texas Tech University System as president^[8] of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. During his tenure, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso was established as a standalone institution in 2013, becoming the Texas Tech University System's fourth university.^[9] Under his leadership, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center University Center in Lubbock was expanded,^[10] along with facilities expansions in Odessa, Amarillo, Abilene, and Dallas.^[11]

On October 25, 2018, the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents named Mitchell the fifth chancellor of the TTU System.^[2] Following the appointment, he served in the dual role of TTU System chancellor and TTUHSC president for approximately one year, until Nov. 1, 2019, when Lori Rice-Spearman, TTUHSC provost and chief academic officer, was named interim TTUHSC president.^[12]

During his tenure as chancellor, Mitchell played a key role in expanding the TTU System’s geographic reach, academic offerings, and statewide impact with the addition of Midwestern State University, which became the fifth member institution on September 1, 2021.^[13]

Mitchell also supported the development and implementation of new professional schools within the Texas Tech University System. In 2019, a delegation led by Mitchell^[14] urged the 86th Texas Legislature^[15] to approve and fund a new Texas Tech University veterinary school^[16] in Amarillo, Texas's first new veterinary school since 1916.^[17] The vet school, focused on addressing critical shortages in rural and regional veterinary services, welcomed its inaugural class in August 2021. The initial cohort graduated in May 2025, with 97 percent passing the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination and a majority entering veterinary practice in underserved communities.^[18] Additionally, in July 2021, the Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso opened as Texas’s first new dental school in over 50 years and the only dental school on the U.S.–Mexico border, addressing long-standing shortages of dental health professionals in the region.^[19] Its first class graduated in May 2025 and secured successful residency matches.^[20]

In 2023, Mitchell led the effort to have the 88th Texas Legislature create the Texas University Fund (TUF), an endowment designed to provide additional annual research dollars to universities not eligible for money from the Permanent University Fund (PUF) endowment.^[21] This legislation was passed and signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2023.^[22] Afterward, it required an additional step with a change to the Texas Constitution, which was successfully approved by Texas voters in November of that year.

In 2025, Mitchell led the effort to work with members of the 89th Texas Legislature to secure the Texas Tech University System’s largest budgetary success in its history, approximately $3.7 billion.^[23]

During his tenure as Chancellor, the Texas Tech University System experienced record enrollment growth^[24], academic success research success, budgetary success with the Texas Legislature, and philanthropic success, securing over $1.5 billion in support from donors.

Mitchell emphasized leadership development as a key component of his administrative career, viewing leadership as both a learned skill set and an institutional responsibility. In internal communications and public speaking engagements, he frequently addressed leadership topics, including organizational culture, adaptive leadership, and the importance of values in complex decision-making. His leadership philosophy emphasized consistency, accountability, and the alignment of individual actions with the institutional mission and purpose. Throughout his tenure, he advanced a framework that connected organizational culture, personal responsibility, and professional growth across the Texas Tech University System.

Central to Mitchell’s leadership approach was the creation of a system-wide, values-based culture. He led efforts to identify a shared set of core values intended to guide decision-making, professional conduct, and organizational accountability. These values were adopted as a unifying framework for evaluating actions and expectations, fostering a culture of integrity, service, and responsibility throughout the entire system.^[25]

He was also instrumental in creating and expanding the Office of Leader & Culture Development, first at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and later at the TTU System Administration, and other system universities. Through these efforts, Mitchell helped establish formal structures to enhance leadership skills among faculty, staff, administrators, and students. These offices aimed to promote a unified leadership philosophy across institutions while allowing flexibility to address individual campus needs.

Additionally, Mitchell supported the creation of multiple leadership and professional development initiatives across the Texas Tech University System. These programs emphasized problem-solving, critical thinking, ethical leadership, and character building and were designed to serve employees and students at various stages of their professional journeys. Overall, the initiatives reflected Mitchell’s belief that effective leadership is vital to institutional performance, individual development, and long-term organizational sustainability.^[26]

Mitchell is married to Dr. Janet Tornelli-Mitchell, also a physician and partner with him while in practice at the Cooper Clinic. The couple met while in medical school. Dr. Tornelli-Mitchell served on the Texas Medical Board under Governors George W. Bush and Rick Perry. The Mitchells have three children and four grandchildren.

A martial arts enthusiast, Mitchell holds a 5th-degree black belt in Taekwondo.

• Finalist, Texan of the Year; Dallas Morning News, 2022.^[27]
• The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, member, 2017.^[28]
• Business Person of the Year, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, 2015.^[29]
• The University of Texas Medical Branch, Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2014.^[30]
• Distinguished Alumnus, Department of Internal Medicine, UTMB, 2012.
• American Medical Writers Association, Walter C. Alvarez Award for Excellence in Medical Communication, 2008.^[31]
• Clarion Award, National Informational Column (HealthSmart), USA Weekend, 2006.^[32]

• Mitchell, Tedd; Barlow, Carolyn E. (July 2011). "Review of the Role of Exercise in Improving Quality of Life in Healthy Individuals and in Those With Chronic Diseases". Current Sports Medicine Reports. 10 (4): 211–216. doi:10.1249/JSR.0b013e318223cc9e. PMID 23531896.
• Mitchell, Tedd L.; Gibbons, Larry W.; Devers, Susan M.; Earnest, Conrad P. (December 2004). "Effects of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Healthcare Utilization". Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 36 (12): 2088–2092. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000147581.47326.58. PMID 15570144.
• Mitchell, Tedd L.; Pippin, John J.; Devers, Susan M.; Kimball, Thomas E.; Cannaday, John J.; Gibbons, Larry W.; Cooper, Kenneth H. (February 2001). "Age- and sex-based nomograms from coronary artery calcium scores as determined by electron beam computed tomography". The American Journal of Cardiology. 87 (4): 453–456. doi:10.1016/s0002-9149(00)01403-x. PMID 11179534.
• Gibbons, Larry W; Mitchell, Tedd L; Wei, Ming; Blair, Steven N; Cooper, Kenneth H (July 2000). "Maximal exercise test as a predictor of risk for mortality from coronary heart disease in asymptomatic men". The American Journal of Cardiology. 86 (1): 53–58. doi:10.1016/S0002-9149(00)00827-4. PMID 10867092.
• Neck, Christopher P.; Mitchell, T.L.; Manz, Charles C.; Cooper, Kenneth H.; Thompson, Emmet C. (December 2000). "Observations – Fit to lead: is fitness the key to effective executive leadership?". Journal of Managerial Psychology. 15 (8): 833–841. doi:10.1108/02683940010694323.
• Wei, Ming; Gibbons, Larry W.; Mitchell, Tedd L.; Kampert, James B.; Stern, Michael P.; Blair, Steven N. (May 2, 2000). "Low Fasting Plasma Glucose Level as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality". Circulation. 101 (17): 2047–2052. doi:10.1161/01.cir.101.17.2047. PMID 10790345.