Dr. H. L. “Skip” Bilhartz, who served as president of ARCO Exploration and Production Technology until his retirement in 1999, has been named chairman of The University of Texas at Dallas Development Board.

The board is charged with promoting the interests of UT Dallas in the community and enlisting broad support, including financial backing, for the rapidly growing university, which is only 32 years old but already has earned a national reputation in several disciplines. Bilhartz, who has served on the U.T. Dallas Development Board since 1995, replaces Krish Prabhu, outgoing chief operating officer of Alcatel SA, as chairman. Prabhu, who has been chairman for the past two years, will remain on the 26-member UT Dallas Development Board and also will join Alcatel’s board of directors when he steps down as the company’s COO at the end of this month.

“Krish has done an outstanding job on behalf of The University of Texas at Dallas, and his success in promoting the university will make my job that much easier,” Bilhartz said. “UT Dallas is emerging on the national education map as a first-rate school with a first-rate faculty and administration. UT Dallas is a cause that I believe in very strongly.”

Prabhu praised the selection of Bilhartz as chairman of the UT Dallas Development Board, as did Carlos Gonzalez Peña, UT Dallas vice president for university advancement.

“I look forward to continue working with Skip to promote UT Dallas and to help the university in whatever way I can,” Prabhu said. “I am confident that he will do a great job for the university.”

“It used to be said that UT Dallas was the best-kept secret in Texas. But with the strong public support of people like Krish Prabhu and Skip Bilhartz , that is no longer true. The word is getting out,” Peña said.

Bilhartz has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He joined ARCO in 1972 and worked at the company for 27 years. Bilhartz lives in Oak Point, Texas, and also serves on the advisory board of the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University. From 1991 to 1994, he served as chairman of the board of directors for Alaska Pacific University.

About UT Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls about 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallasallas.edu.