University of Texas Police Chief Eve Stephens, who would take office in July 2023, resigned Friday, the university said in a press release. She will be replaced by Deputy Police Chief Shane Streepy.
The reason for Stephens’ resignation was not immediately clear, and UT spokesman Mike Rosen declined to comment further on the departure. A to Z Sports, a sports media portal, reported Friday, citing two sources, that Stephens was “pressured” to resign.
The resignations come at a time when the university is going through several leadership changes. Last month, UT’s provost and vice president for research leadership resigned, effective August 2025; a new vice president for marketing and communications was announced after a departmental restructuring led to the layoff of 20 staff members; and Katie McGee became dean of students after an interim role.
Streepy worked for the Austin Police Department for 21 years before joining the Utah Police Department and holds a master’s degree in public leadership and criminal justice and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
“Our highest priority is always the safety of every member of our university community, and that requires a truly collaborative approach to law enforcement,” UT President Jay Hartzell said in the release. “Chief Streepy has demonstrated outstanding leadership, and more importantly, he understands and embraces the role of a law enforcement partner in our large and close-knit campus community.”
Captain Christopher Miller, who was in charge of security at UT’s graduation ceremonies, will take Streepy’s place as deputy police chief alongside Ashley Griffin. Lt. Eric Johanson, a top graduate of the UT System Police Academy who currently heads the UT Police Investigative Team, will be the new captain.
The UT Police Department employs over 100 police officers and 46 other support staff. It is an accredited state police agency and is headed by Amanda Cochran-McCall, UT’s vice president of legal affairs.
The agency has authority on and around the university campus. Most recently, the agency was criticized for its role in policing the pro-Palestinian protests in April, during which 136 people were arrested, including dozens of students. UT police were the arresting agency in most of these cases, and in all cases, trespassing charges were dropped.
Streepy will be the seventh head of the department, which was founded in 1968.
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