On August 17 at 2 p.m., UTD President Prabhas Moghe announced the resignation, effective immediately, of Student Affairs Vice President Edmund “Gene” Fitch to faculty and staff only.
Fitch oversaw the Division of Student Affairs since June 1, 2015. Neither Fitch nor Moghe provided a specific reason for the resignation. Moghe said that Dean of Students Amanda Smith will serve as the interim Vice President until a final candidate is selected to fill the role.
Smith will also continue to serve in her role as Dean of Students for the time being. In the resignation announcement Moghe said Fitch would also continue to assist the university with a new “special administrative assignment” until May 2027.
As part of this “assignment,” Fitch will advise Moghe and Smith on matters related to esports and the new Student Union. Recent upper level administrative searches — as seen with the selection process for President Moghe and Provost Marc Christensen — on average took over a year to finalize.
UTD did not immediately respond for comment regarding the resignation.
UTD | Courtesy
Starting in 2010, Fitch served as UTD’s Dean of Students, and he later replaced Vice President Darrelene Rachavong in 2015 at the end of her 32 year Student Affairs tenure.
“I’m fortunate the president has put his confidence in me,” Fitch said in 2015. “This is what I’ve been training to do throughout my professional career. I’m looking forward to continuing to impact students in significant ways.”
Fitch led the Student Affairs division — which includes the Student Wellness Center, Counseling Center, University Housing, University Recreation, Fraternity and Sorority Life and the Dean of Students office among other student-focused departments — during a period of major growth and controversy for the campus. The student body experienced a 22.75% increase from 24,554 students in fall 2015 to 30,139 as most recently reported in fall 2025.
“During his tenure, he has contributed to the development of student housing, student life programs and other initiatives that have shaped the student experience,” Moghe said in the announcement. “He has also provided leadership for the new Student Union and Student Success Center, serving as co-project advocate for the project since its inception, and has helped advance the University’s esports program.”
Fitch oversaw Student Affairs’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and spring 2021, including UTD’s online event programming and the return to in-person gatherings for fall 2021. In fall 2023, Fitch oversaw the end of UTD’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in response to the Texas Legislature’s passage of SB 17 in 2023. Fitch then oversaw ODEI’s short-lived replacement: the Office of Campus Resources and Support which was both founded and closed in spring 2024.
When protests emerged on campus in response to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Palestine — as documented by the United Nations and human rights groups like Amnesty International and B’tselem— Fitch led the university’s multi-year disciplinary response against student activists including, but not limited to, arresting 21 students and faculty, denial of degree for graduating students and the suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at UTD because of a 23-second disruption during a graduation ceremony. Fitch told the Student Affairs run newspaper, The Mercury, that he had no involvement with the suspension of SJP — records revealed by The Retrograde that same day showed he was the final arbiter for SJP UTD’s fate.
“I am not persuaded by your arguments about the First Amendment,” Fitch wrote in his March 11, 2026, ruling against SJP UTD. “I deny your appeal and uphold the sanction of a one-year suspension. I find this sanction is commensurate with the violation.”
This is a breaking news story. The Retrograde will provide additional details as they emerge.