Jay B. Silveria

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria began his term as president of the University of Arkansas System on Jan. 15, 2025. Previously he served as associate vice president and executive director of Texas A&M University and the Bush School of Government & Public Service in Washington, D.C. and is a former superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.

During his military career, Silveria served as Deputy Commander, Combined Air Force Component, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia, where he was responsible for the command and control of air operations in a 20-nation area and where key operations Resolute Support in Afghanistan and Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria were executed under his command. He has served as Commander, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and Vice Commander, 14th Air Force Space Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as well as Director, Security Assistance in the Office of Security Cooperation-Baghdad, Iraq. Silveria has commanded a Fighter Wing, an Air Operation Center, and a Fighter Squadron, and was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal and a Bronze Star, along with multiple Air Medals.

Silveria grew up in an Air Force family and is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He completed undergraduate pilot training in 1986. He is a command pilot with more than 3,900 hours in the T-37, T-38, F-15C/E, HH-60 and F-35A aircraft. He has flown combat missions over the Balkans and Iraq and served as Vice Commander at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Silveria earned a master’s degree in social science from Syracuse University and master’s degrees from Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. He was a senior executive fellow at Harvard University and attended the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Silveria retired from a 35-year career in the Air Force in November 2020, after spending the last three years of his service as superintendent of the Air Force Academy. Upon retirement from the military, he was tapped to launch the Washington, D.C. campus for Texas A&M University and the Bush School.

Quote from Silveria upon beginning his term as president: “The UA System has long been a beacon of opportunity and progress for our state, providing access to quality education, maintaining a crucial role in the economy of Arkansas and preparing future generations of leaders both in Arkansas and around the globe. This legacy is a testament to the dedication of those who came before me, and I am deeply committed to honoring that tradition while guiding us into the future.”