Dr. Faulkner is President Emeritus of The University of Texas at Austin and a retired President of Houston Endowment, a private philanthropy established by Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones. Over four decades, Dr. Faulkner served on the chemistry faculties of Harvard University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Texas. At Illinois, he was also department head, dean, and provost. From 1998 into 2006, he served the University of Texas as its 27th president, after which he led Houston Endowment for six years.

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and chaired the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. He now serves on the boards of Exxon Mobil Corporation, Southern Methodist University, Houston Grand Opera, Reasoning Mind, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. He was previously on the boards of Temple-Inland, Sandia National Laboratories, and Internet2.