William McRaven took the reins of the University of Texas as the system chancellor in mid-2014, a year marked nationwide by activism and unprecedented federal attention to the issue of campus sexual assault.

For McRaven, who retired as the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and is best known for leading the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, addressing sexual violence wasn't entirely new. The military has been under scrutiny in recent years for allegedly mishandling widespread sexual assault . But it was ahead of higher education in a critical aspect: collecting data.

"I watched as the military struggled with the issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment," McRaven told The Huffington Post. "At first we found it hard to believe there was a problem. But once we recognized the magnitude and the effect of the problem on our servicemen and women, we knew we had to move aggressively to resolve it."

This month, the UT system intends to launch the largest and most comprehensive study of campus sexual assault ever conducted. The $1.7 million study will be funded by money from the university system's endowment, one of the wealthiest in the nation.

UT officials say it's a natural response for a higher education institution with in-house experts on sexual violence and one of the most diverse collection of campuses, in one of the largest states. Their hope is that the data will guide them in how they address the issue at home and will provide new information for other colleges.