Hexter taught classics and comparative literature at the
University of Colorado at Boulder and at Yale University. On August 20, Hampshire College announced that
Marlene Gerber Fried would serve as acting president and that Hexter would be on
sabbatical beginning on September 1. On November 22, 2010, it was announced that Ralph Hexter would be the next Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of California, Davis, effective January 1, 2011. His faculty title is
Distinguished Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature. In June 2020, Hexter stepped down as Provost to return to teaching. ==Personal life==