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http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/texas-longhorns/20140704-report-university-of-texas-president-bill-powers-told-today-to-resign.ece
By HOLLY K. HACKER
Staff Writer
hhacker@dallasnews.com
Published: 04 July 2014 03:03 PM
Updated: 05 July 2014 12:13 AM
Related
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers is being forced out of his job, The Dallas Morning Newshas learned from sources.
UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has told Powers, 68, to resign before Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Regents or be fired during it, sources say. According to a report, Powers has refused to do so but is open to discussing a timetable for his exit.
Neither Powers nor Cigarroa could be reached for comment Friday.
The sources, including one who had direct knowledge of the conversation between the two, spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation.
In his first few years as UT-Austin president, Powers had glowing job evaluations. But the reports quickly became much more critical at about the same time Powers and regents began to tussle over structural changes at the university.
Job evaluations from 2008 to 2013, obtained by The Dallas Morning News under the state’s open records law, spotlight the years-long dust-up between UT-Austin administrators and the UT System and its regents.
Last December, the Board of Regents kept Powers in his position, though Cigarroa said at the time that relations between regents and the leader of the 131-year-old flagship campus were strained.
Cigarroa said that month that his frustration with Powers stemmed from a lack of communication. He also suggested that he and Powers often would agree on a course of action for the university, only to watch Powers give a public impression that the two were misaligned.
Cigarroa announced his resignation from the UT System on Feb. 10. Cigarroa has said he will remain in his position until his replacement is named. He said his departure was unrelated to recent political dissent.
Signs of discord
The last three years have been particularly bruising for Powers, beginning in 2011 when Gov. Rick Perry began pushing a series of higher education reforms that called for more accountability on state campuses and lower costs. Academics on the state’s largest campuses bristled at the proposals.
Signs of discord continued into 2012, when Perry backed regents who rejected a tuition hike plan endorsed by Powers.
Powers also was a key figure in the power struggle that led to the departure of Mack Brown as the Longhorns’ football coach in December and the hiring of his successor, Charlie Strong.
Powers also has clashed with regents over many other issues, including tuition and graduation rates and the role of teaching and research in education. A Texas House panel is drafting articles of impeachment against board member Wallace Hall over his relentless pursuit of records and questions regarding Powers’ leadership.
‘Outstanding leaders’
Former regents chairman James Huffines said Friday that Powers and Cigarroa will rise above the discord and do what’s best for UT.
“Both President Powers and Chancellor Cigarroa are outstanding leaders,†Huffines said, “and I am confident they will work constructively to do what is in the long-term best interest of the university and system. They both have been very successful in their respective roles.â€
Jenifer Sarver, spokeswoman for the Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education, an Austin-based group that has consistently supported Powers, said of the situation:
“It’s very clear by the leak of this private conversation that someone’s playing politics here. Our hope is that Chancellor Cigarroa will do what’s best for the university and the state, and allow Powers to accomplish what he set out to do at the university. Upheaval and disruption benefit no one.â€
Powers is nearing the end of a $3 billion capital campaign for UT. He’s also the current chairman of the Association of American Universities, which represents the nation’s most elite campuses.
One influential UT graduate in Dallas said that losing Powers would be devastating and leave a black mark on the university.
“Bill Powers has a tremendous amount of support throughout the state — frankly throughout the country — with alumni,†said Cappy McGarr, a former chairman of UT’s development board.
“It’s my hope that the chancellor and the president can work it out. It’s also my hope that Powers doesn’t resign.â€
By HOLLY K. HACKER
Staff Writer
hhacker@dallasnews.com
Published: 04 July 2014 03:03 PM
Updated: 05 July 2014 12:13 AM
Related
- Bill for investigation of University of Texas regent tops $300,000
- Watchdog: UT Law stats show favoritism
- Higher education coalition calls for UT regent Wallace Hall's resignation
- As UT fight escalated, president Bill Powers’ job reviews grew more critical
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers is being forced out of his job, The Dallas Morning Newshas learned from sources.
UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has told Powers, 68, to resign before Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Regents or be fired during it, sources say. According to a report, Powers has refused to do so but is open to discussing a timetable for his exit.
Neither Powers nor Cigarroa could be reached for comment Friday.
The sources, including one who had direct knowledge of the conversation between the two, spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation.
In his first few years as UT-Austin president, Powers had glowing job evaluations. But the reports quickly became much more critical at about the same time Powers and regents began to tussle over structural changes at the university.
Job evaluations from 2008 to 2013, obtained by The Dallas Morning News under the state’s open records law, spotlight the years-long dust-up between UT-Austin administrators and the UT System and its regents.
Last December, the Board of Regents kept Powers in his position, though Cigarroa said at the time that relations between regents and the leader of the 131-year-old flagship campus were strained.
Cigarroa said that month that his frustration with Powers stemmed from a lack of communication. He also suggested that he and Powers often would agree on a course of action for the university, only to watch Powers give a public impression that the two were misaligned.
Cigarroa announced his resignation from the UT System on Feb. 10. Cigarroa has said he will remain in his position until his replacement is named. He said his departure was unrelated to recent political dissent.
Signs of discord
The last three years have been particularly bruising for Powers, beginning in 2011 when Gov. Rick Perry began pushing a series of higher education reforms that called for more accountability on state campuses and lower costs. Academics on the state’s largest campuses bristled at the proposals.
Signs of discord continued into 2012, when Perry backed regents who rejected a tuition hike plan endorsed by Powers.
Powers also was a key figure in the power struggle that led to the departure of Mack Brown as the Longhorns’ football coach in December and the hiring of his successor, Charlie Strong.
Powers also has clashed with regents over many other issues, including tuition and graduation rates and the role of teaching and research in education. A Texas House panel is drafting articles of impeachment against board member Wallace Hall over his relentless pursuit of records and questions regarding Powers’ leadership.
‘Outstanding leaders’
Former regents chairman James Huffines said Friday that Powers and Cigarroa will rise above the discord and do what’s best for UT.
“Both President Powers and Chancellor Cigarroa are outstanding leaders,†Huffines said, “and I am confident they will work constructively to do what is in the long-term best interest of the university and system. They both have been very successful in their respective roles.â€
Jenifer Sarver, spokeswoman for the Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education, an Austin-based group that has consistently supported Powers, said of the situation:
“It’s very clear by the leak of this private conversation that someone’s playing politics here. Our hope is that Chancellor Cigarroa will do what’s best for the university and the state, and allow Powers to accomplish what he set out to do at the university. Upheaval and disruption benefit no one.â€
Powers is nearing the end of a $3 billion capital campaign for UT. He’s also the current chairman of the Association of American Universities, which represents the nation’s most elite campuses.
One influential UT graduate in Dallas said that losing Powers would be devastating and leave a black mark on the university.
“Bill Powers has a tremendous amount of support throughout the state — frankly throughout the country — with alumni,†said Cappy McGarr, a former chairman of UT’s development board.
“It’s my hope that the chancellor and the president can work it out. It’s also my hope that Powers doesn’t resign.â€
