William Charles Powers Jr. (born May 30, 1946) is the 28th president of The University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since February 1, 2006.
Powers was selected in November 2005 as the sole finalist for the position of president of the University of Texas at Austin. In December 2005, Powers was officially named the next president of the University and succeeded Larry Faulkner when he left office in February 2006. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Dean of The University of Texas School of Law since 2000, a position that was later filled by Constitutional Law scholar, Lawrence Sager. President Powers also serves as University Distinguished Teaching Professor and holds the Hines H. Baker and Thelma Kelley Baker Chair in Law at the School of Law. [1]
Powers obtained his B.A. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley as a Sigma Chi in 1967 and his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School. He was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review during his tenure there.
Powers has also worked at Southern Methodist University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. Powers is a former member of the Enron Corporation Board of Directors and chaired the Special Investigative Committee to investigate the causes of Enron's bankruptcy. He is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Powers has authored several notable law texts, including but not limited to:
In 2008, Powers was appointed to the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in France’s orders of chivalry.[2] He is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Austin.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Larry R. Faulkner |
President of University of Texas at Austin 2006- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |