University of Texas admissions controversy

The University of Texas System
Motto	Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis (Latin for "Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy")
Established	1876
Type	State university system
Endowment	$20.5 billion [1]
Chancellor	Francisco G. Cigarroa
Academic staff	17,158[2]
Administrative staff	62,982[2]
Undergraduates	141,134[3]
Website	utsystem.edu

The University of Texas admissions controversy grew out of the investigations of a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Wallace Hall, Jr. was appointed to a six-year term in February 2011 by Governor Rick Perry.^[4] Following his appointment as a regent in 2011, Hall began examining political favoritism and forgivable loan programs at the University of Texas at Austin.

After Hall began reviewing UT Austin's responses to various open records requests, state legislators initiated an investigation into possibly impeaching him. The impeachment investigation has been criticized by Governor Rick Perry,^[5] Hall was the first to publicly raise concerns about legislative influence on admissions at UT-Austin under President Powers' tenure.^[6] Following up on these concerns, the UT system launched a limited probe to determine whether legislators application recommendations made straight to Powers were given special treatment.^[6]

Lieutenant Governor candidate Senator Dan Patrick, Dallas Observer, National Review, and The Wall Street Journal criticized the Texas legislature's investigation of Hall, the last of which called it "Political Revenge in Texas",^[7] with some calling the process an effort to criminalize policy differences. Anne Neal, President of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni characterized these sorts of investigations as "expensive witch hunts designed to discourage public servants from asking tough questions in pursuit of the public interest."^[8] Lt. Governor elect Dan Patrick criticized legislators who had availed themselves of preferential admissions.

On February 12, 2015 an investigation ordered by the University of Texas found that Bill Powers, the president of the university, had repeatedly helped applicants, including those with questionable academic credentials, gain admission if they had been recommended by legislators and influential people.^[9] This was widely described as vindication of UT Regent Wallace Hall, Jr..^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

University of Texas investigations

After he was appointed in 2011, Hall began looking into what he believed to be administrative and management issues at the University of Texas system at Austin.^[24] The investigations turned up three major findings:

• Undisclosed and unauthorized forgivable loans programs at UT School of Law ^[25]
• Improper methods of reporting donations to UT Austin's capital fundraising campaign ^[26]
• Legislative influence over admissions processes ^[27]

Hall, as an individual citizen, filed four open records requests with the University of Texas at Austin after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were delayed.

Forgivable loans

Early in Hall's tenure on the board, the university revealed to regents problems with a large private endowment used to provide off-the-books six-figure "forgivable loans" to certain faculty members. This had not been reported to the board and was out of sight of the university's formal compensation system. Hall wanted to know how large the forgivable loans were and who had decided who received the "forgivable loans".^[28]

In March 2013, the Board of Regents voted to re-open the forgivable loans investigation rejecting and abandoning a previously prepared report by then UT System General Counsel Barry Burgdorf.^[29]

Legislative influence over admissions

In a report, Chancellor Cigarroa concluded, “A disproportionately high number of applicants were admitted notwithstanding the fact that most of the legislator letters did not contain any significant substantive information about the applicant.”^[30] and, “in more than one-half of them, there is no evidence that the author of the letter even knows the student, much less knows him or her well.”

The legislative committee pursuing the impeachment of Wallace Hall was also expected to release its report in early April. Citing unnamed "sources familiar with the matter," Watchdog.org reported that the committee's leaders intended to use their report to counter the potential impact of the admissions favoritism report.^[31]

In October 2013, Pitts acknowledged that he routinely writes letters to Bill Powers, President of the University of Texas, on behalf of select student applications.^[32] Specifically, he wrote a letter on behalf of his son after the University of Texas Law School had initially rejected his admittance. "The letter I wrote for my son was pretty much a form letter," Pitts said in an October meeting of the Transparency in State Agency Operations Committee. These letters were sent to both the law school dean and the university president.

A report commissioned by the University of Texas concerning allegations of admissions favoritism was expected to be released in early April 2014. The report showed "applicants who had a lawmaker intervene on their behalf with top university officials were far more likely to gain admission than an applicant without those connections." ^[31]

Impeachment proceedings

An effort was begun in June 2013 to impeach Hall from his position as regent.^[33] Some legislators initially attempted to justify the impeachment on grounds that Hall did not disclose several lawsuits that he was involved in when he originally completed his Regent background check. Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list.^[34] No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. Governor of Texas Rick Perry's spokesperson said the investigations send a "chilling message" to gubernatorial appointees. The Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations began a yearlong, $500,000+^[35] investigation into Wallace Hall and never held a vote to impeach the Regent. The most the select committee could do would be to recommend to the full House that articles of impeachment be drafted. If that had happened, then the House would follow procedures regarding calling a special session specifically for the process of impeachment.

The committee hired lawyer Rusty Hardin to serve as legal counsel for the committee. State District Judge Kelly Case (presiding judge in the Adrian Peterson child abuse case) referred to Hardin as a "media whore".^[36] In July 2013, University of Texas Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa and Regent Eugene Powell responded to the ongoing investigation and negative remarks against Hall from some elected officials and University of Texas staff. Cigarroa said Hall was not allowed to access anything that was not reviewed by University lawyers to ensure they met federal privacy standards. In a July 15, 2013 letter to state representative Jim Pitts, Powell wrote: "Regent Hall's efforts extend to bringing the U.T. System into a competitive position nationally; especially related to offering blended and online learning opportunities to U.T. students. I would point out Regent Hall's excellent service to the Board in terms of time and energy. I appreciate his Board service and his dedication and hard work designed to fulfill his fiduciary obligations."^[37]

In a letter dated August 15, 2013, Hall responded to the committee via his lawyer. The letter expanded upon the reasons for Hall's investigation. According to the letter, Hall found that "allegations of political influence in the admissions process appear in some instances to be true."

"Regent Hall found correspondence on behalf of a state Representative inquiring about the admission of the Member’s adult son or daughter to a UT Austin graduate school. Although the dean had previously stated the applicant did not meet the school’s standards and would need to either retake the graduate admission exam or attend another graduate school first, upon information and belief, the son or daughter was in fact admitted without retaking the test or attending another school. Regent Hall found other correspondence in which a state Senator sought special consideration for an applicant who had been rejected, but was strongly supported by another Senator. In the communication, the Senator seeking special treatment reminded the UT Austin official of recent legislative action taken to benefit The University. Upon information and belief, the rejected applicant was subsequently admitted to UT Austin."

During a September 2013 panel conversation with state senator Kirk Watson, Hall defended his investigations and criticized the impeachment proceedings. "Impeachment is used to protect the public, not to punish an individual. Do you think I’m protecting the public, or do you think the politicians that are coming after me are protecting the public?"^[38]

Censure

Although the committee left open the possibility of revisiting impeachment, an August 11, 2014 vote passed 6-1 to recommend that Hall be 'censured' (sic), possibly bringing a close to the more than year-long process. In response to the censure vote, Governor of Texas Rick Perry issued a statement defending Hall's actions, saying the regent acted in the best interest of Texas "in the face of withering personal attacks."^[39] Hall responded to the committee's recommendation by saying "Speaker Straus and his committee have abused the public's trust and money to cover up their improper interference in System operations, including to defend a university president who was repeatedly asked to leave. Intimidation of non-paid public servants by an "experimental" committee should not be tolerated by the public, the media, or other Texas officials. This is especially true when the effort is intended to interfere in the performance of duties that are required by law and the Texas Constitution".^[40] There was never a call to take the censure recommendation to the floor of the House of Representatives. It is now effectively dead, having no legal effect.^[41]

Reaction

The Wall Street Journal opined against Hall's impeachment in a May 11, 2014 op-ed.^[7] Meanwhile, University Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa asked University of Texas, Austin President Bill Powers to resign or face termination at the July 10, 2014 University of Texas Board of Regents meeting. Cigarroa attributed the request to a "breakdown of communication, collegiality, trust and a willingness to work together for the good of the university." Powers at first indicated he would not resign, saying it would "cast the university and our state in a highly unfavorable light." However, on July 9, 2014, Cigarroa released a statement that Powers nevertheless agreed to resign effective June 2015.^[42] The Board meeting agenda indicated regents would discuss Powers in an executive session. Some legislators on the transparency committee sent a letter requesting that the Board of Regents delay any personnel decisions regarding Powers or other witnesses from the impeachment hearings.

In a July 2014 op-ed, the Wall Street Journal commented that Powers' resignation would bring more attention and scrutiny to the political favoritism scandals at the University of Texas. The editorial board wrote: "The voters seem to understand, even if some legislators don't, that college admissions are supposed to be based on merit, not political connections." ^[43] In a July 2014 op-ed, the Wall Street Journal commented that Powers' resignation would bring more attention and scrutiny to the political favoritism scandals at the University of Texas. The editorial board wrote: "The voters seem to understand, even if some legislators don't, that college admissions are supposed to be based on merit, not political connections." ^[43]

Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), said the investigation of Hall was "simply off the rails." Throughout much of the investigation, legislators have maintained that Hall was on a "witch hunt" for President Bill Powers. Neal's statement took the opposite approach, accusing the legislature of engaging in an "expensive witch hunts designed to discourage public servants from asking tough questions in pursuit of the public interest." According to its website, the ACTA is "an independent, non-profit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at America's colleges and universities."

Richard Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, criticized the impeachment process in a November interview with the Austin American Statesman. He called the impeachment process the "nuclear option" and said it could send a chilling signal to other members of higher education boards. Legon suggested that the board should have first been given the opportunity to address Hall's requests. "It’s fine for a board member to seek information through the appropriate path", he said.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, at the same event on January 8, 2015, echoed Patrick’s sentiments and said “Something is wrong with the system,” if a regent is facing threats of indictment for merely doing his job.^[44]

Investigation conclusion and vindication

On February 12, 2015 an investigation ordered by the University of Texas found that Bill Powers, the president of the university, had repeatedly helped applicants, including those with questionable academic credentials, gain admission if they had been recommended by legislators and influential people.^[9] According to the report, from 2009 to 2014, well connected students flagged by university officials were admitted 74% of the time compared to an overall adnission rate of 40%.^[9] President Powers and his Chief of Staff "each failed to speak with candor and forthrightness expected of people in their positions of trust and leadership.", the report stated.^[9] Powers agreed to step down in June 2013 because of the probe. He told the Wall Street Journal that he had "intervened on behalf of a relatively small number of students" but denied that it was "undue influence".^[9]

This report was widely described as vindication of UT Regent Wallace Hall, Jr., and a validation of the concerns raised by Hall.^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

External links

• University of Texas

References

•  "Texas, University of". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 

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