Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects
    • Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines
    • Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18
    • Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • Welcome Week leaders now paid in hopes of increasing numbers
    • 5 Baylor sports storylines to look forward to in 2025-26
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Sunday, July 6
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»News

    Senate considers trimming UT regents’ power

    webmasterBy webmasterMarch 28, 2013Updated:March 28, 2013 News No Comments4 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Jim Vertuno
    Associated Press

    AUSTIN — Texas lawmakers continued Wednesday to question the actions of University of Texas System regents and their pressure on flagship campus President Bill Powers as the Senate considers a bill that would roll back some regents voting authority.

    Powers, president of the University of Texas at Austin, is believed to be fighting for his job with regents appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in an academic showdown that has grabbed the attention of the Legislature.

    Powers has drawn public support from the state House and Senate, and the Senate Committee on Higher Education held an initial hearing on a bill that bars regents from voting on personnel and budget matters until they have received training on those issues and been confirmed by the Senate.

    Such a move would step on the governor’s ability to make so-called “recess” appointments when the Senate is not in session. Texas lawmakers only meet for 140 days every other year.
    “This bill is not about empowerment,” said committee chairman Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, author of the bill, which was left pending without a vote until next week. “It’s about propriety.”

    Powers has clashed with the regents for more than two years over tuition, the roles of research and teaching at universities, and other issues. He was believed to have held only a slim majority of support among the nine members, all Perry appointees.

    Regent Wallace Hall recently ordered the university to give him copies of all the results of open records requests made to UT-Austin over the past two years. Hall and Regent Brenda Pejovich pushed for a fourth review of a now-defunct law school loan program that was started when Powers was dean. That program came under scrutiny when Powers’ successor received a $500,000 forgivable loan. An investigation by the system recommended abolishing the program but cleared Powers of wrongdoing.

    Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst also has defended Powers, who he has denounced what he called “character assassination” of Powers and his family.

    All of those issues have led Seliger and other Senate and House lawmakers to publicly question whether the regents are micromanaging Powers and the Austin campus in an effort to build a case to fire him.

    Firing Powers, would be a “terrible mistake,” said Sen. Judith Zaffarini, a Laredo Democrat who has been one of Power’s most vocal supporters.

    Powers attended Wednesday’s hearing but did not testify. University system regents so far have not commented on Seliger’s bill.

    Wednesday’s testimony included worries from student and alumni leaders that perceived moves to harass or unseat Powers has lowered campus morale and will make it harder to recruit quality student and staff.

    Leslie Cedar, CEO and president of the UT alumni association Texas Exes, said she received an email and phone call from a regent who expressed “displeasure” of the organization’s support of Powers and it reporting on the situation to its members. She declined to name the regent or share the email with reporters immediately after the hearing, although several senators said they wanted to see it.

    Michael Redding, graduate student body president at UT-Austin, said he hears questions about the tensions between Powers and the regents from colleagues at schools across the country.
    “I speak with graduate student body presidents across the country once a month,” Redding said. “And every month (the question is) what’s the matter with Texas?”

    Perry recently appointed as new regents Houston oilman and major Perry campaign donor Jeff Hildebrand, and Ernest Aliseda, a McAllen attorney and former state district judge, to six year terms. Hildebrand is a University of Texas graduate. Aliseda is a graduate of Perry’s alma mater, Texas A&M University.

    Perry also reappointed regents Vice Chairman Paul Foster of El Paso to a new six-year term. None has yet been confirmed by the Senate.

    webmaster

    Keep Reading

    Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown

    Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects

    Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18

    Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting

    How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings

    Welcome Week leaders now paid in hopes of increasing numbers

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown June 27, 2025
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects June 26, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.