Texas Celebrates Fourth of July By Ousting Corrupt UT Austin President

A major
shakeup is coming to the University of Texas at Austin. President
Bill Powers, who is believed to be involved in an admissions
scandal, was given an ultimatum: resign by the next regents’
meeting or be fired.

According to The Houston Chronicle, Powers has
not yet accepted the offer:

UT System Chancellor Francisco
Cigarroa asked Powers to resign before the regents meet
again July 10, or be fired at the meeting, the source said. Powers
told Cigarroa he will not resign, at least not under the terms that
the chancellor laid out Friday. Powers told Cigarroa he would be
open to discussing a timeline for his exit, the source said.

Powers’ ouster follows the opening of an investigation into UT
Law School. Numerous media outlets have reported that the law
school was admitting vast numbers of unqualified students who had
political connections. Powers was formerly dean of the law
school.

The scandal may have remained unknown to the public if not for a
personal investigation undertaken by UT Regent Wallace Hall, who
filed numerous public records requests after coming across some
suspicious documents. Powers’ allies in the legislature retaliated
by attempting to impeach Hall, though the motion was tabled by a
legislative subcommittee.

The sudden downfall of Powers is a
stunning vindication of the efforts of Hall and Texas
Watchdog.org’s Jon Cassidy, who provided an analysis of UT
admissions that corroborated Hall’s findings.

Thankfully, it looks like corrupt college administrators will no
longer be able to keep the extent of their wrongdoing a secret from
the public.