UT President Forced to Resign

On July 8^th, an article was written by Richard Whittaker about the controversy surrounding Bill Powers’ job as the president of the University of Texas at Austin. Powers was being forced to resign by UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, and UT staff and alumni were not happy. The issue seemed to stem from whether or not Powers was abusing the admissions process by allowing friends and family members of lawmakers to get into the UT Law School. Powers says that he will step down in a year, but Cigarroa wants him gone this week and Cigarroa is already scheduled to quit later in the year. I don’t know why Cigarroa is so adamant to get Powers fired, and public figures such as Sen. Rodney Ellis and Board Chairman Charles Matthews have even stated that Cigarroa’s actions are making matters worse for both UT and the Board of Regents. Since I am a student at UT, this decision will affect me and my education. This article is a good read and gives a lot of insight to the tension between Powers and Cigarroa as well as other political members.