University of Texas at Austin investigations Wallace L. Hall Jr.

after appointed in 2011, hall began looking believed administrative , management issues @ university of texas @ austin. although board oversees 9 separate universities, hall s energy increasingly focused on investigative activities relating flagship campus in austin. investigations unfolded in stages concerning following areas:

reporting of donations in ut austin s capital fundraising campaign
a forgivable loan program @ ut school of law
external influence on admissions processes @ ut austin

hall filed 4 open records requests university of texas @ austin after inquiries via role regent delayed.

forgivable loans

early in hall s tenure on board, university revealed regents problems large private endowment used provide off-the-books six-figure forgivable loans faculty members. had not been reported board , out of sight of university s formal compensation system. hall wanted know how large forgivable loans , had decided received them.

in march 2013, board of regents voted re-open forgivable loans investigation rejecting , abandoning prepared report ut system general counsel barry burgdorf.

legislative influence on admissions

hall used open records requests investigate whether legislature had improperly used political influence in admissions, @ law school. according texas monthly, allegations set off uproar, , of fury directed @ hall himself. politicians, fiercely loyal ut alumni, , of hall’s fellow regents came (university of texas president) powers’s defense, claiming hall carrying out many of them described “witch hunt.

ultimately, system investigated allegations. in report, ut system chancellor francisco g. cigarroa concluded, “a disproportionately high number of applicants admitted notwithstanding fact of legislator letters did not contain significant substantive information applicant,” , “in more one-half of them, there no evidence author of letter knows student, less knows him or well.”