Wallace L. Hall Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wallace L. Hall Jr. is an American investor who served a controversial six-year term as a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents.[1][2][3] Hall was appointed in February 2011 by Governor Rick Perry, and was replaced in February 2017.[4][5]
Wallace L. Hall Jr. | |
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Board of Regent for the University of Texas System | |
In office February 2011 ā February 2017 | |
Personal details | |
Alma mater | The University of Texas at Austin (1984) |
Hall's appointment came in the midst of a struggle over the shape of higher education in Texas.[6][7][8] Three years earlier, Governor Rick Perry had championed a plan to remake university education along business lines; this was the so-called "Seven Solutions" of Austin entrepreneur Jeff Sandefer.[6][9] Hall's early days as a regent would witness this effort's failure, largely as a result of resistance spearheaded by supporters of UT Austin and Texas A&M University.[10][11] In the wake of this failure, and although regents' duties call for attention to 15 separate institutions which make up the University of Texas System, Hall would spend much of his energy attempting to identify and unearth malpractice at the UT Austin flagship.[12][13][11] He was the first regent to publicly raise concerns about external influence on the admissions process at the school.[14] A state legislative committee subsequently initiated impeachment proceedings against him. The proceedings were eventually dropped but led to a censure by the committee for "misconduct, incompetency in the performance of official duties, or behavior unbefitting a nominee for and holder of a state office."[1] In response Hall claimed "The committee's findings are based on distortions, untruths and intentional misrepresentations."[15]
On February 12, 2015, an investigation ordered by UT System found that Bill Powers, the president of UT Austin, had repeatedly helped applicants, including some with questionable academic credentials, gain admission if they had been recommended by legislators and influential people.[16] This was widely described as vindication of Hall and a validation of his concerns.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]