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Wallace Hall is a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Hall was appointed to a six-year term in February 2011 by Governor Rick Perry. Following his appointment as a regent in 2011, Hall began examining political favoritism and forgivable loan programs at the University of Texas at Austin. After Hall began reviewing UT Austin's responses to various open records requests, state legislators initiated an investigation into possibly impeaching him. The impeachment investigation has been criticized by Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor candidate Senator Dan Patrick, The Dallas Observer, National Review and The Wall Street Journal, the last of which called it "Political Revenge in Texas", with some calling the process an effort to criminalize policy differences. Anne Neal, President of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni characterized these sorts of investigations as "expensive witch hunts designed to discourage public servants from asking tough questions in pursuit of the public interest."

The Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations began a yearlong, $500,000+ investigation into Wallace Hall and never held a vote to impeach the Regent. The most the select committee could do would be to recommend to the full House that articles of impeachment be drafted. If that had happened, then the House would follow procedures regarding calling a special session specifically for the process of impeachment. The Wall Street Journal opined against Hall's impeachment in a May 11, 2014 op-ed. Meanwhile, University Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa asked University of Texas, Austin President Bill Powers to resign or face termination at the July 10, 2014 University of Texas Board of Regents meeting. Cigarroa attributed the request to a "breakdown of communication, collegiality, trust and a willingness to work together for the good of the university." Powers at first indicated he would not resign, saying it would "cast the university and our state in a highly unfavorable light." However, on July 9, 2014, Cigarroa released a statement that Powers nevertheless agreed to resign effective June 2015. The Board meeting agenda indicated regents would discuss Powers in an executive session. Some legislators on the transparency committee sent a letter requesting that the Board of Regents delay any personnel decisions regarding Powers or other witnesses from the impeachment hearings. In a July 2014 op-ed, the Wall Street Journal commented that Powers' resignation would bring more attention and scrutiny to the political favoritism scandals at the University of Texas. The editorial board wrote: "The voters seem to understand, even if some legislators don't, that college admissions are supposed to be based on merit, not political connections." Although the committee left open the possibility of revisiting impeachment, an August 11, 2014 vote passed 6-1 to recommend that Hall be 'censured' (sic), possibly bringing a close to the more than year-long process. In response to the censure vote, Governor of Texas Rick Perry issued a statement defending Hall's actions, saying the regent acted in the best interest of Texas "in the face of withering personal attacks." Hall responded to the committee's recommendation by saying "Speaker Straus and his committee have abused the public's trust and money to cover up their improper interference in System operations, including to defend a university president who was repeatedly asked to leave. Intimidation of non-paid public servants by an "experimental" committee should not be tolerated by the public, the media, or other Texas officials. This is especially true when the effort is intended to interfere in the performance of duties that are required by law and the Texas Constitution". There was never a call to take the censure recommendation to the floor of the House of Representatives. It is now effectively dead, having no legal effect.

Biography

In 1980 Hall graduated from the St. Mark's School of Texas, a preparatory day school for boys in grades one through 12. He has served as President of the school's alumni association and was a long time member on the school's board of trustees. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984.

He is the founder and President of Wetland Partners, LP, which operates the Trinity River Mitigation Bank, a wetlands bank created to mitigate U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) approved environmental impacts to the aquatic system as per the Clean Water Act. Other prior business endeavors include oil and gas investments and a 15-year career in the financial services industry, during which time he worked as a securities analyst, financial futures trader and as financial principal of a NASD broker dealer.

In August 2009, Hall was appointed by Governor Perry to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

In February 2011, Hall was unanimously confirmed as a Regent by the Texas Senate.

Clout investigations

After he was appointed in 2011, Hall began looking into what he believed to be clout issues at the University of Texas system at Austin. According to Hall, the investigations turned up three major findings:

• Undisclosed and unauthorized forgivable loans programs at UT School of Law
• Improper methods of reporting donations to UT Austin's capital fundraising campaign
• Legislative influence over admissions processes

Hall encouraged a closer look at the university's forgivable-loans program, admissions policies and preferential treatment to politically connected individuals. Hall, as an individual citizen, filed four requests with the University of Texas at Austin after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were delayed. According to his accusers, Hall filed requests for more than 800,000 pages. However, a letter from UT System chancellor Francisco Cigarroa in February 2014 said that Hall's requests yielded fewer than 100,000 pages. In addition, Cigarroa wrote: "During testimony before the Select Committee, some early witnesses implied that the U.T. System has not protected the privacy rights of students, staff, and patients. This is simply not true." The UT System Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents provides that Board members have “the power and authority to govern, operate, support, and maintain The University of Texas System to the Board of Regents.” These rules also provide that the Board has “wide discretion in exercising its power and authority.” These regulations make clear that university officials and regents are “to provide maximum transparency to the public and its representatives.”

In March 2013, the Board of Regents voted to re-open the forgivable loans investigation rejecting and abandoning a previously prepared report by then UT System General Counsel Barry Burgdorf. This action was approved by regents Hall, Brenda Pejovich, Paul Foster and Alex Cranberg. Some legislators including Judith Zaffirini (D), Trey Martinez Fisher (D) and Kevin Eltife (R) criticized the action as a waste of taxpayer funds. In one specific email exchange among the open records responses, University of Texas Budget Director Mary Knight emailed President Powers in June 2009 about the list of top salaries of UT officials. The email specifically mentioned Larry Sager, with Knight writing: "note: Sager was included due to his $100K per year deferred compensation over 5 years." The email refers to the $500,000 forgivable loan that Sager received which eventually contributed to his forced resignation. While Powers maintained that he had been unaware of the loan until the official UT report was conducted, some regents believe that the email from Knight in 2009 proved otherwise. On August 5, 2013, Kevin Hegarty, chief financial officer for the University of Texas-Austin, announced that the pending records requests from Hall would be canceled immediately. Hegarty was rebuked by Chancellor Cigarroa as outside of his or President Powers' authority and reinstated the requests. The University of Texas is required to seek approval from Attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott regarding whether information could be kept confidential from a records request. The process often takes months to complete. In 2008, University of Texas Austin referred one request to Abbott's office. In 2013, it referred 84 different requests, according to the Dallas Morning News. Hegarty said that the university reviews requests prior to seeking an opinion from the attorney general. In August 2013, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa recommended a "targeted compliance review" of how officials at the University of Texas, Austin were handling public record requests. In August 2013, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved two measures to reform problems that Hall had discovered in his investigations. The regents voted to enact a new policy regarding the relationship between universities and foundations. Additionally, the regents approved an audit into how officials respond to public information requests.

In October 2013, Pitts acknowledged that he routinely writes letters to Bill Powers, President of the University of Texas, on behalf of select student applications. Specifically, he wrote a letter on behalf of his son after the University of Texas Law School had initially rejected his admittance. "The letter I wrote for my son was pretty much a form letter," Pitts said in an October meeting of the Transparency in State Agency Operations Committee. These letters were sent to both the law school dean and the university president. Pitts announced his retirement just one day after he angrily admitted this fact to a National Review reporter, Kevin Williamson. The ‘clout letters’ were addressed in an initial report conducted at the direction of Chancellor Cigarroa. Jon Cassidy wrote of that report: Cigarroa’s inquiry found evidence the letters were highly effective. A “disproportionately high number of applicants were admitted notwithstanding the fact that most of the legislator letters did not contain any significant substantive information about the applicant,” the report concluded. In fact, “in more than one-half of them, there is no evidence that the author of the letter even knows the student, much less knows him or her well.” Representative Dan Branch, who began the drumbeat for impeachment in February 2013, was also highlighted in the Watchdog article for his serial letter writing on behalf of applicants to the University of Texas: "All seven of the letters from Branch were written in the month after Straus took power. Since then, as the chairman of the Higher Education Committee, Branch has grown closer to Powers. He’s a frequent guest in Powers’ luxury suite at football games. Powers has taken the university’s private jet to a dinner in Dallas he hosted for Branch, even bringing two of Branch’s children, who were then undergrads at UT. Branch’s son Spencer now works at the University of Texas Investment Management Company.”

December 12, 2013 board meeting

A December 12, 2013 Regents Board meeting listed as an agenda item the "discussion and appropriate action related to recommendation by Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Chancellor concerning employment of Wililam C. Powers, Jr., as President of the University of Texas at Austin." State legislators previously instructed the board not to make personnel decisions related to anyone currently involved in legislative investigations—including Powers. Speculation was that the future of Powers could impact whether Texas Longhorns football coach Mack Brown was retained. The Board met for four hours in an executive session closed-door meeting. Because of the posting of the agenda, regents could have taken action following the closed-door session. "I do not know if there was a specific purpose in mind for the agenda item. I’m sure it was discussed between the chancellor and the chairman," said Regent Alex Cranberg. State Senator Judith Zaffirini said she hoped the board would vote in favor of keeping Powers as University President. At the meeting, the board did not take any action on Powers employment. Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa told the Board that Powers needs to improve trust, respect and communication in dealings with regents and system officials. "I am hopeful that the strained relationships can be improved. It is my recommendation as chancellor that Bill Powers should continue his appointment as president of the University of Texas at Austin," he said. Cigarroa said that the relationship between himself and Powers had seen improvement. Powers said: "There was a question about my employment, it got resolved positively. It is very positive to get this behind us and move forward in addressing these issues that face our campuses and face the system." State Senator Kirk Watson lobbied Board President Paul Foster via text message during the closed and executive session. This meeting was tape recorded by Regent Alex Cranberg. The tape was provided to the Transparency Committee but was never released to the public nor commented on by the committee members.

Online records

In January 2014, Ross Ramsey, co-founder of Texas Tribune, published an article about the availability of online public records. Ramsey wrote "The schools could avoid extra work while providing real transparency into the records that are supposed to be in public view anyhow." He was referring to how Judith Zaffirini requested duplicates of what Hall had previously requested. "Someday, it might all be online. For that, you can thank the regent who suggested it. His name is Wallace Hall," Ramsey wrote.

Francisco Cigarroa resignation

On February 10, 2014, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa announced he would resign from his position as Chancellor. He said he felt he had accomplished the goals he set out to do five years earlier, and was prepared to return to medical practice full-time. "Education saves lives on many levels and I thought I could bring value to the UT system with that perspective in mind. Now it’s time to return to saving one life at a time," he said. Cigarroa said his resignation had nothing to do with the turmoil and investigations within the University of Texas system. Cigarroa continues to serve as chancellor until Navy Admiral William McRaven (Ret.) assumes the role of Chancellor in January, 2015. Cigarroa's new position will be as head of pediatric surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Wallace Hall said this about Chancellor Cigarroa in Texas Tribune interview on September 4, 2014 — "I have not met a kinder, smarter man than Francisco. He’s just a terrific guy and great leader, but we’ve been put in a position -- he was put in a position in 2010 where I frankly think that the Board failed him. He came to the Board, his executive vice chancellor came to the Board and they had an issue with the president, and the Board leadership did not support him. When you do that, you undermine his authority, and he’s been struggling with that ever since. I think he has done the best he could under the circumstances…I think people are going to look back at Chancellor Cigarroa’s six-year tenure and I think it’s probably going to be unmatched in system history for being productive.”

Relationship between Cigarroa and Powers

The Dallas Morning News obtained an email in March 2013 related to Cigarroa's resignation. According to the newspaper, Hall sent a number of emails to Cigarroa in the weeks before his resignation. The email the newspaper obtained via open records request was sent from Regent chair Paul Foster to Cigarroa. In the email, Foster defended Cigarroa for his work while also praising Hall for his "tenacity as a regent and recommendations to better the university." State representative Lyle Larson (R) renewed his call for Hall to resign and Trey Martinez Fischer (D) requested that the committee re-open investigations. Committee co-chair Dan Flynn (R) said no further hearings were planned at the time. An April 22, 2014 article in the Austin American-Statesman detailed an email exchange between Hall and Foster, in which Hall alleged that University of Texas President Bill Powers threatened Cigarroa prior to his resignation. The three-page email was written on March 19, 2014 as a response to the prior email that Foster sent. In the email, Hall makes an array of accusations regarding the impeachment trial and events within the university system.

• Cigarroa first expressed concern to the Board of Regents about an "inability to work with President Powers" in 2010, which was one year prior to Hall's appointment.
• According to Hall, Cigarroa asked President Powers to resign in Fall 2013. Powers then reportedly offered a range of requirements to retire, which Hall said were "understandably" refused by Chairman Foster.
• Hall alleged that Powers "leveled a threat against the Chancellor," which compromised his ability to work. This threat was reportedly made in front of Pedro Reyes, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas System.
• Regent Steven Hicks reportedly requested an "up or down vote" on Powers. Hall wrote that Foster has not allowed this vote to occur.

Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan pointed to the email as indication of a cover-up at the university, intended to deter an investigation into alleged clout scandals within the higher education system. Quinn Sullivan wrote:"it appears some legislators have been conspiring with UT Austin officials to get unqualified students admission to the state’s flagship university." A spokesman for Powers refused to comment on the email.

Impeachment proceedings

An effort was begun in June 2013 to impeach Hall from his position as regent. Some legislators initially attempted to justify the impeachment on grounds that Hall did not disclose several lawsuits that he was involved in when he originally completed his Regent background check. Hall updated Governor Rick Perry's office in April 2013 with the full list. No unelected official in Texas has ever been successfully impeached or removed from office. Governor of Texas Rick Perry's spokesperson said the investigations send a "chilling message" to gubernatorial appointees.

The committee hired Houston lawyer Rusty Hardin to serve as legal counsel for the committee. In July 2013, University of Texas Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa and Regent Eugene Powell responded to the ongoing investigation and negative remarks against Hall from some elected officials and University of Texas staff. Cigarroa said Hall was not allowed to access anything that was not reviewed by University lawyers to ensure they met federal privacy standards. In a July 15, 2013 letter to state representative Jim Pitts,

Powell wrote: "Regent Hall's efforts extend to bringing the U.T. System into a competitive position nationally; especially related to offering blended and online learning opportunities to U.T. students. I would point out Regent Hall's excellent service to the Board in terms of time and energy. I appreciate his Board service and his dedication and hard work designed to fulfill his fiduciary obligations."

In a letter dated August 15, 2013, Hall responded to the committee via his lawyer. The letter expanded upon the reasons for Hall's investigation. According to the letter, Hall found that "allegations of political influence in the admissions process appear in some instances to be true."

"Regent Hall found correspondence on behalf of a state Representative inquiring about the admission of the Member’s adult son or daughter to a UT Austin graduate school. Although the dean had previously stated the applicant did not meet the school’s standards and would need to either retake the graduate admission exam or attend another graduate school first, upon information and belief, the son or daughter was in fact admitted without retaking the test or attending another school. Regent Hall found other correspondence in which a state Senator sought special consideration for an applicant who had been rejected, but was strongly supported by another Senator. In the communication, the Senator seeking special treatment reminded the UT Austin official of recent legislative action taken to benefit The University. Upon information and belief, the rejected applicant was subsequently admitted to UT Austin."

During a September 2013 panel conversation with state senator Kirk Watson, Hall defended his investigations and criticized the impeachment proceedings. "Impeachment is used to protect the public, not to punish an individual. Do you think I’m protecting the public, or do you think the politicians that are coming after me are protecting the public?"

Richard Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, criticized the impeachment process in a November interview with the Austin American Statesman. He called the impeachment process the "nuclear option" and said it could send a chilling signal to other members of higher education boards. Legon suggested that the board should have first been given the opportunity to address Hall's requests. "It’s fine for a board member to seek information through the appropriate path", he said.

SUBPOENA

At a meeting on November 12, 2013, the committee issued subpoenas for Dan Sharphorn, University of Texas Vice Chancellor and General Counsel; Francie Frederick, General Counsel to the University of Texas System Board of Regents; Barbara Holthaus, System Senior Attorney; and Hall, who was expected to testify at the December 10, 2013 meeting. However, only minutes after initially filing the subpoena for Hall, committee members suddenly recalled it. Carol Alvarado said the members acted too quickly without checking their schedule. The subpoena was issued for December 10, but no meeting was scheduled until December 18.

With University of Texas Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and University of Texas, Austin President Bill Powers already subpoenaed to appear at the December 18–19 meetings, Hall's lawyer Allan Van Fleet requested that the committee respond regarding whether it would also subpoena Hall. On December 5, 2013, Van Fleet sent a letter to the committee requesting that the co-chairs announce whether Hall would indeed be subpoenaed. Van Fleet's request asked for an answer by the end of the day. In response, committee attorney Rusty Hardin said "We're not going to adhere to his deadline. He doesn't get to pick the time and place." Van Fleet pointed out that providing two weeks' notice for testimony is the standard to allow individuals to prepare testimony. He added that the letter has "caused confusion about the committee's intentions."

REQUEST TO TESTIFY

On December 10, 2013, the committee sent a letter to Hall asking that he testify—but they did not issue a subpoena. The committee sent a one-page, two-paragraph letter that invited Hall to testify and provide a list of witnesses. On December 16, 2013, Hall's attorney Allan Van Fleet said Hall would not testify at the December 18 committee hearing. Van Fleet wrote: "Regent Hall has volunteered a number of times in the past to share his views with legislative Committees about the challenges and opportunities faced by the UT System. Though these offers have never been accepted, he remains interested in sharing his views, in collaborating with all policy makers on initiatives that will benefit the UT System, and in working with the committees to improve the transparency and accountability practices that should guide all UT System activities.

Hall was invited to testify but was not given a subpoena, which is often perceived to provide some legal protection to the witness. Other individuals -- such as Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and University of Texas Austin President Bill Powers -- had been given formal subpoenas. Legislators criticized Hall for not agreeing to testify, despite the differing set of circumstances given to Hall.

CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS

A January 2014 review by the law firm Hilder & Associates concluded that there was "no credible evidence of a violation of that would warrant a referral for criminal prosecution." The report concluded that Hall had a legitimate reason for having the documents in question. "In light of the fundamental role attorneys play, it would lead to an absurd result were it criminal for an official to provide student records to his or her attorney in the face of litigation, or anticipated litigation, involving these records," Philip Hilder wrote in the report. Hilder submitted the report to the legislative committee. The Board of Regents hired the firm to review whether Hall may have violated any federal privacy laws in his handling of student information. November 2013 testimony prompted committee-member Trey Fischer to request the inquiry. Committee member Dan Flynn said he was not surprised by the findings and was pleased the university counsel reached a conclusion.

FAVORITISM AND IMPEACHMENT REPORTS

A report commissioned by the University of Texas concerning allegations of admissions favoritism was expected to be released in early April 2014. According to Watchdog.org, the report showed "applicants who had a lawmaker intervene on their behalf with top university officials were far more likely to gain admission than an applicant without those connections."

The legislative committee pursuing the impeachment of Wallace Hall was also expected to release its report in early April. Citing unnamed "sources familiar with the matter," Watchdog.org reported that the committee's leaders intended to use their report to counter the potential impact of the admissions favoritism report.

RELEASE OF EMAIL DOCUMENTS

Over 2,000 pages of email documents were released by the University of Texas at Austin to news outlets in late March 2014. Some of these documents detailed inquiries by Wallace Hall into President Bill Powers' travel practices. Some of Powers' travels were paid for in part or in full by donors. In January 2014, Hall challenged the "institutional purpose" of some of these travels in a message to Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Pedro Reyes.

In addition, the released correspondence suggests dissatisfaction on the part of the Board of Regents with the administration's handling of the admissions favoritism investigation. Regents Hall and Gene Powell said they were skeptical that Powers would cooperate with the Board's inquiry into the matter. "I have no confidence that we will get full cooperation from Bill Powers now or in the future as his assurances are unsupported by the facts," Hall wrote in a message to Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa.

COMMITTEE REPORT

On April 7, 2014, the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle viewed an advance copy of Hardin's 176-page report. The newspapers reported that the document was previously made available to committee members on April 4, 2014. The report alleges that Hall broke state and federal law. The report refers to Hall's "burdensome" requests for records as one of the critiques laid out against the regent.

The Texas Tribune, which also received a copy of the report, wrote that "ironically a substantial number of the actions that the Hardin report highlights as potentially triggering impeachment occurred in part or entirely because of the committee’s investigation." The report listed four items as a sufficient basis for articles of impeachment. The report does not make any explicit recommendation to the committee.

POST-REPORT MEETINGS

On April 24, 2014, the committee met privately for three hours discussing Hardin's report. Legislators would not disclose the conversations held behind closed doors. A committee hearing was held on May 12, 2014 where legislators voted 7-1 that there were grounds for impeachment. Committee co-chair Dan Flynn (R) called the vote a "historical time" (sic). Charles Perry (R) was the one representative who voted against grounds for impeachment. In response to the vote, Hall released a statement, in which he defended his actions and accused the transparency committee of interfering with investigations of the University. "My efforts as a regent are to serve the interests of our great educational institutions, the students, faculty, and staff who make them great, and the taxpayers who fund them, not to appease a privileged class who abuse them," Hall said in the statement.

REACTION

Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), said the investigation of Hall was "simply off the rails." Throughout much of the investigation, legislators have maintained that Hall was on a "witch hunt" for President Bill Powers. Neal's statement took the opposite approach, accusing the legislature of engaging in an "expensive witch hunts designed to discourage public servants from asking tough questions in pursuit of the public interest." According to its website, the ACTA is "an independent, non-profit organization committed to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at America's colleges and universities."

References

1. "Political Revenge in Texas, Wall St. J. (May 11, 2014),".
2. "Political Revenge in Texas, Wall St. J. (May 11, 2014)".
3. "UT System Board of Regents" (PDF).
4. "University of Texas uncovers admissions corruption, halts investigation".
5. "UT outspends all lobbyists combined on football giveaways".
6. "UT admissions: Straus, Branch, Pitts pulled strings".
7. "Watch related video".
8. Jim Schutze, Wallace Hall Was Right About UT All Along, Dallas Obs. (September 3, 2014)
9. Kevin D. Williamson, Lone Star Lunacy, Nat’l Rev. Online (April 30, 2014)
10. Texas Admissions Brawl, Wall St. J. (July 9, 2014)
11. National Review – The Curious and Curiouser Case of Wallace Hall (August 21, 2013)
12. National Review – The Texas Travesty, Again (December 13, 2013)
13. Watchdog - Case against UT regent Wallace Hall is a sham — here’s proof (September 6, 2013)
14. Watchdog - Dozens of UT Law’s least qualified students are connected politically (May 13, 2014)
15. Watchdog - Who got the 128? UT Law admits students with bad LSAT scores (May 23, 2014)
16. August 2014 / Texas Monthly “Is THIS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN TEXAS”
17. http://ballotpedia.org/Wallace_Hall
18. http://www.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/current-regents/wallace-l-hall-jr
19. http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2011/02/perry-appoints-new-ut-regents.html
20. http://tpr.org/post/ut-regent-wallace-hall-will-testify-impeachment-hearing
21. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304178104579538102386645762
22. http://ballotpedia.org/Governor_of_Texas
23. http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2011/02/perry-appoints-new-ut-regents.html
24. http://tpr.org/post/ut-regent-wallace-hall-will-testify-impeachment-hearing
25. http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/363724/texas-legislature-should-stop-targeting-wallace-hall-avi-snyder
26. http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.texastribune.org/media/documents/Transparency_Ltr_Attachments.pdf

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