Posted 1:19 p.m. 1/26 New UT regents vetted on Houston land purchase, admissions, relationship with Legislature Three University of Texas System regents appointed by the Texas governor faced questions from the Senate Nominations Committee Thursday, giving their stance on affordability, admissions, land purchases and the board's relationship with the Legislature. The board of regents—the governing body for the UT System—comprises nine members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. Regents Alex Cranberg, Brenda Hall Pejovich and Wallace Hall will all see their terms expire following the state senate's decision to confirm Abbott's picks: retired state Sen. Kevin Eltife, McCombs Partners CEO Rad Weaver and former vice chair of the UT System board Janiece Longoria.
Houston property purchase
The committee grilled the nominees on the $220 million purchase of land in Houston without a heads-up to the Legislature in November 2015. The land is close to downtown Houston near Loop 610 and Hwy. 288. "I want someone to explain to me why we’re going to spend $200 million on a piece of dirt if we don’t know what to do with it," Elkife said.
Source: The University of Texas System/Community Impact Newspaper[/caption]
The discussion carried over to the Senate Finance Committee, where Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he was disappointed with how UT handled the communication of the sale to state leaders.
"There’s almost an endless set of questions with this perplexing land deal," Bettencourt said.
UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven admitted the purchase was made quickly to secure the land for possible research and educational opportunities.
A task force was formed last March to determine what should be done with the land, and McRaven said he expects a report with recommendations by the end of the month.
"I can't come to you, Sen. Bettencourt, and tell you right now that we have a 70-year plan for that land," McRaven said.
He said he would wait for the new regents to be confirmed before any decisions are made regarding the Houston property.
"This really was about trying to do what I thought was the right thing," McRaven said, adding he apologized to the Legislature previously about the lack of communication regarding the sale of the land. "We intend to stay a great system, and in order to do that, you have to make some risks. You have to make some gambles. If you think we can stand still and not move forward as an institution, I think that's the worst thing we can do."
