Dive Brief:
- University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall will argue before the Texas Supreme Court that University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven is breaking the law by withholding student admission records from regent review.
- Hall, who is suing McRaven for refusing to provide unedited records of students who may have been offered preferential treatment, says that he cannot effectively act in his role without access to institutional information regarding selectivity and entrance.
- Hall's term of service ends next month, but the court has agreed to expedite oral arguments to next week. After his departure, his lawsuit for the records will be dismissed.
Dive Insight:
College presidents have to maintain a solid working relationship with board members, even those which may be serving strictly to fulfill political agendas or self-serving interests. This means that, to a degree, what they ask for or what they demand should be required in correlation with what is legal and productive for the campus.
Leaders can take from this case a warning about communicating openly with regents and trustees about campus operations, and the details about how certain metrics are set and met. If students are admitted, faculty appointed or money is spent for reasons outside of typical standards, executives should be privy to why. Because no matter if boards or their members are wrong, they will always be right.