Powers rumor

[Randolph Duke]

This has nothing to do with UT vs A&M. The guy calling the shots here, Jeff Sandefer, is a UT alum.

This is an attack on higher education in Texas. It's shortsighted to make it about one school vs another.

And this is why I love the internet. I was under the mistaken impression the UT BOR answered to the governor and not to Jeff Sandefer. One quick question, does the governor also answer to Jeff Sandefer, or just the UT BOR?

 

[java]

I don't want Perry to appoint a dogcatcher. He is the archenemy of education, both the public school system and universities in Texas. My biggest concern is The University and the public school system. A&M rolled over for him, and they can dig themselves out.

Perry must have the IQ of a stump.

Hook 'em! (btw, go get 'em, Leg)

 

[PropositionJoe]

You can blame whomever you'd like and perry certainly deserves the lionshare for empowering sandefer but all of the ideas here are sandefers.

Perry is the muscle but sandefer is the mind behind it all.

 

[texasdobbs]

This has nothing to do with UT vs A&M. The guy calling the shots here, Jeff Sandefer, is a UT alum.

This is an attack on higher education in Texas. It's shortsighted to make it about one school vs another.

BS.... this has everything to do with Perry and his plan to change Texas and less the value of a UT Degree...or for you aggies out there to make UT an equal with an aggie degree. I know I simplified a little and I know there are other politics involved in it, but that's the one I'm concerned about the most....

 

[texasdobbs]

You can blame whomever you'd like and perry certainly deserves the lionshare for empowering sandefer but all of the ideas here are sandefers.

Perry is the muscle but sandefer is the mind behind it all.

Look at Perry's motivation and you find the answer. ...

 

[Randolph Duke]

You can blame whomever you'd like and perry certainly deserves the lionshare for empowering sandefer but all of the ideas here are sandefers.

Perry is the muscle but sandefer is the mind behind it all.

The thought of Perry being the mind behind anything is scary.
Rick Perry deserves 100% of the blame for the entire fiasco. Aggy was founded as a branch of the University of Texas and was intended to be the land grant college where the masses could get a watered down, practical degree focused on technical aspects of vocational instruction. Of course, aggy being aggy, those running the college failed to execute its mission. Perry is now trying to return tamu to its original mission and allow every high school grad with access to ten grand and who wants a college degree to get one from aggy. Already aggy offers instruction to more students than UT Austin on about 60% of the budget UT spends. Aggy spends less than $25,000 per full time student annually. At UT, that figure is over $40,000 per student.

For aggy to cut tuition and run that figure down to $20,000 per student (the level of North Texas or UT Dallas) would not be a big change. If UT was forced to do that, it would forever change UT and waste the billions spent making UT Austin what it is today. That is why the legislature did nothing when Perry pushed tamu back to its land grant origins. It also explains why the legislature said "no" to Perry's plan to do the same to UT Austin.

Rick Perry is absolutely trying to drive UT Austin down to cow college standards. Sandefer is unquestionably playing navigator and defining what those standards will be, but it is Perry who is driving the bus.

 

[HornNdriftwood]

We ostensibly could have both (1) avoided all this and (2) Saban as coach now.

Not sure how we could have avoided this as long as Perry was governor.

The Breitbart article is media slant at it's finest and watchdog.org is basically a Perry mouthpiece. Disregard.

It's hard for me to imagine that Cigarorra, a lame duck who admittedly resigned because he couldn't take the politics, would put himself in this position. This will be a

political firestorm. It was pretty much common knowledge that Powers would be gone by this time next year. There's no way he voluntarily steps down at this point.

This sounds like a desperate, last-ditch, move by Perry/Sandefer/Hall to circumvent Powers, the Lege and the impeachment process before a new Chancellor is hired.

Actually, this could derail the hiring of any top-flight Chancellor currently under consideration.

 

[PropositionJoe]

Agree to disagree.

I think making this into an A&M vs UT thing is silly.

This is about rick and Jeff taking over higher Ed in Texas.

 

[java]

Joe, I know you are a good Ag, but blaming this on Sandefer is silly. Forgive me for saying so. If we follow your logic, then we wouldn't blame the muscle behind criminal activity. No, not done. Perry has the power, and he has the motivation. He is a scumbag. I'm sorry that he has damaged A&M, but someone should have had the cajones to stand up to him and for A&M. They didn't, and it is what it is.

 

[Randolph Duke]

Agree to disagree.

I think making this into an A&M vs UT thing is silly.

This is about rick and Jeff taking over higher Ed in Texas.

It isn't a UT grad as governor trying to remake aggy to the standards of UT. It is an aggy governor trying to remake UT Austin to standards of aggy.

I am fine with him returning tamu to its original land grant mission of being the low cost option open to the masses. Remember, tamu was founded as a branch of the University of Texas. The University was never supposed to be anything like the ag college. Perry isn't trying to forcibly change U of H, Sam Houston, Texas Tech or Texas State. He is trying to forcibly change the University of Texas at Austin away from its historic mission and make it a mirror of tamu's return to being a land grant college. Anyone thinking this isn't an aggy using political power to forcibly change the University of Texas for the worse is thinking like...well, an aggy. 

 

[HornNdriftwood]

Sandefer, like Hall, is a stooge. These guys do the bidding of Perry. Who does the bidding of TPPF. Who does the bidding of the Koch brothers and Claude R. Lambe Foundation.

Follow the money. From the Texas Observer:

"TPPF’s donors are a Who’s Who of Texas polluters, giant utilities and big insurance companies,†said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. “TPPF is thinking the way its donors want it to think.â€

 

[PropositionJoe]

Joe, I know you are a good Ag, but blaming this on Sandefer is silly. Forgive me for saying so. If we follow your logic, then we wouldn't blame the muscle behind criminal activity. No, not done. Perry has the power, and he has the motivation. He is a scumbag. I'm sorry that he has damaged A&M, but someone should have had the cajones to stand up to him and for A&M. They didn't, and it is what it is.

I'm not saying that perry is not to blame here. I'm just trying to steer this conversation away from it being a larger nefarious plot on behalf of Texas A&M to somehow damage UT. This is about a rogue governor being advised by a rogue educational consultant making sweeping negative changes to higher Ed in Texas. Making this an A&M vs UT thing diminishes the problem to petty rivalry and precludes our ability to come together to figure out how to fight the changes.

And there are a group of hint profile A&M alums (the kind of folks with their names on buildings) who have expressed significant displeasure over what's going on, but perry is still running roughshod.

I'm bummed to see powers go. He's done great things for UT.

 

[echeese]

Story is coming out that "special favors" to put kids in TEXAS' law school is what is driving this. . . . 

you can point fingers where ever you like and make all the excuses you want. . . .this is a black eye for TEXAS. .. . .

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/07/04/Sources-Whistleblowers-Forcing-Out-UT-President

PS,

the link was forwarded to me by someone fairly high up the food chain at TEXAS .. . so spare me the whines about the "source". . . 

 

[echeese]

Sandefer, like Hall, is a stooge. These guys do the bidding of Perry. Who does the bidding of TPPF. Who does the bidding of the Koch brothers and Claude R. Lambe Foundation.

Follow the money. From the Texas Observer:

"TPPF’s donors are a Who’s Who of Texas polluters, giant utilities and big insurance companies,†said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. “TPPF is thinking the way its donors want it to think.â€

I wonder if you are equally outraged when George Soros and other left wingers do the very same things?

You do realize the left uses non profits the same way?

Always cracks me up when one side screams foul at something both sides do ..  . .

 

[HornNdriftwood]

Story is coming out that "special favors" to put kids in TEXAS' law school is what is driving this. . . . 

you can point fingers where ever you like and make all the excuses you want. . . .this is a black eye for TEXAS. .. . .

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Texas/2014/07/04/Sources-Whistleblowers-Forcing-Out-UT-President

PS,

the link was forwarded to me by someone fairly high up the food chain at TEXAS .. . so spare me the whines about the "source". . . 

The Breitbart article is a political hack job. There has always been favoritism at UT (like pretty much every other institution) but it's probably much less under Powers than it's ever been in it's history (hard to say since the don't keep stats on favored sons).

What's interesting to me about this whole Perry v. Powers faceoff is the opposition (that would be Perry's folks) play this like a national political campaign. Planted stories in friendly media outlets. Meanwhile, the good guys (UT & Powers) have to fight with one hand behind their back. This makes me think that it's more important to Perry to be seen as tilting at Ivory Towers than to actually accomplish anything.

It's all about politics.

 

[HornNdriftwood]

I wonder if you are equally outraged when George Soros and other left wingers do the very same things?

You do realize the left uses non profits the same way?

Always cracks me up when one side screams foul at something both sides do ..  . .

I'm a little f##ked up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to f@#kin' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?

But to the point, yes I'm equally outraged when people, of whichever stripe, manipulate the truth to acquire and hold power. Of course it's done by both sides. But in this era of the internet, you have no excuse not to be informed.

 

[Randolph Duke]

I'm not saying that perry is not to blame here. I'm just trying to steer this conversation away from it being a larger nefarious plot on behalf of Texas A&M to somehow damage UT. This is about a rogue governor being advised by a rogue educational consultant making sweeping negative changes to higher Ed in Texas. Making this an A&M vs UT thing diminishes the problem to petty rivalry and precludes our ability to come together to figure out how to fight the changes.

And there are a group of hint profile A&M alums (the kind of folks with their names on buildings) who have expressed significant displeasure over what's going on, but perry is still running roughshod.

I'm bummed to see powers go. He's done great things for UT.

If you don't realize there are a large group of ags who hate that tamu isn't the equal of UT Austin, you are missing a small part of the rivalry between the two institutions. There is no doubt in my mind quite a number of those "red ass" ags support Perry and would LOVE to see UT Austin brought down to the level of tamu. As long as tamu is in the SEC, I don't think most ags card in the least about academics at the school. Playing football with the other redneck schools of the Confederacy and knowing "tu" was cut down to the level would be heaven on earth to most ags, regardless what it did to higher education in the state of Texas or tamu. Yes, I think most ags are that insecure and that misguided.

 

[PropositionJoe]

Maybe youre right. I cant speak on behalf of all a&m former students. We arent a monolithic group.

But in that breitbart article you'll see a reference to the texas coalition for excellence in higher education. On their webpage theres a list of supporters.

Go through that list and youll see more than a few large money a&m donors.

 

[DougNTexas]

I kinda doubt George Soros has much say in the State of Texas as the entire State Government from the Supreme Court down is  Republican. 

 

[texasdobbs]

This is not a Republican vs Democrat issue... just so you know