The battle to oust (or save) President Powers at UT-Austin may be emblematic of the battle for the heart and soul of higher education.

Texas Governor Rick Perry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Governor Rick Perry has reportedly been gunning for Powers for years.  The critique:
- He's too strong on affirmative action (the Supreme Court recently remanded a case involving UT's preferential admission program, saying it demanded strict scrutiny from the federal judge)

- He defends faculty and programs that don't bring in research dollars front he for-profit arena.

- He has supported tuition increases (When I taught at UT-Austin some 30 years ago, the students took to the streets outside the capitol building, when the legislature tried to raise the $500/year tuition rate.)

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/07/u-texas-austin-president-being-forced-out#sthash.sXwsQqdE.dpbs

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