Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has insisted that he leaves higher-education policy decisions to the governing boards of the state’s public universities. E-mails obtained by the
Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.
A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has insisted that he leaves higher-education policy decisions to the governing boards of the state’s public universities. E-mails obtained by the Houston Chronicle, however, show that the Republican governor’s office has been closely involved in pushing universities to adopt ideas championed by Jeff Sandefer, a business educator and major campaign contributor to Mr. Perry. Those ideas include ranking faculty members by productivity and putting more focus on teaching instead of research. University regents and chancellors heard Mr. Sandefer explain his proposals at Mr. Perry’s request in May 2008, the newspaper reports, and over the next two years the governor’s office sent follow-up messages setting a time line for putting Mr. Sandefer’s ideas in place, requesting regular updates from university leaders on their progress, and instructing regents not to be influenced by university staff members. Peter T. Flawn, a former president of the University of Texas at Austin, called Mr. Perry’s actions “absolutely a new and unique situation” and criticized Mr. Sandefer’s proposals as a blueprint for stepping backward “from a first-class research university to a second-class undergraduate degree mill.”
