On Tuesday, Mike McKinney, chancellor of the Texas A&M University system, abruptly announced his retirement, effective July 1. According to multiple higher education sources, it was a move quietly encouraged by members of the board of regents.
Two days later, the University of Texas System Board of Regents expressed unanimous support for Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa after a highly anticipated speech outlining his vision for advancing excellence throughout the system.
Interest in the actions of the university system regents has reached an unusual level, among the public and in the halls of the Texas Capitol, as distrust and acrimony have spread through the higher education community in recent months. And it seems that neither board’s action this week is likely to lessen that scrutiny.
The actions of both governing boards are tied, at least in part, to a debate over seven so-called breakthrough solutions for higher education. Since 2008, Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative study group, have encouraged regents to put into effect the changes, which were developed by Jeff Sandefer, a businessman and foundation board member.
Supporters of the measures, which include separating research and teaching budgets and providing professors large cash rewards based solely on student evaluations, maintain that they will deliver better educational results more efficiently. But the measures have generated a significant backlash among the academic communities at the state’s flagship public universities, Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin.
In e-mails to regents of the A&M system, where the most progress was made in putting the measures into effect, Mr. Sandefer and his father, the oilman J. D. Sandefer, who is known as Jakie, repeatedly expressed frustration with the chancellor’s methods of implementation. The e-mails were obtained through open records requests. The younger Mr. Sandefer noted at one point that Mr. McKinney’s approach was “WAY overcomplicated” and, later, that he had made “a serious error.”
The University of Texas System has been more reluctant to implement the proposed measures, and the pressure to do so was, until recently, largely under the radar. In February, Mr. Perry appointed new regents and a new chairman, Gene Powell, who were perceived as sympathetic to the measures.
The flashpoint that inspired a barrage of angry letters and e-mails from Texas students, faculty members and alumni was Mr. Powell’s hiring of a special adviser with ties to Mr. Sandefer and the conservative policy group, and the creation of two task forces to focus on university excellence and blended and online learning. Despite Mr. Powell’s insistence to the contrary, some perceived the moves as an effort to cut out Mr. Cigarroa and other high-level administrators.
On Thursday, Mr. Powell told the room at an uncharacteristically crowded regents meeting that it was decided nearly a month ago that there was a need for the chancellor to lay out a framework for how he planned to guide the system. The vision Mr. Cigarroa then offered — based on the four principles of opportunity, economic prosperity, quality of life and stewardship — directly conflicted with some of the “breakthrough solutions,” though it embraced the goals if not the specifics of others.
The University of Texas System has a legacy of not settling for mediocrity, he said, and the people of Texas look to it for excellence. He told the room that, before the people’s trust can be maintained, “We must first trust each other.”
Mr. Cigarroa also cautioned regents not to become overly involved in the day-to-day operations of individual institutions. “Our universities cannot be micromanaged,” he said. “I trust our presidents, and I will hold them and I will hold myself accountable.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: May 20, 2011
An article on May 13 about increased scrutiny of the actions of the Texas A&M University System regents incorrectly identified Ray Bowen as one of 22 distinguished alumni who recently signed a letter to the regents opposing the Texas Public Policy Foundation proposals. While Mr. Bowen is an alumnus who has actively pushed back against the proposals by the foundation, he did not sign the letter.
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