Favoritism gets a few into UT Austin

An investigation commissioned by University of Texas System regents and conducted by Kroll Associates, a risk management firm, shows there’s a little bit of truth to allegations that students have been admitted to UT’s flagship Austin campus as special favors to important people.

A total of 73 “arguably less qualified” applicants were admitted this way from 2004 through 2014, Kroll Associates said in a report issued this week. That’s a very small number in a school with 50,000 students.

They were recommended by state lawmakers, university donors, alumni — and even by regents themselves.

Kroll Associates said regents send “approximately 50 to 70 names of applicants to the president’s office each year” for consideration.

After all the recent hubbub about possible influence-peddling at UT-Austin, the report is a yawner.

It says no laws were broken, no university rules violated, and there was no “inappropriate promise or exchange.”

UT Austin President Bill Powers, who has been so hounded by these and other allegations that he has resigned and will leave office in June, said “some similar process exists at virtually every selective university in America.”

He added, “No spots at the university were saved and no one was displaced by this practice. The students in question were simply added to the incoming class.”

Board of Regents Chairman Paul Foster and new Chancellor William McRaven said no disciplinary action will be taken.

The report did find that Powers and his staff failed to volunteer some information about special admissions in an earlier investigation.

They should have been more forthcoming, but they probably had more important things to do.

This story was originally published February 13, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Favoritism gets a few into UT Austin."