Bill Powers, former UT president who investigated Enron, dies at 72

Former University of Texas President Bill Powers is pictured. >> Click through this gallery to see notable deaths in the Houston area for 2019. Former University of Texas President Bill Powers is pictured. >> Click through this gallery to see notable deaths in the Houston area for 2019. Photo: Laura Skelding, MBO Photo: Laura Skelding, MBO Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Bill Powers, former UT president who investigated Enron, dies at 72 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Former University of Texas President Bill Powers died Sunday at the age of 72 at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, UT leaders announced.

Powers, the second-longest serving president in UT history, started at the university in 1977 as a law professor and served as president from 2006 to 2015. He gained national prominence for investigating the collapse of Houston-based Enron, which helped lead to congressional investigations and criminal prosecutions.

"Bill was a fierce champion for UT and an incredible friend," UT President Greg Fenves tweeted.

During his time at the helm of UT, he oversaw the creation of the Dell Medical School and the creation of the ESPN-owned Longhorn Network. He saw the completion or construction of 13 major campus buildings; oversaw a $3 billion capital campaign, the largest ever undertaken by a public university in Texas; and laid out the plan that increased the university's four-year graduation rate to close to 70 percent.

He also established a vice president of diversity and community engagement during his tenure and took UT to the Supreme Court to defend the use of race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions. The university won the case in 2016.

Powers, the university's 28th president, was an expert on torts, practicing as a consultant on the topic and authoring numerous articles and textbooks on tort cases throughout his career.

He was a "fixture" at football, volleyball and basketball games, the university said, and he helped the Big 12 power conference recover after a realignment period in the early 2010s.

Powers' last few years of his administration were marked by controversy. He questioned when the Board of Regents refused to hike tuition, under pressure from former Gov. Rick Perry. Powers also complained about the UT System's massive spreadsheet detailing the costs and revenues associated with each faculty member.

He was asked to resign in 2014 amid political tension and allegations that he helped certain applicants gain admission. He stepped down in June 2015.

Most recently, Powers worked as counsel at the Dallas-based law firm Jackson Walker.

"He was both a real intellect and also very warm," said Carrin Patman, chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, and who had Powers as a professor while in law school at UT Austin. "People that really care about the academic standing of the university will forever be indebted to him."

The cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but the university said he died from complications from a previous fall. Powers had been hospitalized in September 2018 after he suffered a fall outside the School of Law. In 2012, he was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism.

Powers was born in Lost Angeles in 1946 and was raised in Southern California. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, served for three years in the U.S. Navy, and then graduated from Harvard University Law School. Then, he clerked for a federal Ninth Circuit appeals court judge before taking a teaching job at the University of Washington.

He is survived by his wife, Kim Heilbrun of Austin; five children, Matt Powers, Kate Powers, Allison Powers, Annie Powers, and Reid Powers; six grandchildren; and his sister Susan Powers.

Members of the UT community responded to his death Sunday on social media, with many commenting on his legacy as an advocate, and others remembering his presence at sporting events.

State representative Donna Howard said on Twitter she was morning the death Sunday morning.

"He was a strong, passionate, committed leader," Howard wrote in a tweet.

A public memorial service will be held at a later date.

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