Perry appoints 3 regents amid Senate probe

Gov. Rick Perry appointed two new members and reappointed a third to the University of Texas System Board of Regents on Thursday — an apparent response to state lawmakers investigating the board over allegations of mistreatment of embattled UT-Austin President Bill Powers.

Powers is believed to be fighting for his job as leader of the 52,000-student flagship campus, and the appointments are likely to raise more questions about his future. They also set up a potential showdown between Perry and the Legislature over who controls higher education in Texas.

House and Senate lawmakers Wednesday set up a panel to investigate recent actions by the regents and one key lawmaker filed a bill to limit their role in directly managing campuses.

Powers has clashed with the regents for more than two years over tuition, the roles of research and teaching at universities, and other issues.

He was believed to have held only a slim majority of support among the nine members, all Perry appointees.

State lawmakers this week pushed back with a strong showing of support for Powers and his leadership and the creation of the special committee to investigate the regents.

In an emotional display Monday on the Senate floor, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst angrily denounced what he called the “character assassination” of Powers and his family by some regents.

The governor's appointees are Ernest Aliseda of McAllen; Jeff Hildebrand of Houston, a major Perry campaign donor; and current regent Vice Chairman Paul Foster of El Paso. Their terms will run through February 2019 pending Senate confirmation.

The new appointees replace James Dannenbaum, the vice chairman, and Printice Gary, whose terms expired this month.

Aliseda, a municipal judge in McAllen, also is managing attorney of Loya Insurance Group. Formerly a state district judge in Hidalgo County, he earned a bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University and a law degree at the University of Houston Law Center.

Hildebrand is CEO of Hilcorp Energy Co. A UT graduate, he's a member of the UT System's Task Force on Engineering Education for Texas.

Hildebrand donated $330,000 to Perry political campaigns in 2010 when he won his third full term as governor, according to state records.

Foster, who has been a regent since 2007, is executive chairman of Western Refining Co. and a Baylor University graduate.

The Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education was quick to react to Thursday's news:

“We feel strongly that regents who govern these vital state institutions must be conflict-free, qualified and have appropriate experience to govern, not micromanage — we look forward to the Senate Committee on Nominations hearings to learn how Gov. Perry's nominees compare to those qualifications,” the group said.

“Given recent concerns about micromanagement, we trust the committee will carefully question these nominees about the appropriate role and responsibility of governing boards,” the coalition said.

Perry's announcement did not mention the probe by the Joint Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence and Transparency. Republican Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, has said the panel probably will call regents to testify and could subpoena records.

Seliger, who this week pointed at Perry's office as behind the hostile treatment of Powers, welcomed Perry's move: “The timing is excellent, he's doing it when there is plenty of time for confirmation hearings and a full examination ... by the Senate.”

Seliger has filed a bill that would clarify the role of regents and subject them to ethics training.

Staff Writer Eva Ruth Moravec and the Associated Press contributed to this report.