Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday named Janiece Longoria, Kevin Eltife and Rad Weaver to six-year terms on the University of Texas System Board of Regents, a move that probably signals a more collegial era for a governing board that has often been fractious in recent years.

The appointments are subject to state Senate confirmation.

Longoria is chairwoman of the Port of Houston Authority and formerly served on the UT System board and on the board of its investment arm, the University of Texas Investment Management Co.

Eltife, a former Republican state senator from Tyler and former mayor of that East Texas city, is owner of Eltife Properties Ltd.

Weaver, of San Antonio, is CEO of McCombs Partners, the investment arm of UT donor Red McCombs’ businesses, and is also chairman-elect of the San Antonio branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and a director of Cox Enterprises Inc., which owns the American-Statesman.

Longoria, Eltife and Weaver all hold degrees from UT-Austin.

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The trio would replace Regents Wallace L. Hall Jr., Alex M. Cranberg and Brenda Pejovich, whose terms will expire Feb. 1 and who were not expected to be reappointed. Under state law, however, regents serve until their replacements are confirmed by the Senate and sworn in.

Hall, Cranberg and Pejovich are ideologically like-minded and were often at odds with other members of the UT board.

For example, Cranberg and Pejovich filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Texas Supreme Court to side with Hall in his effort to force UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven to turn over records, including confidential student information, from an investigation into admissions practices at the Austin flagship campus. The rest of the board backs McRaven in his refusal to disclose private information. The court is expected to rule any day.

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Hall, Cranberg and Pejovich were named regents by former Gov. Rick Perry, a graduate of Texas A&M University who once told some of his UT appointees in an email that he knew they were getting "tired of being hammered by the charlatans and peacocks" but that they were winning a fight akin to World War II’s Battle of the Bulge.

Abbott, who earned his bachelor’s degree at UT-Austin, wants peace, not war, and has often spoken of the importance of research in elevating the state’s universities and economy.

Also on Monday, Abbott named Midland oilman Tim Leach to the Texas A&M System board and reappointed Elaine Mendoza of San Antonio and Cliff Thomas of Victoria to that board.

The governor reappointed Dallas banker John D. Steinmetz to the Texas Tech University System board and named Dallas investor J. Michael Lewis and Houston oilman John B. Walker, a former Tech regent, to the board.

Public university regents in Texas serve for no pay.