William Powers Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Powers Jr.
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Powers in 2014
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| 28th President of the University of Texas at Austin | |
| In office February 1, 2006 – July 2, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Larry Faulkner |
| Succeeded by | Gregory L. Fenves |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Charles Powers Jr.
May 30, 1946 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 10, 2019 (aged 72) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley Harvard Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer, academic |
William Charles Powers Jr. (born May 30, 1946 – died March 10, 2019) was an American lawyer and university leader. He was the 28th president of the University of Texas at Austin. He held this important job from February 1, 2006, to July 2, 2015. This made him the second-longest serving president in the university's history. After he left, Gregory L. Fenves became the new president. Before he passed away, Powers was a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
Powers was chosen as the only person considered for the president's job in November 2005. In December 2005, he was officially named president. He took over from Larry Faulkner in February 2006. Before becoming president, he was the head (dean) of the University of Texas School of Law starting in 2000. Powers decided to step down from the presidency in June 2015. This was partly due to disagreements about how students were admitted to the university.
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Education and Early Career
Powers studied chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He then went to law school at Harvard Law School. While at Berkeley, he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. At Harvard, he helped run the Harvard Law Review, a well-known law magazine.
Powers also worked at other universities, including Southern Methodist University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. He was a member of the board of directors for the Enron Corporation. He also led a special group that looked into why Enron went bankrupt. From 2004 to 2010, he was on the board of trustees for the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Powers wrote several important law books, such as:
- Cases and Materials in Products Liability
- Cases and Materials in Torts
- Texas Products Liability Law
He was also a member of the American Law Institute. He helped write parts of the Restatements of the Law, Torts, which are guides for legal rules. These included:
- Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Apportionment of Liability
- Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Liability for Physical Harm
- Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Concluding Provisions
In 2008, France honored Powers with the title of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. This is a very high award in France. In 2012, he became a leader in the Association of American Universities. He became the main chair of this group on October 22, 2013. He was also a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin.
Leading the University of Texas at Austin
As president, Powers made many important changes at the University of Texas at Austin. He helped improve the courses for undergraduate students. He also helped start the School of Undergraduate Studies and the Dell Medical School. He led an eight-year project called the "Campaign for Texas." This project raised an amazing $3.12 billion for the university. During his time, the university also finished building or started building 13 new buildings.
Even with these successes, Powers faced challenges in his last four years. Some people wanted to change how higher education worked in Austin. A group of university leaders, chosen by then-Governor Rick Perry, tried to bring in new ideas for the university. Many people felt these ideas would hurt the university's focus on research. Powers strongly supported the university's traditional way of doing things. This made him a target for some who wanted changes. But it also made him a respected figure among other university leaders. He was even chosen to lead the Association of American Universities in 2013.
One of the university leaders, Wallace L. Hall Jr., began looking closely at Powers's actions. Hall was especially interested in how students were admitted to the university. Records showed that powerful people sometimes tried to get special treatment for certain applicants. Sometimes, these attempts were successful. In May 2014, news spread that some university leaders wanted to fire Powers. Soon after, many people showed their support for him. A Facebook group called "I Stand With Bill Powers" quickly gained nearly 10,000 members.
Stepping Down as President
On July 4, 2014, it was reported that the head of the University of Texas System, Francisco G. Cigarroa, had asked Powers to resign. If Powers didn't resign, he might be fired. Cigarroa said this was because of a "breakdown of communication" and trust. Powers first said he would not resign. He felt it would make the university look bad. However, on July 9, 2014, Cigarroa announced that Powers had agreed to step down in June 2015.
On February 12, 2015, an investigation found that Powers had helped some applicants get into the university. These applicants sometimes had lower grades but were recommended by lawmakers or other influential people. The report said that from 2009 to 2014, students who were flagged by university officials were admitted 74% of the time. The overall admission rate was 40%. Powers told Wall Street Journal that he had "intervened on behalf of a relatively small number of students." He said he did not think it was "undue influence."
Personal Life
William Powers Jr. was first married to Karen Devendorf. They had two children before they divorced. He then married Kim Heilbrun, and they were married for 36 years. They had three children together. He passed away on March 10, 2019, in Austin. This was due to problems from a fall and a rare muscle disease. He is survived by all five of his children and six grandchildren.
Images for kids
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Powers in 2014
