April 23, 2014 Regent Wallace Hall Ashbel Smith Hall, Suite 820 201 West 7th Street

Austin, TX 78701 Dear Regent Wallace Hall: As alumni of The University of Texas at Austin and former student leaders, we write to you today with grave concerns about your actions as a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, and the negative impact these actions have caused for our university, our university system and Texas higher education. We have the utmost respect for the UT System Board of Regents, and for your position as a member of the Board, but we have been disappointed and disheartened by your failure to act in the best interest of students, to support UT Austins academic mission, and to abide by the rules and regulations governing the Board of Regents. It is because of this failure and your betrayal of the publics trust that we call for your immediate resignation. Each of us has had the privilege of representing the students of UT Austin and understands the pulse of the campus and the needs of its students. Students need members on the Board of Regents who will work to strengthen our systems flagship institution, not attack its leaders. Students need regents who they can trust and who will put their interests above petty politics. Students need regents who will abide by their oath to preserve institutional independence, enhance the public image of each institution, and help each institution achieve its full potential. Sadly, your actions as detailed in the recent report to the House Select Committee on State Agency Operations show that you are not the type of regent that students need and deserve. The mission of UT Austin campus and the UT System is to educate students, shape the leaders of tomorrow, and foster an environment for cutting-edge research across a multitude of disciplines. However, rather than furthering this mission and continuing the excellence of UT Austin and the UT System, your conduct as a regent has severely harmed the reputation of each and become an unnecessary distraction for students, administrators, faculty, and the Board during a pivotal time for higher education in Texas. From burdensome record requests, to pressuring witnesses to alter testimony to the House Select Committee, to violating student privacy rights and personal information, the allegations against you are grounds for impeachment and possible criminal investigation. While we respect the legislative and judicial processes and your right to due process, we cannot overlook the undeniable facts that your actions have abused UT Austin personnel, harmed the relationship between the UT System and its flagship institution, and eroded the trust students and the entire public have in the Board of Regents. In addition to possible violations of the Texas Penal and Education Codes, you have gone expressly against the wishes of students and the UT Austin community by engaging in a politically-driven witch hunt against President Bill Powers. Not only have your actions furthered a divide between the university and the UT System, harmed faculty and administrative recruitment, and weakened staff morale, they have also been a direct violation of a regents role to help each institution achieve its full potential. Under President Powers leadership, UT Austin has flourished in some of the hardest times in

a generation. Since taking office in 2006, President Powers has moved the university to new heights and made UT Austin a national leader in innovation, productivity and research. His vision for the university continues to be supported by student governance organizations and the UT Austin community as a whole. But despite the broad support for his vision and national recognition for his leadership in higher education, you have continued to needlessly abuse President Powers and his administration with burdensome and inappropriate requests that have wasted taxpayer dollars and harmed the university. As former student leaders from a variety of fields and professions, we believe your actions have detracted from UT Austins ability to fulfill its mission and have hindered the efforts of many to make the university a stronger institution. We care deeply about UT Austin and the UT System and want the two entities to work together to provide students with a world-class education and help make the state of Texas better for the future. Unfortunately, the kind of work necessary to make this happen cannot occur while the dark cloud of your continued actions hangs over the Board of Regents and UT System. H.Y. Benedict, UT Austins 10th president, once said Public confidence is the only real endowment of a state university. Unfortunately, through your actions, this confidence has been severely eroded, not only with the public but with current and former students, legislators from both sides of the aisle, leaders throughout the private sector, and countless members of the UT System community. It is time to restore that confidence to the UT System. It is time to end the witch hunt against President Powers and UT Austin. It is time to move past political strife and toward a united Board of Regents focused on strengthening the UT Systems 15 institutions and providing a world-class education for students. It is time you step down from your position as regent. Respectfully,

Michael Morton President, 2012-13 Senate of College Councils Carisa Nietsche President, 2011-12 Senate of College Councils Lauren Ratliff President, 2009-10 Senate of College Councils

Scott Fulford President, 2008-09 Senate of College Councils Nick Staha President, 2004-05 Senate of College Councils Stacie Butler Chair, 1998-99 Cabinet of College Councils

David Wilkov Chair, 1994-95 Cabinet of College Councils