Is College a Lousy Investment?
by Megan McArdle Mythomania about college has turned getting a degree into an American neurosis. It’s sending parents to the poorhouse and saddling students with a backpack full of debt […]
Tag Archives: Rick O’Donnell
Longhorns Who Take Too Long
By Mitch Smith Partly in response to outside criticism that its four-year graduation rate of 50 percent is too low, the University of Texas at Austin outlined a number of […]
UT Admin To Reform – Bill Powers Has Other Ideas.
After the UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa’s speech and the UT regents blessing for his plan, we thought the UT controversy was over and progress now could be made in […]
Frank Talk, Debate on the Future of Texas Universities. By Rick O’Donnell
Teaching and research must continue to be linked for excellence. By Rick O’Donnell Fierce debates continue to rage in Texas about the future of our universities. As is often the […]
UT Chancellor Reflects on Feud Over Faculty Standards, Budget Struggles. By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz Not too many people perform liver transplants in their spare time. Francisco Cigarroa says it keeps him grounded. Cigarroa’s day job since February 2009 has been […]
How Did the Provost Make Such an Elementary Mistake
In response to the below article, people should be asking the following questions: How did the provost make such an elementary mistake? Anyone who has worked with state agency budgets […]
Students, Parents and Taxpayers First – By Rick O’Donnell
Having spent many years in public service, advancing K-12 education accountability, tax relief, higher education reform and running for Congress, one lesson I’ve learned is you can’t make an omelet […]
Kenneth Jastrow, Member of the “Coalition” Writes Testy Letter to Powell
Regarding the following article that was written By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz AMERICAN-STATESMAN, students, parents and taxpayers should publicly ask the following question: Is it true or not that UT President […]
How Productive Do Professors Have to Be?
By Charlotte Allen The firing of a controversial aide to the University of Texas system has triggered a full-blown debate over the productivity of teachers and whether “star” professors who […]
UT Provost’s Three-Fifths of a Teacher – Rick O’Donnell
If you want to get into the numbers and specifics, here is a post from Rick O’Donnell‘s blog yesterday. In addition, we posted some interesting comments, if you care to […]
UT, Coalition Focused on Striking Back, not Solving Problems.
Here was the original headline: “UT, Coalition Strike Back at O’Donnell Analysis“. While there continues to be a number of personal attacks on O’Donnell and his research methodology, there has […]
Why Productivity Data Matter
By Rick O’Donnell (plus comments from Inside Higher Ed readers) “Faculty performance data” may be the three most dangerous words on American university campuses these days – much more controversial […]
Texas Coalitions Spar Over Scholars’ Time, Research, Pay
Inefficient professors are the targets in Gov. Rick Perry‘s plan to reform higher education By Katherine Mangan Austin, Tex. Depending on whom you talk to in Texas these days, college […]
UT Controversy – Both Sides Say They Care About Higher Ed
Both believe and fundamentally say they care about the quality and accessibility of higher education. By Reeve Hamilton Randy Diehl, the dean of the University at Texas at Austin’s College […]
Powers and Cigarroa Unavailable for Comment. Zaffirini Denied Anything Unseemly.
Top UT officials under fire – Former adviser says they blocked release of data By MELISSA LUDWIG Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7635188.html#ixzz1Qr7dEJQe Rick O’Donnell, a former special adviser to the University of […]
Former UT adviser O’Donnell Says Zaffirini Mounted a Campaign to Demonize the Regents
By Mary Lee Gran A $70,000 settlement could have bought peace between the University of Texas System and former special adviser Rick O’Donnell, but O’Donnell, who was fired April 19, […]
Emails Give Insight Into UT Controversy
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz At the height of a controversy about the direction of the school’s governing board earlier this year, the chairman of the University of Texas System regents […]
UT Board Chairman Disputes Fired Official’s Account
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz The chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents issued a statement today taking issue with comments by former system official Rick O’Donnell in […]
Who pays for O’Donnell’s Settlement With the UT System?
By Viviana Aldous After months of controversy surrounding the hiring of Rick O’Donnell, former director of Colorado’s higher education department, as a special adviser to the UT Board of Regents, […]
Rick O’Donnell, UT System Agree to Settlement
By Reeve Hamilton Updated 2:00 p.m.: Barry Burgdorf, vice chancellor and general counsel at the University of Texas System, said the decision to settle the matter was based on “pure […]
Controversy Deflected Attention From Important Work
Fired UT advisor Rick O’Donnell gets $70,000 settlement By MELISSA LUDWIG The University of Texas System has settled for $70,000 with a former special adviser who threatened to sue after […]
UT Controversy – Rick O’Donnell, UT System Settle
By Reeve Hamilton The Rick O’Donnell saga at the University of Texas System appears to have reached an end. Last week, under threat of a lawsuit, the system agreed to […]
Entrepreneur and Perry Friend Sandefer, Puts Texas at Center of Higher Ed Firestorm
By S.C. GWYNNE and GARY JACOBSON, The Dallas Morning News In 1985, a young Harvard Business School student from Abilene named Jeff Sandefer had an idea to make money from […]
Gov. Perry – A Top Priority to Improve State Universities
The big lie making the rounds in Texas is that elected or appointed officials want to undermine or de-emphasize research at our colleges and universities By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF […]
The Higher Ed Wars – Fierce Resistance to Meaningful Change
By Richard Vedder (Last Friday,) I was minding my own business, on spring break recovering from the bruising labors of academic life, living the life of the modern-type tenured intellectual […]
Bigger UT Teaching Loads Are Suggested
By Melissa Ludwig About one-fifth of professors at the University of Texas at Austin carry a majority of the teaching load and generate 18 percent of research funding, suggesting that […]
Federal Subsidies for Higher Ed – Drive up Costs, Stifle Competition and Make Students and Universities Less Price-Sensitive.
AUSTIN — Want to lower the cost of college? End all federal subsidies for higher education. That was the provocative solution proffered at a panel discussion Friday put on by the […]
Sandefer Denied Sway on Appointment of Regents – Focus is on Students, Not on Influence
Jeff Sandefer, the architect of proposals that are creating controversy in Texas higher education, downplayed his influence on Gov. Rick Perry and state education policies in an interview published in […]
UT Regents Support Cigarroa’s New Framework for Measuring Success and Accountability
By Melissa Ludwig University of Texas System regents on Thursday issued a unanimous vote of confidence in its CEO, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, in an attempt to sooth recent turmoil at […]
UT System Public Records Tied up by Possible Suit From Ex-Adviser Rick O’Donnell
By Mary Tuma System anticipates “claims of defamation and tortious interference with contractual relationships” by O’Donnell A potential lawsuit against the University of Texas System by ousted special adviser Rick […]
Regents’ Meeting Could be Defining Moment for UT System Chancellor
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa. Rodolfo Gonzalez/AMERICAN-STATESMAN University of Texas System regents have a lengthy to-do list for their meeting in Austin today and Thursday, but […]
UT President Powers – Wants Accountability, but not “this way.”
Dan Berrett http://www.insidehighered.com Faculty and administrators at public universities in Texas said Monday they don’t want to shrink from efforts to make public higher education more accountable — they just […]
Many Glad to Hear – UT President Powers Acknowledges Changes Are Needed
By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press © 2011 The Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Once again defending academic research against proposals that question taxpayer funds not being spent on classroom […]
UT’s Bill Powers: “We need to be careful about how we change”
By Holly Hacker/Reporter hhacker@dallasnews.com | Bio The University of Texas must continue to improve as both a research institution and a teaching one, President Bill Powers said Monday. Powers’ speech […]
UT Austin Audit Integrity Possibly Compromised
By Weston Hicks Accountability data has been compromised in the UT Austin internal audit called by the Board of Regents. The new establishment-controlled audit could release results this week. Two […]
University Reformers Advancing With Sandefer’s – ‘Seven’
By Melissa Ludwig / mludwig@express-news.net Effect on research, views on profs questioned. University professors are: a) Teaching too much b) Not teaching enough c) Wasting time on frivolous research d) […]
UT Education Reform – The Controversy (and Battle) Has Just Begun
By Reeve Hamilton Texas Tribune One week ago, Rick O’Donnell’s employment at the University of Texas System came to an abrupt end after 50 days marked by tension and confusion […]
Are UT Officials Suppressing Important Data?
Rick O’Donnell Says He’s Been Fired, (for Doing His Job) Controversial Adviser to U. of Texas Regents Says He’s Been Fired By Katherine Mangan Austin, Tex. Rick O’Donnell‘s hiring six […]
Recent Videos
Rick O’Donnell’s Panel Remarks on Higher Education Reform
Rick O’Donnell’s Letter to UT Regent Wallace Hall
March 25, 2011 Dear Regent Hall: I’ve been thinking about our several discussions regarding the accuracy of claims made about my stance on university research. I appreciate your interest and […]
UT Establishment: Allergic to Light?
UT Establishment: allergic to light 25 March 2011 by AgendaWise Reports The higher education establishment is worried, and Gene Powell is the one who worries them. The UT Board of […]
Red McCombs Letter To Chairman Gene Powell
As posted @ http://pushjunction.com/press_releases/red-mccombs-letter-to-gene-powell RED MCCOMBS LETTER TO GENE POWELL Red McCombs Thanks Gene – For sharing your comments in the We’re Listening interview. They were particularly timely because I, […]
Evan Smith, Head of The Texas Tribune, Attacks Rick O’Donnell and UT Board of Regents
by Weston Hicks at Agenda Wise Reports March, 23rd Evan Smith, head of The Texas Tribune, has gone journo-nuclear, attacking UT Board of Regents interested in examining the effectiveness of current practices. […]
Rick O’Donnell – I’m Happy To Talk To Anyone And Engage In Frank Discussion
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 posted by Nate Blakeslee at 1:23 PM by Paul Burka of the Texas Monthly Last month, the Statesman’s Jason Embry reported that Governor Perry had turned […]
