“If we are going to take any kind of money, certainly tax dollars, with an idea that we’re actually trying to accomplish some things with that, we’d better pay attention to: Are we actually accomplishing those things?”
— UT President William Powers Jr. in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, according to The Texas Tribune. In it, Obama said if higher education institutions do not stop increasing tuition, they will see a decrease in federal funding.
“At the end of the day, what we hope is that long overdue justice will be served for the Baker family, which is ultimately what we were trying to accomplish.”
— Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo in response to allegations that the Austin Police Department altered a report for use as a ‘prop’ while conducting an interrogation about a 1988 killing.
“[The] board leadership decided we ought to look at our rule-making authority and see if we can’t tighten up some of those requirements a little more.”
— Dominic Chavez, external relations director of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, about a rule change regarding in-state tuition for undocumented students, according to KVUE. The alteration would remind undocumented students yearly of their obligation to seek legal status and would require schools to keep affidavits on file.
“I’m very hopeful we’ll see some significant adjustments in the proposal that’s currently on the table to make sure that nobody is paying a disproportionate share of the burden.”
— Austin City Council member Chris Riley on the proposed electric rate changes by Austin Energy, according to KXAN.
“If there’s a location to look at as we discuss how to do things differently — how do we make cars smarter, safer, better for [the] environment — Austin wants to be on the leading edge of those discussions.”
— Adrianna Cruz, vice president of global corporate recruitment for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, according to Forbes. The city is encouraging companies to invest in advanced automotive technologies, which contributes to its slowly increasing role in the automotive industry.
“The strategic vision can best be developed and directed by a local governing board,”
— Robert Berdahl, interim president of the University of Oregon and former UT president, according to The Oregonian. Berdahl was appointed to the position after Richard Lariviere, a former UT dean, was fired by the board in December. One of the reasons for Lariviere’s ousting was his insistence on creating a separate board for the University of Oregon, an issue that Berdahl is now pursuing.
