The UT System Board of Regents voted at a meeting Wednessday to allow Regent Wallace Hall to review information collected during an investigation into UT admission practices.
The Board released the results of the investigation in question, conducted by Kroll Associates, an external investigation firm, in early February. In early March, Hall requested to see “any and all information” gathered in the investigation before it was to be destroyed.
The external investigation found that a small number of unqualified students were admitted to UT at the direction of President Williams Powers Jr. UT System Chancellor William McRaven said no disciplinary action was needed because no rules or laws were broken.
Hall defended his request of the information on the grounds that he would use the information for admission policy decisions in the future, according to the Texas Tribune.
While the regents voted to allow Hall to look into the information, they warned him about overstepping the rules and conducting investigations on his own, according to the Tribune.
Earlier this week, UT System spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said the meeting was called as a result of new rules regarding information requests. The rule, adopted in February 2014, specifies that all information requests must go through the chairman and chancellor. If either person finds concern, the request is discussed in a meeting with the other regents.
In March, a grand jury chose not to indict Hall on violation of student privacy laws but called for his impeachment from office. The grand jury issued a report condemning his actions.
“Hall never divulged what purpose or goal he had padlocked in his mind before launching this immense barrage of records requests, rapid firing them in a fashion seemingly intended to deteriorate the systems in place,” the report said.
Hall’s initial requests led to an internal investigation that was completed by the UT System prior to the external investigation by Kroll.