July 8, 2014

Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa

Office of the Chancellor
The University of Texas System
601 Colorado Street, 4th Floor
Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Chancellor Cigarroa:

The University of Texas at Austin is our home. It is here on the 40 Acres that we
achieve the inconceivable, pursue the unattainable, and imagine the impossible. As
students, our home is precious and intertwined with the most important years of our lives.
Being a Texas Longhorn is not just a matter of pride; it is a symbol of courage in the face of
the unknown the same ideal that led to the founding of our great state and this treasured
and revered University of the first class.
Throughout the past few years, the students at the University of Texas at Austin
have witnessed a great clash surrounding the principles of higher education and the core
purpose of this University. This struggle revolves around the University of Texas System
and the University of Texas at Austin, which appear to be at odds regarding the future of
Texas higher education. This University has flourished under the leadership of President
Bill Powers, who has established this University as both the premier research institution of
this state and an academically reputed flagship state university.
Despite the University of Texas at Austins successes, the ongoing struggle has
disrupted and even harmed the University over the past three years, with only the potential
for a disastrous end. The abrupt removal of the Universitys leadership in President Powers
does a disservice to the status of higher education in Texas and has uncertain implications
for the future of the University of Texas. As this ordeal plays out in the public eye, the
esteem and probity of both the University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas
System have been damaged.
As Chancellor of the University of Texas System, we understand that your station
requires a great deal of compromise and sacrifice. We appreciate your service to the
University of Texas System, the University of Texas at Austin and the state of Texas in face
of difficult resolution. As the steward of the University of Texas, we believe that your first
and foremost priority is to serve the purpose of higher education in this state. I ask that on
behalf of all students, for the good of higher education in this state, and for your love of
academia at large, that you, Chancellor Cigarroa, and the Board of Regents, do what is best
for the University of Texas at Austin.

Sincerely,

Kornel Rady
University of Texas Student Body President 2014-2015


CC: The Honorable Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
The Honorable David Dewhurst, Leutenant Governor of Texas
The Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House
The Honorable Carol Alvarado, Co-Chair, House Committee on Transparency in State
Operations
The Honorable Dan Flynn, Co-Chair, House Committee on Transparency in State Agency
Operations
The Honorable Kel Seliger, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education
The Honorable Dan Branch, Chair, House Committee on Higher Education
Mr. Paul L. Foster, Chair, University of Texas System Board of Regents
Mr. William Powers, Jr., President of the University of Texas at Austin