University of Texas at Austin President William C. Powers Jr. has been earning headlines recently for challenging the policies of another Texas news-maker, Gov. Rick Perry. Powers supports a 2.6-percent tuition increase for undergraduates over the next two years. Perry wants to see a two-year tuition freeze, and this disagreement has reportedly created a great deal of conflict behind the scenes.
Last week, Paul Burka at Texas Monthly even wrote that a well-placed source indicated that Powers' job was on the chopping block. The chancellor’s office went on issue a statement claiming that Powers would not be fired, but the tension lingers.
As The Chronicle of Higher Education reported, Powell received an outpouring of support via the "I Stand with Bill Powers" Facebook page, which now has well over 11,000 members.
Will those voices be enough to sustain him in the long term? That will remain to be seen, but such a level of support on the campus level certainly can't hurt him.