After several candidates took themselves out of the running, the Texas Board of Regents named UT Austin provost Gregory Fenves as the sole finalist to replace Bill Powers as President of the flagship university. Thanks to Fenves' close ties with Powers and Powers' troubles with the board over the past few years, the board did not validate his selection with the traditional unanimous vote.
The vote was 5-3 with regents Wallace Hall, Alex Cranberg and Brenda Pejovich casting against Fenves. There is a 21-day waiting period before Fenves can be officially hired.
Oxford Vice Chancellor Andrew Hamilton was thought to be the leading candidate for the position, but he accepted the New York University presidency instead. Joseph Steinmetz, executive vice president and provost at Ohio State University, also withdrew from consideration. UT-Dallas President David Daniel was the only other candidate thought to be in serious contention for the post.
