Rule 20201: Presidents

1.  Title

Presidents

2.  Rule and Regulation

Sec. 1  Presidential Selection.  The Board of Regents selects the president of each institution.

1.1  Presidential Search Advisory Committee.  When there is to be a vacancy in the office of a president, an Advisory Committee shall be established to recommend candidates to the Board. No person who elects to be a candidate for the vacancy may serve on the Advisory Committee. The Chancellor, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, or the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall serve as Chairman of the Advisory Committee unless the Chairman of the Board makes another appointment. Committee membership is as follows:

(a) At least one Regent to be appointed by the Chairman of the Board.

(b) Two presidents from the U. T. System to be appointed by the Chairman of the Board.

(c) The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic or Health Affairs.

(d) Three faculty members from the institution involved. At least two of the members shall have the rank of associate professor or higher. The method of selection for faculty members shall be determined by the faculty governance of the campus.

(e) One Dean to be selected by the Deans’ Council of the institution involved for academic institutions. At health institutions, the member will be the Dean of the Medical School or in the absence of that position the member will be a senior representative of the teaching program of the institution selected by the Chairman of the Board.

(f) One student, in good academic standing, from the institution involved. The method of selection shall be determined by the student governance of the campus or, if there is no student governance, by the Chairman of the Board. If the institution does not have students, this category of representation shall be omitted.

(g) The President of the alumni association of the campus involved. If the institution does not have an active alumni organization, an alumnus of the institution may be selected by the Chairman of the Board.

(h) One nonfaculty employee of the institution involved. The method of selection shall be determined by the staff or employee council of the institution involved. If there is no staff or employee council, selection will be by the Chairman of the Board.

(i) At least two representatives of the institution’s external constituency who have demonstrated a deep interest in and support of the institution, its programs, and its role in community activities to be appointed by the Chairman of the Board.

1.2  Appointment of Members.  Unless there are unusual delays in faculty, staff, or student representative selection that postpone initiation of the committee process, the Chairman of the Board will make his or her appointments to the Advisory Committee after campus selections. The Chairman’s appointments to the Advisory Committee will be made following due consideration of input from members of the Board, the institutional leadership, and community leaders. 

1.3  Selection Criteria.  Selection criteria for the president shall relate to the needs of the individual institution.

1.4  Responsibilities of the Committee Chairman.  The Committee Chairman shall develop a timetable for the Committee’s work, in consultation with the Chancellor and the Chairman of the Board, and shall initiate mechanisms to develop an appropriate candidate pool and to seek information on several candidates.

1.5  Responsibilities of the Advisory Committee.  Following an introduction and charge by the Chancellor, the Advisory Committee shall inquire from competent sources as to the candidates’ academic, administrative, and business abilities.

1.6  Interviews.  The Advisory Committee may interview candidates as a part of its selection process. Interviews should be conducted on the basis that the confidentiality of the process is critical to its ultimate success.

1.7  Recommendation.  The Advisory Committee shall submit to the Board, through its Chairman, a list of no more than 10 recommended candidates with no preference indicated. Candidates recommended shall have received a majority vote of the Committee.

1.8  Finalists.  The Board determines which candidates will be further interviewed prior to naming a finalist or finalists. If none of the names submitted by the Advisory Committee is satisfactory to the Board of Regents, the Board in its discretion may either name a new committee or proceed to select a president under such other procedures as in its discretion it may deem proper and appropriate.

1.9  Alternate Process.  When the Board of Regents has candidate(s) from recent searches at other institutions, from within the U. T. System, and/or of national prominence from outside the U. T. System to advance for consideration, the Chairman of the Board of Regents shall appoint a Special Committee to provide the Board with advice and evaluation consistent with that usually provided by an Advisory Committee. The Special Committee shall be composed as specified above for the Advisory Committee but will not include members of the Board of Regents. The Special Committee shall not extend its consideration beyond those candidates referred to it by the Board of Regents without specific concurrence from the Board.

1.10 Confidentiality.  The presidential selection process must be conducted in a manner that protects the identity of all candidates. Information about the process, other than statements or releases by the Chairman of the Board or the Chancellor, will be distributed only as required by the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA). Each individual participating in the search process, including U. T. System employees, members of the Board, search firm representatives, members of a Presidential Search Advisory Committee, and individuals asked to meet with candidates, must sign a confidentiality agreement in a form approved by the General Counsel to the Board and the U. T. System Vice Chancellor and General Counsel prior to participation.

An individual found to have violated the confidentiality agreement may be removed from the search process. A U. T. System employee found to have violated the confidentiality agreement is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. A member of the Board found to have violated the confidentiality agreement is subject to sanctions.

Sec. 2  Reporting.  The president reports to and is responsible to the Chancellor. The president is expected to consult with the Chancellor and the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor on significant issues as needed.

Sec. 3  Term and Removal from Office.  The president serves without fixed term, subject to the pleasure of the Chancellor, following an opportunity for input by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor and subject to the approval of the Board of Regents. When circumstances warrant or require such action, the Chancellor may take interim action involving a president, including but not limited to suspension or leave of absence, pending approval by the Board.

Sec. 4  Duties and Responsibilities.  Within the policies and regulations of the Board of Regents and under the supervision and direction of the Chancellor and the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor, the president has general authority and responsibility for the administration of that institution. Specifically, the president is expected, with the appropriate participation of the staff, to:

4.1  Develop and administer plans and policies for the program, organization, and operation of the institution.

4.2  Interpret the System policy to the staff and interpret the institution's programs and needs to the System Administration and to the public.

4.3  Develop and administer policies relating to students and, where applicable, to the proper management of services to patients.

4.4  Recommend appropriate operating budgets and supervise expenditures under approved budgets.

4.5  Appoint all members of the faculty and staff, except as provided in Rule 31007, concerning the award of tenure, and maintain efficient personnel programs.

4.6  Ensure efficient management of business affairs and physical property and recommend additions and alterations to the physical plant.

4.7  Serve as presiding officer at official meetings of faculty and staff of the institution and as ex officio member of each college or school faculty, if any, within the institution.

4.8  Appoint or establish procedures for the appointment of all faculty, staff, and student committees.

4.9  Develop and administer the rules and regulations for the governance of the institution and any related amendments. Such rules and regulations shall constitute the Handbook of Operating Procedures for the institution. Any rule or regulation in the institutional Handbook of Operating Procedures that is in conflict with any rule or regulation in the Regents' Rules and Regulations is void and has no effect.

(a) Input from the faculty, staff, and student governance bodies for the institution will be sought for all significant changes to an institution’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. The institutional Handbook of Operating Procedures will include a policy for obtaining this input.

(b) Sections of the Handbook of Operating Procedures that pertain to the areas of faculty responsibility as defined in Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 40101, titled Faculty Role in Educational Policy Formulation, will be explicitly designated in the Handbook of Operating Procedures. The president, with the faculty governance body of the campus, shall develop procedures to assure formal review of these sections by the faculty governance body before such sections are finalized. The formal review should occur within 60 days or less.

(c) All rules and regulations or amendments in the Handbook of Operating Procedures must be approved by the president and by the institution’s chief legal officer or the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel.

4.10 Assume initiative in developing long-range plans for the program and physical facilities of the institution.

4.11 Assume active leadership in developing private fund support for the institution in accordance with policies and procedures established in the Regents' Rules and Regulations.

4.12 Develop and implement plans and policies to ensure that the institution remains in compliance with any accreditation requirements appropriate to the institution or its programs, including, for the health institutions and those academic institutions with student health services, the accreditation of hospitals, clinics, and patient-care facilities.

4.13 The president of each general academic institution of The University of Texas System that engages in intercollegiate athletic activities shall ensure that necessary rules and regulations are made so as to comply with the current General Appropriations Act.

For each institution of The University of Texas System that operates a hospital or clinic, serve as the Health Care Governing Body, required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, The Joint Commission, and/or other specialty accreditation standards or by other health care regulations (collectively, “Health Care Regulations”) if appointed as the Health Care Governing Body by the Chancellor. The Health Care Governing Body shall have legal responsibility to oversee, manage, and govern hospitals and clinics in accordance with the Health Care Regulations and applicable laws, regulations, and Regents’ Rules.

A U. T. institution that operates a hospital shall also have an organized, self-governing medical staff (the “Medical Staff”). The Medical Staff shall operate independently and in accordance with Medical Staff Bylaws approved by the Health Care Governing Body, perform certain responsibilities, and be accountable to the Health Care Governing Body for the quality of medical care in the hospitals, as required by the Health Care Regulations. The Medical Staff may include faculty members in accordance with the Medical Staff Bylaws recommended by the Medical Staff and approved by the Health Care Governing Body.

Sec. 5  Evaluation.

5.1  Within 12 months of beginning service as president, the new president will provide the Board with a statement outlining a vision and plans for the future of the institution. The presentation may be deferred for six months, if deemed appropriate by the Chancellor and the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor after consultation with the Chairman of the Board.

5.2  Each president will have an annual performance evaluation, conducted by the Chancellor and the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor, and presented to the Board for discussion.

5.3  Each president will receive a comprehensive performance review by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor, the Chancellor, and the Board at the conclusion of each five-year period, beginning after the first year of service as president. The review will include an interview with the Board in Executive Session during which the president will outline his or her renewed vision and plans for the future of the institution.

3.  Definitions

Health Care Governing Body – an organized body or an individual that has legal responsibility for the operation of the hospital or clinic, as contemplated by Health Care Regulations, including 42 C.F.R. 482.12 or 42 C.F.R. 485.709.

4.  Relevant Federal and State Statutes 

Texas Government Code Section 552.123 – Exception: Name of Applicant for Chief Executive Officer of
     Institution of Higher Education (excepting applicant names and identifying information from public
     disclosure but requiring notice of name or names of finalists at least 21 days before meeting at which
     final action is to be taken) 
Texas Education Code Section 51.913 – Executive Search Committees 
General Appropriations Act 

5.  Relevant System Policies, Procedures, and Forms 

Confidentiality Agreement – Search Committee Members 
Confidentiality Agreement – Search Committee Staff and Others  

6.  Who Should Know 

Administrators 
Faculty 
Staff 
Students 

7.  System Administration Office(s) Responsible for Rule 

Office of Academic Affairs 
Office of Health Affairs 

8.  Dates Approved or Amended 

Regents’ Rules Revision History 

9.  Contact Information 

Questions or comments regarding this Rule should be directed to: 
•  bor@utsystem.edu