Regents bar Powers, others from deleting emails

 AUSTIN (AP/KXAN) — The president of the University of Texas and some other campus officials have been barred from deleting emails on their computers and other devices.

The Austin American-Statesman reports the order came from Brenda Pejovich, who chairs the UT System Board of Regents audit committee. The panel has been investigating the relationship between the UT School of Law and the UT Law School Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Texas Tribune reported that at Tuesday’s hearing of the Joint Select Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency, two key lawmakers spoke about why they request documents from the University of Texas System.

The Tribune said the request Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas appeared to be tied in large part to the system’s requests of UT-Austin. In the article, Seliger said that the requested information should be available for regents but that the committee wants to make sure it is being gathered and used appropriately.

“We want to know who asked for what from whom and, in the scope of governance, were such things properly sought?” the Tribune quoted Seliger as saying

Meanhile, the Tribune quoted state Rep. Jim Pitts as saying Powers has become the target of “witch hunt after witch hunt after witch hunt.”

“Frankly I’m worried about efforts to remove a flagship university president,” Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said in the Tribune report,

According to the Austin American Statesman report, the directive from Pejovich tells Powers to make sure "no emails of any type" are deleted by his office as well as by the legal affairs, provost and business offices.

UT spokesman Gary Susswein says campus officials are complying.

Texas House and Senate leaders last month agreed to create a special committee to investigate regents amid calls to limit their power.