Absent Ryan Still on staff
Former Texas academic official is expected to retire in January.
After months of silence about Randa Ryan’s whereabouts, Texas officials finally said Friday that she will remain on staff through January, even though she hasn’t worked in the athletic offices for more than a year.
Ryan, who once oversaw the academic services for all UT athletes, will “retire” at that time, according to a news release. However, Ryan cleared out her office in Royal-Memorial Stadium months ago and at one point was interviewing lawyers for a possible wrongful termination lawsuit, a source said.
Ryan’s annual base salary is $259,875, according to payroll data obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request. It was widely thought within the athletic department that Ryan would leave Wednesday, the final day of the fiscal year. Now, that date has been pushed out through the fall semester.
In a statement issued by the university, Ryan said she was grateful for the rare opportunity “to blend my life’s work with the care and commitment I have for outstanding student athletes at UT.”
“They have achieved graduation rates, APR percentages, and GPAs that are among the best in the country,” Ryan said. “But more than strong metrics, they have graduated from Texas as good citizens and strong, mature leaders ready to meet the challenges of the future. I am so proud of them.”
UT officials have not made Ryan available for
interviews in years. She was not made available before or after a six-month independent review was triggered by a report in The Chronicle for Higher Education that alleged possible academic misconduct.
The school hired Alabama-based attorney Gene Marsh, someone with deep knowledge of NCAA compliance rules, to look into things. Marsh produced a detailed 49-page report that determined no NCAA violations occurred, and the case was essentially closed.
The public yawned, but in academic circles, it was a blistering takedown that examined every aspect of Ryan’s department.
For example, the Marsh report determined there was too much emphasis on maintaining high GPAs and not enough on actual progress toward a degree.
UT athletes have privately grumbled for years about being pushed into classes they might not have otherwise wanted. However, those contacted by the Statesman choose to remain quiet for fear of retribution by the school — such as losing their scholarship, for example.
But to Ryan’s credit, the overwhelming majority of athletes in all of UT’s 20 varsity sports have remained eligible for competition.
In February, the Statesman reported that Ryan’s top assistant, Kat Richter Hastings, had taken over dayto-day duties in academic services.
As months rolled by, university and athletics officials refused to discuss Ryan’s job status or what she was doing. Men’s athletic director Mike Perrin said Ryan was off-site working on “a special project” that stemmed from findings in the Marsh report.
In Friday’s statement, UT officials said Ryan “will work on projects related to Texas athletics chronological historical data on student services and other pertinent areas.”