UT chancellor faces some unfamiliar scrutiny

Regents plan to re-evaluate Bill McRaven’s vision for the system, mull changes, they have indicated.

Retired Navy Adm. Bill McRaven had a grand vision when he took over as chancellor of the University of Texas System in 2015.

The 14 universities and medical schools that he oversaw would

“the human condition in every town, every city, for every man, woman and child” in Texas, he said. And the system would do so by completing nine “Quantum Leaps,” the list of which he unveiled in an enthusiastic presentation to the system’s Board of Regents less than a year into his tenure.

The board seemed to love the ideas and responded by setting aside $60 million to achieve those goals.

But now, less than two years after it was unveiled, the system’s governing board is questioning that vision. Board members are asking whether the system administration under McRaven is overstaffed, overspending and overreaching. In the coming months, the regents plan to re-evaluate the system’s mission and consider some changes, they have indicated.

Those discussions will come at an important moment in McRaven’s tenure as chancellor. The man known nationwide as the architect of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden will see his $1.2 million-per-year contract expire around the turn of the year. While the board evaluates the system’s priorities, McRaven’s future will have to come up for discussion, too.

McRaven declined an interview for this story. But publicly,