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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
@thedailytexan
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
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ADMINISTRATION
CFO Hegarty to depart for Michigan By Josh Willis @joshwillis35
Kevin Hegarty, UT’s vice president and chief financial officer, will step down from his position to become executive vice president and CFO at the University of Michigan. Mary Knight, associate vice president for finance, will serve as interim CFO
until Hegarty’s position is filled. Hegarty will make the transition from Texas to Michigan during this semester, pending approval from Michigan’s Board of Regents. His last day working on campus will be Feb. 26. Since 2001, Hegarty has overseen finance, budget, real estate, information technology, open records, payroll
and purchasing at UT. Mark Schlissel, president of the University of Michigan, spoke about Hegarty in a speech to Michigan’s Board of Regents. “Mr. Hegarty is strongly committed to the role of public universities and brings a valuable combination of private sector and public higher education experience to the appointment,” Schlissel said.
“I am confident he will serve our university well in meeting the challenges ahead.” President William Powers Jr. said Hegarty has been a valuable resource to the University with regards to improvements in efficiency. “Few people in our University’s history have served the campus with as much
Kevin Heagarty
HEGARTY page 2
UT Vice President & CFO
Editor’s note: In 300 words or less, this series spotlights people in our community whose stories typically go untold.
By Marisa Charpentier @marisacharp21
Daulton Venglar | Daily Texan Staff
Michael Robberson, a Texas Union employee and musician, has worked at the Union since 1985. While working, he has met a variety of celebrties and toured with Tom Petty.
CITY
When he decided he needed a stable job in 1985, Robberson took a position as a media support technician. During his workdays, he sets up sound equipment in the Cactus Cafe, wheels in projection screens and amps for lectures in the Union ballroom and puts on
movies for students in the Texas Union Theatre. Robberson has seen all types of celebrities come through the Union, and he often chats with them while hooking up their microphones. He’s met Maya Angelou, the Dalai Lama and
Bills address nominations for student regent role @ellydearman
Technician shares background in music
with various other bands in Europe, New York and Los Angeles. He’s played with the Austin Symphony and currently plays bass for the Mid-Texas Symphony. He still gets freelance calls to play with bands and performs with a tribute band called The Bee Gees Songbook.
SYSTEM
By Eleanor Dearman
CAMPUS
Since moving to Austin 35 years ago, Michael Robberson has performed with The Rolling Stones, met Spike Lee and set up the Dalai Lama’s mic. Robberson, a UT media support technician, started out at Texas Tech, where he received his undergraduate degree in music education and his master’s degree in double bass performance. He moved to Austin in 1980 to play bass for The Joe Ely Band, a country and rock group from Lubbock. Robberson traveled with the band for three years. They toured with musicians like Tom Petty and Linda Ronstadt. The band opened for The Rolling Stones in front of a crowd of 80,000 people. “I’m basically on a little adventure in this slice-of-life existence,” Robberson said. Throughout his music career, Robberson has toured
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Gene Kranz, who directed the Mission Control efforts that saved the Apollo 13 crew. He’s spoken with film stars such as George Takei, Richard Dreyfuss and Spike Lee. “No two days are the same,” Robberson said. “That’s one of the reasons I love this job.”
The Texas Legislature is working to redefine the student regent application process, requiring student regents to apply through student government before applying to the governor’s office. If passed, the bills, SB 42 and HB 1256, will prevent students who apply for the student regent position from applying directly to the governor’s office at their respective institution without input from student government. In 2014, System student regent Max Richards was appointed to his position by the governor’s office. Richards did not apply through UT’s student government. Richards’ predecessor, Nash Horne, also applied directly to the governor’s office. After multiple attempts, Richards could not be reached for comment on the bills. The legislature passed a bill creating the student regent position in 2005. The bill states student governments within the system should nominate students each year for a one-year term at the student regent position. These nominees are then pooled with others across the system and submitted to the governor’s office for consideration. According to Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), who filed SB 42 in November, The University of Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech systems have all had student regents appointed who applied directly to the governor. “Despite the clarity of the existing statutory language, there have been reports of student regents being appointed after applying not to their student governments, as required by statute,
REGENT page 2
STATE
City Council approves Texas mayors oppose property tax caps bike detection funding By Jackie Wang
By Jackie Wang @jcqlnwng
Cyclists in Austin will soon be able to use their smartphones to optimize travel time on busy intersections. Austin City Council voted Thursday 83 to accept $200,000 from a Texas Department of Transportation grant for the installation of 12 bicycle signals and bicycle detection equipment at 20 intersections around the city. The City Council will provide an additional $50,000 to the project, which was proposed in the 2013 Bicycle Advisory Committee. Two bicycle detection systems will be located near the University campus, including one at Rio Grande St. and Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to a 2013 proposal by the Bicycle
Advisory Committee. Bicycles are difficult to sense at intersections because they are much smaller than cars, according to Director of Transportation Robert Spillar. The proposed bicycle detection equipment would involve an app on a cyclist’s smartphone, which notifies the traffic light a cyclist is waiting for the light to change. “There is a separate project that we have to build: a bicycle application for smartphones that would … communicate to our signal system, but it would not prioritize bicycles to the system,” Spillar said at the Council meeting Thursday. “It would just send a signal to the traffic signal: ‘hey, I’m here and waiting.’” Computer science senior
BIKES page 3
Mayor Steve Adler speaks at a press conference Monday after meeting with eight other Texas mayors. The mayors met at the Headliner’s club to discuss SB 182 and HB 365, both of which place caps on the property taxes that Texas homeowners pay.
@jcqlnwng
Mayor Steve Adler and eight other Texas mayors met with representatives of the state legislature Monday to discuss property tax revenue caps across Texas. Mayors from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Arlington and Plano lined up at the Headliner’s Club to voice their concern about SB 182 and HB 365. Both bills place caps on the property taxes Texas homeowners pay. Adler said property tax caps from the state legislature take away city governments’ ability to decide where to collect revenue, how much to collect, obliterating the control of local governments over their communities. “It’s the ordinances that a local city adopts that reflects its
Carlo Nasisse Daily Texan Staff
values [and] is something we hope will be honored by the rest of the state,” Adler said. The real issue of SB 182 and HB 365 is self-determination, according to Adler. “We really only have a few ways to raise revenue in our local economy — property taxes, sales tax and fees,” Adler
said. “If we are limited or capped in one area, it logically follows that we have to raise it in another area. Students could feel this pinch, even if they are not property owners.” Adler also said the property tax caps could extend into other areas of local control that may need specific protections,
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Faculty Coucil approves ban on campus carry. PAGE 3
State must address funding shortcomings. PAGE 4
Rick Barnes looks back on his career after 600th win. PAGE 6
Visual Arts Center exhibits faculty members’ work. PAGE 8
Blanton Museum bans use of selfie sticks. ONLINE
Universities need support from all. PAGE 4
Texas baseball prepares for game against UTSA. PAGE 6
UT Orange Bike Project moves to new location. PAGE 8
Selfie sticks prohibited in many museums. Startups showcase innovative foods. dailytexanonline.com
such as Barton Springs Pool. “This uniqueness of how we live in Austin should be determined at the local level,” Adler said. “Students come to UT not just for the education, but to enjoy this Austin lifestyle. The environment and creative culture
MAYORS page 2 REASON TO PARTY
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