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UT Regents Still Eyeing President Candidates

After meeting behind closed doors for almost seven hours, the University of Texas System Board of Regents did not name a finalist to replace Bill Powers as president of the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday.

UT President Bill Powers speaks during a UT Board of Regents meeting on July 10, 2014.

*Editor's note: This story has been updated to include official comment.

After meeting behind closed doors for almost seven hours, the University of Texas System Board of Regents did not name a finalist to replace Bill Powers as president of the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday. 

The three candidates on the short list are Andrew Hamilton, vice chancellor of the University of Oxford in England; UT-Austin Provost Gregory Fenves; and David Daniel, president of the University of Texas at Dallas. The board spent most of the day interviewing the candidates and discussing the search, though sources had cautioned earlier in the week that the regents weren't likely to decide on Wednesday. 

When the regents reconvened in open session, Chairman Paul Foster said the board will select a finalist at a later meeting.

In statements, Foster and University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven both said they were very happy with the candidates.

Foster would not confirm the names of those interviewed. Asked about some lawmakers who are frustrated that the candidates' names have been leaked to the press, Foster said he was “as frustrated as anybody.”

“The search committee was a broad cross section of a lot of different people,” Foster said. “I don’t know where the leaks came from, and I certainly don’t want to point fingers at anybody.”

He said the regents are likely to meet again at the end of the month.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

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